The Top Dividend Yield Companies theme focuses on businesses that pay reliable dividends and have steady earnings. These companies are selected for strong cash flow, consistent profit growth, and a record of keeping dividends intact through different market conditions.
The theme looks for companies with at least 10 years of uninterrupted dividend payments and no dividend cuts. It also favors firms with positive free cash flow and payout ratios that appear reasonable, helping support long-term dividend sustainability. Rather than chasing the highest yields alone, the screen aims to identify income stocks with stronger financial backing.
The focus is on dividend quality, earnings stability, and lower exposure to sectors that can be hit hard during economic downturns. For investors seeking equity income, the theme offers a more defensive approach built around durable dividend payers.
Accordingly, we recommend five Top Dividend Yield Companies with a favorable Zacks Rank. These are: Fastenal Co. FAST, General Dynamics Corp. GD, UnitedHealth Group Inc. UNH, Texas Roadhouse Inc. TXRH and Quest Diagnostics Inc. DGX.
Each of our picks currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks year to date.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Fastenal
Fastenal continues to outgrow a mixed industrial backdrop as key account wins, customer site expansion and deeper adoption of managed inventory and digital tools sustain above-market daily sales growth.
FAST’s shift toward higher-tech, higher-integration selling continues to reinforce its competitive positioning and retention. In the first quarter, digital footprint daily sales increased 13.6%, outpacing company growth, and represented 61.5% of total sales, up from 61.0% a year ago.
FAST remains on track to reach a digital mix target of about 66% in 2026, reflecting continued integration of customer procurement systems, higher eCommerce usage, and ongoing migration toward managed inventory formats.
Fastenal has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 12.5% and 14.7%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.8% in the last seven days. It has a current dividend yield of 2.11%.
General Dynamics Corp.
General Dynamics had an impressive backlog of $130.84 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2026. Apart from its well-established domestic market, GD enjoys a significant overseas opportunity with order potential from Poland, the Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Romania, Denmark, Germany, Spain, Austria, Canada and Switzerland.
Significant awards won by GD in the last reported quarter included a $15.4 billion contract for continued design and support work on the Columbia-class submarines program. GD’s shares have outperformed the industry in the past year.
General Dynamics has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 4.8% and 7.4%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.1% in the last seven days. It has a current dividend yield of 1.73%.
UnitedHealth Group Inc.
UnitedHealth Group has shown steady revenue growth, driven by Optum and UnitedHealthcare. Optum remains a key growth driver through its pharmacy services, technology integration, and government solutions.
A strong market position and ongoing expansion initiatives, combined with rising healthcare demand, support sustained long-term growth. Commercial membership also grew for UNH, supporting margins despite headwinds from government programs.
Improvement in high-margin, fee-based commercial plans can help UNH offset the headwinds from eligibility redeterminations and subsidy reductions in government programs. The momentum underscores UNH’s ability to capture demand from employer-sponsored coverage and sustain profitability across its insurance portfolio.
UnitedHealth Group has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of -0.8% and 13.2%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 1% in the last seven days. It has a current dividend yield of 2.18%.
Texas Roadhouse Inc.
Texas Roadhouse is a full-service, casual dining restaurant chain, which offers assorted seasoned and aged steaks hand-cut daily on the premises and cooked to order over open gas-fired grills. TXRH operates restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse and Aspen Creek names.
TXRH offers its guests a selection of ribs, fish, seafood, chicken, pork chops, pulled pork and vegetable plates, an assortment of hamburgers, salads and sandwiches. TXRH also provides supervisory and administrative services for other licensed and franchised restaurants.
Texas Roadhouse has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 11.4% and 5.6%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.2% in the last seven days. It has a current dividend yield of 1.52%.
Quest Diagnostics Inc.
Quest Diagnostics continues to execute its strategy to deliver solutions that meet the evolving needs of customers for lab insights. DGX is seeing continued momentum in Advanced Diagnostics, including the strong uptake of the AD-Detect blood test.
DGX’s consumer channel is driving growth from an expanding questhealth.com platform as well as collaborations with top wellness and wearables companies. Acquisitions are a major growth driver, with a focus on accretive hospital outreach and independent lab purchases. DGX is also adopting AI, automation and other technologies to drive operational improvements.
Quest Diagnostics has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 7.3% and 8.8%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year’s earnings has improved 0.2% in the last 30 days. It has a current dividend yield of 1.63%.
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General Dynamics Corporation (GD): Free Stock Analysis Report
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH): Free Stock Analysis Report
Fastenal Company (FAST): Free Stock Analysis Report
Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (DGX): Free Stock Analysis Report
Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (TXRH): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).