5 Dividend Stocks to Beat a Recession

Recessions are inevitable, but there are ways to protect your portfolio against them. One of the best is by choosing stocks that pay a strong dividend. When selecting such stocks, there are three main characteristics you need to consider: The company must be of good quality, with strong financials; it should help to diversify your portfolio across different sectors; and it should, of course, pay dividends. Here are my top five dividend-paying stocks worth investing in today.

Dividend Yield: 6.3%

Offering numerous services including cable, wireless, satellite TV, and broadband, telecommunications giant AT&T (NYSE: T) has more than 100 million customers in Latin America and the United States. The high dividend yield of more than 6% is impressive, even more so when you consider that it's been continually increased for the past 35 years (and plenty of increases are expected in the quarters ahead). Revenue at the $170 billion-plus company was up by 18% in the most recent quarter, with earnings per share rising 1.2%. The company's significant $85 billion investment in Time Warner will give AT&T access to popular media brands including TBS, HBO, CNN, and TNT, as well as to programming from the NBA, the NCAA, the NFL, and MLB, all of which should provide a competitive edge over other providers. Management expects to generate earnings per share of $3.60 by the end of fiscal 2019, and the annual ongoing dividend hikes make it a top choice for income investors.