5 Best “Dogs of the Dow” Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2026

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1. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Short Percentage of Float: 0.82%

Dividend Yield as of May 15: 2.35%

On May 13, Leerink Partners upgraded Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to Outperform from Market Perform and raised its price target to $265 from $252.The firm said the company’s “strong new drug momentum” is expected to support faster revenue growth and stronger share performance. Leerink also raised its estimates for Icotyde and Inlexzo and said it expects Johnson & Johnson to provide stronger support for its long-term growth targets during its December 8 analyst day. According to the firm, management could further justify its goal of delivering double-digit revenue growth later in the decade.

During the company’s Q1 2026 earnings call, CFO Joseph Wolk said JNJ raised its operational sales growth guidance to a range of 5.9% to 6.9%. That implies a midpoint of roughly $100.2 billion. He also said reported sales growth is now expected to range between 6.5% and 7.5%, with a midpoint near $100.8 billion.

Wolk added that the company increased its adjusted EPS guidance by $0.02, bringing the expected range to $11.30 to $11.50.Management also continues to expect adjusted pretax operating margin expansion of at least 50 basis points in 2026, though the company plans heavier investment spending during the first half of the year.

Compared with the company’s original 2026 outlook shared during the fourth-quarter earnings call, management sounded more confident this time around. The language shifted from “we anticipate” to “we are increasing” when discussing both sales growth and adjusted EPS guidance.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) develops, manufactures, and sells a broad range of healthcare products. The company operates through its Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments.

While we acknowledge the potential of JNJ to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than JNJ and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 Best Dividend Stocks with 5%+ Yields and Growing Cash Flows and 11 Best Rising Dividend Stocks to Buy Right Now.

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