3 Monster Stocks to Hold for the Next 3 Years

Reuben Gregg Brewer, The Motley Fool

Tue, Apr 8, 2025, 1:54 AM 5 min read

A new set of U.S. import taxes has riled global markets and led to a steep sell-off on Wall Street. Investors are, understandably, running for cover. Now is the time to look for stocks that offer a reliable dividend so they can focus on something other than stock prices. Three solid choices today are Realty Income (NYSE: O), Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD), and, for the more risk tolerant, British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI).

Realty Income has a 5.8% dividend yield. The dividend has been increased annually for 30 consecutive years. It is the largest net lease real estate investment trust (REIT) with over 15,600 properties. Adding Realty Income's monthly pay dividend to your portfolio will let you switch your focus from the negative mood of the market to the positive mood you'll get from collecting a regular dividend check.

The biggest knock against Realty Income today is likely to be the fact that about 75% of its rents come from retail properties. That's a fair concern, since higher tariffs could impact some retailers. However, a good store location is a good store location, and retailers won't easily close strongly performing stores. If a retailer does get into trouble, it is likely that a good location will draw a new tenant fairly quickly. Add in an investment grade-rated balance sheet and market turmoil could actually turn into an investment opportunity for Realty Income if retailers want to sell the REIT properties to fortify their own balance sheets.

Enterprise Products Partners has a 6.9% distribution yield. It has increased its distribution annually for 26 consecutive years. Enterprise is one of the largest midstream businesses in North America. It operates over 50,000 miles of pipelines, owns 300 million barrels (MMbbls) of liquid storage capacity, 20 deepwater docks, 42 natural gas processing trains, and 26 fractionators, among other energy infrastructure assets.

While energy prices are rather volatile, midstream businesses generally charge fees for the use of their assets. That provides reliable cash flows even when energy prices are shifting around. In fact, the energy sector couldn't operate without the types of assets Enterprise Products Partners owns, so even during deep oil downturns, demand for its services tends to remain fairly robust. And Enterprise has an investment grade-rated balance sheet that should allow it to take a few knocks before the lofty distribution would be at risk.