Key Takeaways
- Each stock on this list covers its dividend with margin for safety (at least 1.2x coverage), and none has cut in the last 10 years.
- Enterprise Products Partners ranks first, with distributable cash flow of about 1.7 times its distribution in 2025 by its own count and debt at its target.
- ONEOK ranks last: its coverage looks widest on TIKR’s figures, but its free cash flow after growth spending fell short of the dividend in 2025, and its debt is a little concerning. (I still think the yield is quite safe.)
A 5% yield can do real work in an income portfolio, but plenty of stocks yield that much right before they cut.
So for anything to be “safe”, I need to know that the cash flow covers the dividend with at least a 20% cushion (1.2x or more coverage), and there’s been no cut in the last 10 years.
Seems pretty safe, yes?
And of course, you also want a business with growth opportunities from here so that dividend can keep growing. There some nuance with each company of course, but as you can see, these are pretty juicy…
| Stock | Forward yield | Coverage measure | Last reported / 2026 forward | Dividend record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) | 6.4% | DCF ÷ distribution | 1.69x / 1.89x | 27 straight years of distribution growth |
| Realty Income (O) | 6.1% | AFFO payout | 75% / 73% (1.33x / 1.36x) | 136 raises since 1994 |
| Verizon (VZ) | 6.2% | Free cash flow payout | 54% TTM / about 54% (1.85x) | 20 straight years of raises |
| Enbridge (ENB) | 6.0% | DCF payout | 66% / 67% (1.51x / 1.50x) | 31 straight annual raises |
| ONEOK (OKE) | 5.2% | DCF ÷ dividend (TIKR’s) | 2.25x / 2.25x | No cut in 10+ years; flat 2020 to 2022 |
Source: TIKR data, forward yields on consensus dividends over the next 12 months; records from the companies.
So let’s go through these, one by one.
1. Enterprise Products Partners: the steady cushion
Enterprise is a master limited partnership. It pays “distributions” on “units,” and holders get a K-1 tax form. (These are a pain in the neck, but I’ve dealt with them before in exchange for a great company.)
By its own count, distributable cash flow covered the distribution a comfortable 1.7 times in 2025, and consensus has 1.89x for 2026. It’s held 1.66x to 1.85x every year since 2021, with debt right at its target of 3.0 times EBITDA.
Second-quarter operational DCF hit a record $2.31 billion, up 21%. About $200 million of the quarter came from one-time demand.
Over the decade…
…DCF per unit is up 87% since 2016, against 35% for the distribution. That’s the gap I want behind a 6%+ yield.
The distribution has grown 27 straight years, and co-CEO Randy Fowler said: “To our knowledge, this is the longest period of distribution growth of any US midstream company.” (I don’t know anyone running longer. Do you?)
2. Realty Income: thinner cushion, longer record
Where Enterprise wins on cushion, Realty Income wins on record.
As a REIT, it paid out 75% of its AFFO in 2025, about 1.33 times coverage, and consensus has 73% for 2026. That’s a thinner cushion, but comfortably inside my 83% limit.
Occupancy is 98.8%, it carries A-range credit ratings, and management raised 2026 AFFO guidance to $4.44 to $4.45 a share, about 4% growth.
And the cushion has widened…
…from a payout of about 83% in 2016 to 75% last year. That’s exactly what I want from a landlord.
It has declared 675 straight monthly dividends since its founding. The raises are tiny (about 0.2% each), but they add up to about 3% a year.
The catch is dilution: funding growth with new stock has nearly quadrupled its share count since 2016. And of course…interest rates, which are always a danger for any REIT.
3. Verizon: covered nearly twice over
From rent checks to phone bills: Verizon gets the plainest test, free cash flow after all capital spending, and passes easily.
Dividends took a well-covered 54% of free cash flow over the last twelve months, about 1.85 times coverage. Consensus has about 54% for 2026.
Equipment revenue fell nearly 20% last quarter, but mobility and broadband service revenue grew 2.8%, and Verizon raised its 2026 free cash flow guidance.
It wasn’t always this comfortable…
…free cash flow fell short of the dividend in 2016 and 2017, then cleared it every year since, reaching $20.13 billion against $11.48 billion in 2025. The last eight years look sturdy to me.
Verizon has raised its dividend 20 straight years. And I don’t see cell phone demand declining any time soon.
4. Enbridge: right inside its own guardrails
Enbridge brings us back to pipelines and DCF, in Canadian dollars.
It paid out 66% of DCF in 2025, about 1.5 times coverage. Consensus has 67% for 2026, inside management’s 60% to 70% range.
Gas transmission and its U.S. gas utilities carry the growth, backed by a C$41 billion secured backlog.
Over the decade…
…the dividend is up 78% since 2016, against 40% for DCF per share. Nearly all of that gap opened in 2017, and since then the payout has stayed between 61% and 69%. That’s discipline I can live with.
It has raised its dividend 31 straight years, and CEO Greg Ebel said that consistency “remains a defining characteristic of our company.”
(U.S. holders: the US-dollar payout swings with the exchange rate, and it dipped in 2022 and 2023. Canada generally withholds 15% outside IRAs.)
The risk, of course, is leverage: debt is 5.1 times EBITDA, above target, and Enbridge just sold about C$3.0 billion of new shares.
5. ONEOK: the dividend that just keeps going
On TIKR’s DCF, ONEOK has the widest cushion of the three pipelines: 2.25 times, last year and on 2026 consensus.
The business is growing, with record natural gas liquids volumes and 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance raised twice.
And as you can see, there’s probably plenty of room to raise, too.
DCF per share nearly tripled, jumping in 2023, the year its run of deals began, while the dividend sat flat at $3.74 for three years (2020-2022).
And if there’s anyone who should benefit from higher gas prices, it’s these oil and gas plays.
Five safe dividends you can buy right now
I like all five, probably Realty Income and Enterprise the most given their underlying business strength.
But if forced to choose, I’d pick any of them for a safe dividend yielding 5%+ right now.
So what is Enterprise Products Partners stock actually worth?
TIKR lets you forecast the future price of any stock in less than a minute. Just enter a few assumptions into TIKR’s valuation model and see what Enterprise Products Partners could be worth. Start from Wall Street consensus estimates, or adjust the inputs to reflect your own view of the business. It’s free to use.
Value Enterprise Products Partners for free
Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
