PSX yields 2.25% as a top-ranked analyst sees debt target hit early. CRGY's cash flow beat by 10% drives guidance up. VNOM hikes base dividend 32%. Alpha Score: PSX 67, VNOM 59.
The stock market has been swinging on Middle East tensions and AI-cycle questions. For investors looking past the noise, a handful of dividend stocks with strong analyst backing offer a different kind of anchor.
TipRanks tracks Wall Street analysts by their track record. Three names appear on their screen this week: Phillips 66 (PSX), Crescent Energy (CRGY), and Viper Energy (VNOM). Each reported quarterly results that beat expectations, each raised its dividend or signaled a bigger payout ahead, and each has a top-ranked analyst making the case.
PSX carries an Alpha Score of 67 on AlphaScala's proprietary model, reflecting a Moderate outlook.
Phillips 66: The balance-sheet timeline changed
The downstream refiner pays $1.27 a share quarterly, an annualized yield of 2.25%. TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman reiterated his buy rating after Q2 earnings and raised his price target to $255 from $240. The reason: net debt is falling faster than expected. Management sees its $15.5 billion net debt target being hit a year early, and Gabelman now models $14.6 billion in net debt by the end of 2026.
"The improvement could re-establish PSX as a go-to defensive refiner," Gabelman said. He also noted that Phillips 66 has raised its dividend 5% annually for the past two years, and management indicated the possibility of a larger hike going forward. The payout ratio lagged year-to-date, but buybacks should pick up in the second half.
Gabelman ranks No. 554 out of more than 12,400 analysts on TipRanks. His ratings have been profitable 66% of the time with an average return of 14.9%.
Crescent Energy: Cash flow beat by 10%, guidance raised
Crescent Energy, an E&P focused on the Eagle Ford, Permian, and Uinta Basins, declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 a share, payable Aug. 31. That works out to an annualized yield of about 4%.
Evercore analyst Stephen Richardson reaffirmed his buy rating and $18 price target after Crescent's Q2 numbers. Oil production and cash flow both came in ahead of the Street. "CRGY's cash flow exceeded expectations by 10%, reinforcing its trajectory of capital efficiency," Richardson said.
The company raised its full-year oil production guidance. Part of the story is the integration of the Vital Energy acquisition, where Crescent tripled its synergy target to as much as $300 million. Capital spending is tracking toward the lower end of management's prior guidance, which Richardson cited as a sign of disciplined financial controls.
Richardson ranks No. 579 on TipRanks, with a 65% success rate and average return of 12.5%.
Viper Energy: Base dividend up 32%, buyback flexibility added
Viper Energy, controlled by Diamondback Energy (FANG), owns mineral and royalty interests in the Permian Basin. It declared a 32% increase in its base dividend, effective in the third quarter of 2026, implying a 4.5% annualized yield.
The company also scrapped its previous commitment to return at least 75% of cash available for distribution each quarter. TD Cowen analyst Aaron Bilkoski said the change is not a strategic shift, but it gives management more room for opportunistic share repurchases and accretive M&A.
Bilkoski reiterated his buy rating and nudged his price target to $59 from $58. "Viper has delivered, and we forecast will continue to deliver, one of the highest production per share growth profiles in our royalty universe" through the end of 2027, he said.
Under the new framework, a larger portion of excess free cash flow will go to buybacks rather than variable dividends, Bilkoski noted.
He ranks No. 719 among TipRanks analysts, with a 57% success rate and average return of 12%.
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