In this article, we will take a look at some of the best dividend stocks to buy in January.
Valuations have climbed to historically high levels as tech stocks stayed in favor. Bank of America strategist Savita Subramanian said the S&P 500 is showing elevated readings across 18 of the 20 valuation measures she tracks. Those include trailing price-to-earnings, enterprise value to EBITDA, and forward consensus PE.
As those numbers stretched, investors began stepping away from last year’s tech winners and rotating toward more defensive areas. One group that’s benefiting is dividend-paying stocks, where income and durability matter.
This split builds on a familiar pattern. Tech is slipping back into its traditional role as a growth sector. Defensive corners of the market— health care, utilities, and makers of everyday household products— are moving back into favor. Christopher Cain, Bloomberg Intelligence’s US quantitative equity strategist, made the following comment in this regard:
“It’s common for investors to favor dividend-paying stocks when overall market valuations look stretched. These stocks often trade at lower valuations, and the steady cash flows can help cushion volatility.”
Dividend stocks often stand out on quality. Earnings tend to be steadier, and balance sheets usually carry less leverage. When a company raises its dividend year after year, sometimes over decades, it often signals financial strength and discipline that shows up over a full cycle.
Over the long run, dividend growers have also delivered stronger results with less volatility. An analysis from T. Rowe Price found that dividend growth stocks in the Russell 1000 Index produced an annualized return of 11.3% from the end of 1985 through 2019. That compares with 10.8% for dividend payers and 10.5% for the index as a whole.
Companies that paired high dividend yields with strong dividend growth did even better, significantly outperforming the broader group of dividend-paying stocks over that same period.
Given this, we will take a look at some of the best dividend stocks to buy in January.
Our Methodology:
For this list, we selected dividend stocks that will trade ex-dividend in January 2026. The ex-dividend date indicates the cutoff day to buy a stock to receive its upcoming dividend payment. The stocks are ranked according to their ex-dividend dates.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 427.7% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 264 percentage points (see more details here).
13. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)
Ex-Dividend Date: January 6
Dividend Yield as of January 5: 1.80%
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) is among the best dividend stocks to invest in.
On January 5, Barclays raised its price target on JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) to $391 from $342 and maintained an Overweight rating on the stock. The move came as part of the firm’s broader 2026 outlook for large-cap banks. Barclays sees the same forces that drove double-digit earnings growth and bank stock outperformance in 2025 continuing into next year.
That same day, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) announced the launch of a new advisory unit targeting a select group of clients. The goal is to expand access to expertise beyond traditional dealmaking and financing. The investment advisory services market is expected to grow in 2026, driven by rising technology adoption, geopolitical shifts, and ongoing macro uncertainty. These dynamics are pushing companies to seek more specialized insight into trends that can move markets.
The new Special Advisory Services unit will advise clients on themes such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital assets, geopolitics, healthcare, supply chains, and sustainability. The bank said the unit will be led by global chair of investment banking Liz Myers. Myers brings more than 30 years of experience at J.P. Morgan and previously ran its global equity capital markets business.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) noted that the group will focus on long-standing, top-tier relationships. This includes companies seeking a lead adviser for initial public offerings, established clients pursuing transformational transactions, and mid-sized firms looking to make J.P. Morgan their primary banking partner.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) operates as a financial holding company, with businesses spanning investment banking and financial services for consumers and small businesses.
12. Edison International (NYSE:EIX)
Ex-Dividend Date: January 7
Dividend Yield as of January 5: 5.79%
Edison International (NYSE:EIX) is among the best dividend stocks to invest in.
On December 17, Morgan Stanley analyst David Arcaro lowered the firm’s price target on Edison International (NYSE:EIX) to $57 from $59 and kept an Underweight rating on the stock. The change came as part of a broader update to price targets across Regulated and Diversified Utilities and IPPs in North America under the firm’s November review. While the firm sees Edison International’s overall risk profile moving in the right direction, it believes wildfire exposure remains elevated.
A few days earlier, on December 11, Edison International (NYSE:EIX) declared a quarterly common stock dividend of $0.8775 per share. The dividend is payable on Jan. 31, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Jan. 7, 2026. With this increase, the annual dividend rises to $3.51 per share, up 6% from the prior annual rate of $3.31.
Pedro Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, made the following comment:
“Today’s dividend increase reflects the confidence of our board and management in Edison International’s financial strength and outlook. It underscores management’s commitment to delivering on our long-term EPS growth target of 5% to 7%. Further, this marks our 22nd consecutive year of dividend growth.”
Edison International (NYSE:EIX) operates as an electric utility holding company. Its business centers on delivering clean, reliable energy and related services through its independent operating companies.
11. Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Ex-Dividend Date: January 9
Dividend Yield as of January 5: 0.27%
Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) is among the best dividend stocks to invest in.
On January 5, Melius Research upgraded Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) to Buy from Hold and set a $135 price target. The analyst noted that the stock is down about 11% from its recent intraday high. From their perspective, Marvell’s backlog in custom silicon continues to build. Revenue from this segment is expected to double in calendar year 2027, driven by Microsoft’s MAIA chip and the ramp of several XPU-attach sockets. The analyst also pointed out that Microsoft’s internal silicon design capabilities still lag those of AWS’s Annapurna Labs. That gap could leave room for a larger share of profits to flow to external custom silicon providers such as Marvell Technology.
Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL) has been benefiting from fast-growing demand for AI-focused application-specific integrated circuits used in data centers. These ASICs are designed to handle AI workloads more efficiently, offering higher speeds and better power efficiency than general-purpose chips like GPUs.
As a result, hyperscalers and AI-focused companies are increasingly turning to ASIC designers to build in-house chips. Demand has picked up sharply. According to TrendForce, ASIC shipments are expected to grow 45% in 2026, compared with an estimated 16% increase in GPU shipments. That trend places Marvell in a strong position going into 2026. The company counts major customers such as Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft among its client base.
Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MRVL), along with its subsidiaries, supplies data infrastructure semiconductor solutions across the data center core and out to the network edge.
Hedge Fund Resource Center