Top Wall Street analysts pick these 3 dividend stocks for higher returns

Macroeconomic woes and geopolitical tensions have been weighing on investor sentiment, shaking up the major averages in the past week.

Investors seeking stability may want to turn to dividend-paying stocks.

They can follow the recommendations of Wall Street analysts, who conduct a thorough analysis of the financials of the dividend-paying companies and assess their ability to grow their dividends over the long term.     

Here are three attractive dividend stocks, according to Wall Street's top experts on TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance.

This week's first dividend stock is Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), a midstream energy services provider. The limited partnership has increased its cash distribution for 25 consecutive years at a compound annual growth rate of 7%.

On April 5, Enterprise Products announced a quarterly cash distribution of $0.515 per unit, payable on May 14. This payment reflects an increase of 5.1% year over year. EPD stock offers an attractive dividend yield of 7.1%.

Following the company's investor update call held earlier this month, RBC Capital analyst Elvira Scotto reiterated a buy rating on EPD stock with a price target of $35. The analyst said that the call supported her view that the company is well-positioned to gain from its organic growth projects, which are expected to come online through 2026.

Scotto added that the company's organic projects (like the Mentone West 2 natural gas processing plant in the Delaware) are mainly focused on the Permian Basin, where it expects consistent growth for at least another 10 years.

The analyst is confident about EPD's ability to support its growth investments, thanks to a strong operations base and balance sheet. Further,