5 Best Dividend Contenders to Buy in 2021

4. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69
Number of Years of Consecutive Dividend Increases: 17
Dividend Yield: 4.4%

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) is an integrated telecommunication services company that offers postpaid and prepaid service plans, internet access, wireless equipment, and other communications, technology, information, and entertainment products and services across the world. The company ranks 4th on our list of the best dividend contenders to buy in 2021.

RBC Capital has a Sector Perform rating on Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) shares as of this July, while Tigress Financial has also reiterated its Buy rating on the stock alongside a $67 12-month target price.

In the second quarter of 2021, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) had an EPS of $1.37, beating estimates by $0.07. The company’s revenue was $33.76 billion, up 10.89% year over year and also beating estimates by $1.03 billion. Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) has gained about 0.36% in the past year.

By the end of the first quarter of 2021, 69 hedge funds out of the 866 tracked by Insider Monkey held stakes in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) worth roughly $11.38 billion. This is compared to 67 hedge funds in the previous quarter with stakes worth approximately $10.5 billion.

Miller/Howard Investments, an investment management firm, mentioned Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) in its first-quarter 2021 investor letter. Here’s what they said:

“We sold Verizon (VZ) based on concerns over how much they might spend in ongoing spectrum auctions. Management may legitimately view spending billions of dollars to expand their spectrum holdings as necessary, but we believe the payoff will be slow and will make it challenging to grow the dividend at a good pace.”