What should investors be looking for when it comes to choosing the best dividend stocks to buy today?
At Morningstar, we think that the best dividend stocks aren’t simply the highest dividend stocks or the top-performing dividend stocks. We suggest that investors look beyond a stock’s yield and short-term performance and instead choose stocks with durable dividends and buy those stocks when they’re undervalued (all returns in this article are based on a US dollar basis).
How to Find the Best Dividend Stocks
“Tempting as they might be, the stock market’s juiciest yields are often illusory,” explains Dan Lefkovitz, strategist for Morningstar Indexes. “High dividend yields are often found in risky sectors, industries, and companies.” And as a result, such high-dividend yields aren’t always sustainable.
David Harrell, the editor of Morningstar DividendInvestor, suggests focusing on companies with management teams that are supportive of their dividend strategies and favoring companies with competitive advantages, or economic moats.
“A moat rating does not guarantee dividends, of course, but we have seen some very strong correlations between economic moats and dividend durability,” Harrell says.
Investors looking for good dividend stocks to buy might consider adding undervalued dividend stocks with economic moats to their portfolios.
10 Best US Dividend Stocks to Invest in
To find the best dividend stocks to invest in, we turn to the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index. The dividend stocks on this list are among the index’s top constituents, have economic moats, and were trading in the 4- and 5-star range as of May 8, 2026.
- PepsiCo PEP
- US Bancorp USB
- Accenture ACN
- Medtronic MDT
- Mondelez International MDLZ
- Kimberly-Clark KMB
- DTE Energy DTE
- Regions Financial RF
- Sysco SYY
- FirstEnergy FE
Here’s a little bit about each cheap dividend stock, along with some key Morningstar metrics. All data is through May 8.
PepsiCo
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Wide
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.65%
- Industry: Beverages—Nonalcoholic
Topping our list of best dividend stocks to buy, Pepsi trades 9% below our USD 169 fair value estimate. We don’t expect near-term challenges from consumer belt tightening to derail Pepsi’s growth from innovation and international expansion, reports Morningstar senior analyst Kris Inton. Over the next decade, we expect Pepsi’s payout ratio to stabilize in the low 70s on average and the dividend payment to grow at a mid-single-digit pace annually, says Inton. Pepsi is a dividend aristocrat, which means it has increased its dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.
Review PepsiCo’s dividend history.
US Bancorp
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Wide
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.71%
- Industry: Banks—Regional
US Bancorp is the first of two financial-services stocks on our list this month; this cheap dividend stock trades 12% beneath our USD 63 fair value estimate. One of the largest and most-profitable regional banks we cover, US Bancorp’s strategy of investing in its payment business and other fee income growth areas is the right move, says Morningstar analyst Maoyuan Chen. The bank devotes 35%-45% of earnings to dividends.
Review US Bancorp’s dividend history.
Accenture
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.61%
- Industry: Information Technology Services
Accenture is the only technology stock on our list of the best dividend stocks to buy. We recently lowered our economic moat rating on Accenture to narrow from wide because we expect IT services firms to face headwinds in the face of artificial intelligence. We nevertheless consider Accenture to be one of our top picks in IT services, says Morningstar analyst Luke Yang, because it has one of the most comprehensive AI-related offerings, earning it a front seat to assist with customers’ IT needs in the AI era. We think this dividend stock is worth $255, and shares trade 29% below that.
Review Accenture’s dividend history.
Medtronic
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.73%
- Industry: Medical Devices
The second dividend aristocrat on our list of best dividend stocks to buy, Medtronic shares trade 32% below our USD 112 fair value estimate. The largest pure-play medical-device maker is a key partner for its hospital customers, thanks to its diversified product portfolio aimed at a wide range of chronic diseases, Morningstar senior equity analyst Debbie Wang explains. The company aims to return a minimum of 50% of its annual free cash flow to shareholders, but this has been in the 60% to 70% range in recent years, says Wang.
Review Medtronic’s dividend history.
Mondelez International
- Morningstar Rating: 5 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Wide
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.25%
- Industry: Confectioners
Mondelez International is one of the four wide-moat companies on our list of the best dividend stocks to buy. “Mondelez has proved unrelenting in its commitment to remove further complexity from its operations by rationalizing its supplier base, parting ways with unprofitable brands, and continuing to upgrade its manufacturing facilities,” argues Morningstar director Erin Lash. We forecast the company will increase its dividend in the high-single-digit range on average through fiscal 2035. We think this top dividend stock is worth USD 75, and shares trade 18% below that.
Review Mondelez’s dividend history.
Kimberly-Clark
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
- Forward Dividend Yield: 5.21%
- Industry: Household and Personal Products
One of four consumer defensive stocks on our list of the best dividend stocks to invest in, Kimberly-Clark is trading 26% below our USD 133 fair value estimate. The company’s portfolio of well-known tissue and hygiene brands, which includes Huggies, Depend, and Kleenex, generates significant excess cash, notes Morningstar’s Lash. Lash’s long-term outlook calls for mid-single-digit annual dividend growth. Kimberly-Clark is also a dividend aristocrat.
Review Kimberly-Clark’s dividend history.
DTE Energy
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.26%
- Industry: Utilities—Regulated Electric
DTE Energy is one of two utilities stocks on our list of the best dividend stocks to buy this month. This top dividend stock trades 10% below our USD 157 fair value estimate. DTE Energy recently announced an electricity supply agreement with Google to serve a planned data center in DTE’s southeast Michigan service territory. The company raised its dividend by 7% in 2026, and we expect the dividend to grow in line with earnings for the foreseeable future, says Morningstar senior analyst Travis Miller.
Review DTE Energy’s dividend history.
Regions Financial
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.84%
- Industry: Banks—Regional
Regions Financial is the second bank stock on our list of the best dividend stocks to buy. We think this midsize regional bank with a footprint that’s largely in the US Southeast is in good financial health. It targets around a 40% to 45% dividend payout ratio, reports Morningstar’s Chen. This attractive dividend stock is trading 16% below our USD 32.80 fair value estimate.
Review Region Financial’s dividend history.
Sysco
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Wide
- Forward Dividend Yield: 3.04%
- Industry: Food Distribution
Sysco stock is trading 14% below our USD 84 fair value estimate. This dividend-payer earns a wide economic moat rating based on its cost advantages. Sysco’s balance sheet is sound, says Morningstar’s Inton. Inton adds that Sysco could increase its dividend by 3% per year over the next five years. Sysco is also a dividend aristocrat.
Review Sysco’s dividend history.
FirstEnergy
- Morningstar Rating: 4 stars
- Morningstar Economic Moat Rating: Narrow
- Forward Dividend Yield: 4.08%
- Industry: Utilities-Regulated Electric
FirstEnergy rounds out our list of the best dividend stocks to buy; the stock is trading 10% below our USD 49 fair value estimate. FirstEnergy increased its dividend 4.5% in 2026, and we expect dividend growth to trail earnings growth as FirstEnergy retains more earnings to fund its growth capital investments, notes Morningstar senior analyst Andrew Bischof. We forecast the firm’s dividend payout to be at the lower end of the 60%-70% range during the next five years.
Review First Energy’s dividend history.
What Is the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index?
A subset of the Morningstar US Market Index (which represents 97% of equity market capitalization), the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index tracks the top 75 high-yielding stocks that meet our screening requirements for quality and financial health.
How are the stocks selected for the index? Only securities whose dividends are qualified income are included; real estate investment trusts are tossed out. Companies are then screened for quality using the Morningstar Economic Moat Rating and Morningstar Uncertainty Rating. Specifically, companies must earn a Moat Rating of narrow or wide and an Uncertainty Rating of Low, Medium, or High; companies with Very High or Extreme Uncertainty Ratings are excluded. The index includes a screen for financial health using a distance-to-default measure, which uses market information and accounting data to determine how likely a firm is to default on its liabilities; it is a measure of balance-sheet strength.
The 75 highest-yielding stocks that pass the quality screen are included in the index, and constituents are weighted according to the total dividends paid by the company to investors.
The Best Dividend Stocks: More Ideas to Consider
Investors who would like to uncover more cheap dividend stocks to research further can do the following:
- Review the full list of dividend stocks included in the Morningstar Dividend Yield Focus Index. Those dividend stocks with Morningstar Ratings of 4 or 5 stars are undervalued, according to our metrics.
- Browse our list of Best Investments: Exemplary Stewards with High Dividends. The list includes companies with durable competitive advantages that are run by excellent capital allocators whose stocks are trading well below our fair value estimate and that offer at least a 4% dividend yield.
- Bookmark our dividends topic page to stay up to date on Morningstar’s newest dividend stock content.
How to Screen for More Top Dividend Stocks
Dividend-stock investors can use our Morningstar Investor Screener tool to find stocks with above-average dividend yields that offer sustainable dividend income potential. To build your screen, include the following filters:
Dividend per share growth (10Y): Click the Add Filter button on the left-hand side of the Screener, then search for the data point. Set the range you’d like to target, for example, greater than or equal to 5%, either by entering a figure or dragging the slider.
Dividend yield (trailing): Scroll to the bottom of the left-hand side of the Screener and set your range, for example, greater than or equal to 4%.
Morningstar Rating for Stocks: While not directly related to dividends, filtering to see only 4- or 5-star (undervalued) stocks helps you find overlooked dividend stocks with potential upside.
Economic Moat: Similarly, while moat isn’t directly tied to dividends, selecting stocks with a wide or narrow economic moat can identify companies with durable competitive advantages—and perhaps more secure dividend payments, too.
