3 Soaring Dividend Aristocrats That Wall Street Says to Buy Now

Dividend growth is nice, but dividend growth with market-beating momentum is even better.

Dividend Aristocrats are often viewed as steady, reliable income stocks rather than big market movers. These are S&P 500 companies that have raised their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years, demonstrating they can continue rewarding shareholders across different market cycles.

But this year, some of them are doing more than just paying consistent dividends. A few are also beating the S&P 500 by a wide margin, backed by strong year-to-date gains and favorable analyst ratings. Let’s take a look at the best ones today. 

How I Came Up With These Stocks

Using Barchart’s Stock Screener, I selected the following filters to get my list:

• YTD Performance Difference From Market: Greater than 1. It filters for stocks outperforming the S&P 500 by at least 1 percentage point YTD. With the S&P 500 up ~8% YTD, qualifying stocks are are up at least 9%.
• Number of Analysts: 12 or more. The greater the coverage, the better.
• Current Analyst Rating: 3.5 to 5. These are “Moderate” to “Strong Buy” companies, as rated by Wall Street analysts
• Dividend Investing Ideas: Dividend Aristocrats

I set these filters, hit results, and got 15 companies. I will cover the top three companies with the largest YTD performance gap relative to the market.

Let’s start with the #1 Dividend Artistocrat on my list:

Caterpillar Inc (CAT)

Caterpillar Inc makes heavy machinery and engines for construction, mining, energy, and infrastructure, with its yellow bulldozers, excavators, and trucks recognized worldwide. The company is also expanding its autonomous haulage system from mining into quarry operations. That said, investors might not know that Caterpillar is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of data center expansions. It might sound counterintuitive at first, but data centers aren’t planted and grown overnight. Construction projects require heavy equipment, the likes of which the company readily provides. 

As for the stock, it is up 52% year-to-date, significantly outperforming the S&P 500.

Caterpillar has raised its dividends for 32 consecutive years, earning it the title of a Dividend Aristocrat. It pays a forward annual dividend of $6.04, translating to a yield of around 0.7%

Meanwhile, a consensus among 24 analysts rates CAT stock a “Moderate Buy”, with mean and high target prices suggesting between 6% to 33% upside.

Nucor Corp (NUE)

The next Dividend Aristocrat on my list is Nucor Corp. It makes steel and steel products for construction, automotive, energy, infrastructure, and manufacturing. The company is one of the largest steel producers in the U.S., and its business is closely tied to demand for major industrial projects. This is another company benefiting from data center buildouts. 

Nucor has also had a strong year in the market, gaining 38% YTD, nearly 5x the S&P 500's ~8% return.

As for dividends, Nucor pays $2.24 yearly, which translates to a yield of around 1%. While it may look modest, I'd point out the company has increased the payouts for 53 straight years.

With that, Wall Street is bullish on the stock, rating it a “Strong Buy” based on a consensus from 15 analysts. Plus, it’s mean, and high target prices suggest between 8% and 22% upside if reached.

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM)

The last Dividend Aristocrat on my list is Exxon Mobil Corp., one of the world’s largest energy companies, producing oil-related products used across transportation, power, and everyday life. Beyond its core energy business, the company is also investing in advanced synthetic graphite, aiming to support a more secure U.S. battery materials supply chain.

Exxon's shares are up 30% year to date, comfortably beating the S&P 500. 

The company is also a Dividend Aristocrat with a 43-year streak of dividend increases. It pays a forward annual dividend of $4.12, translating to a yield of approximately 2.6%, making it the highest-yielding stock on this list.

That leads to Wall Street’s “Moderate Buy” rating, based on 27 analysts, and its mean-to-high targets suggest upside between 4% and 18% over the next 12 months.

Final thoughts

There you have it, three Wall Street-backed Dividend Aristocrat picks that have easily outperformed the S&P 500.

And no, they are not just strong this year. These companies have built on decades of resilience and consistency, weathering the headwinds and staying relevant to this day. While past performance does not predict future returns, it is a useful indicator for investors looking for their next long-term investment. After all, it takes a lot of hard work to grow a company and its dividend payouts at the same time.