Three dividend-paying mid-year investments to buy are poised for growth in their own ways. The three dividend-paying investments to buy [...] The post Three Dividend-paying Mid-year Investments to Buy appeared first on DividendInvestor.com.
Three dividend-paying mid-year investments to buy are poised for growth in their own ways.
The three dividend-paying investments to buy feature a global technology company, an American energy company pursuing a new acquisition and a fund focused on emerging markets. Investors wondering what to do during a tumultuous year with wars, fragile ceasefire agreements, missile and drone attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, rising inflation and market volatility may find this trio of opportunities worth considering for purchase.
The second quarter of 2026 ended Thursday, July 2, with the Dow Jones industrial Average (DJIA) climbing to a record high of 52,900.07, gaining 594.83 points, or 1.14%, after June jobs data showed slower-than-expected growth in the U.S. labor market. However, the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 173.69 points, or 0.66%, to close at 26,040.03.
Led by the “picks and shovels” artificial intelligence (AI) stocks engaged in semiconductors, memory, servers, construction engineering and power generation, investors that have had exposure to these and other areas of the market that generally have been rising show bullishness that should continue in the second half of the year, said Bryan Perry, a Wall Street veteran who now heads the Cash Machine investment newsletter that averages a dividend yield of more than 10% annually.
Bryan Perry heads Hi-Tech Trader and Cash Machine.
Three Dividend-paying Mid-year Investments to Buy: Optimistic Outlook
“The bond market is finally showing some signs of leveling out after Treasury yields bumped higher during the front end of June,” Perry wrote to his Cash Machine subscribers. “The benchmark 10-year T-Note yield sits at 4.4%, which I believe will signal a top given the radical sell-off in oil prices and its impact on forward inflation data.”
With the market amid the earliest phase of a change in the Fed’s narrative regarding interest rate policy, the investing landscape for the Cash Machine model portfolio is shaping up “very well,” continued Perry, who also leads the Hi-Tech Trader, Breakout Blue Chip Trader and Quick Income Trader advisory services.
“Heading into the second half of 2026, the tech sector is seeing mixed price action as the hot memory sector consolidates, with a number of chip and chip equipment stocks also seeing some steam come off that torrid rally as well,” Perry wrote to his Hi-Tech Trader subscribers on July 2. “While the AI trade is fundamentally intact, stock selection within the space is becoming more discerning.”
The current tech pullback should run its course soon and then start to move higher into earnings season, which begins in earnest the week of July 13 for the leading tech companies, Perry predicted.
Three Dividend-paying Mid-year Investments to Buy: CSCO
San Jose, California-based Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a worldwide technology company that seeks to revolutionize how organizations connect and protect in the artificial intelligence (AI) era. The company aims to offer AI-powered solutions and services, allowing its customers, partners and communities to innovate, enhance productivity and strengthen digital resilience.
“Cisco remains better known as a networking company than as an AI infrastructure company, even though its role in AI networking, security and data center architecture continues to expand,” said Dr. Robert Castellano, PhD, a senior analyst who collaborates on Gilder’s Technology Report led by technology futurist George Gilder, who also heads Gilder’s Moonshots, Gilder’s Private Reserve and Gilder’s Technology Report Pro. “I believe investors still underestimate Cisco’s ability to participate in the next phase of AI infrastructure growth while collecting an attractive dividend.”
For a dividend-oriented recommendation today, Cisco offers a combination of income, financial strength and the potential for investors to recognize a “business transformation” that is still in its early stages, said Dr. Castellano, who also is president and founder of the The Information Network consultancy. Dr. Castellano received his Ph.D. in solid state chemistry from Oxford University in England under Dr. John Goodenough, who invented the lithium-ion battery and won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Three Dividend-paying Mid-year Investments to Buy: Citi Research’s Counsel
Citi Research analysts recently attended meetings with Cisco executives in Las Vegas at one of the technology company’s annual events. In the opening keynote, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins highlighted his company’s role in providing critical infrastructure in the AI era and focused on the importance of securing the network and expanding protections across its product line.
Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel talked about Cisco’s full stack of capabilities, from silicon to applications and agents, as well as the company’s role in data centers. The introduction of Cloud Control was a key focus, with the platform providing a single management plane for Cisco, allowing customers to build apps and agents in an open ecosystem with more than 50 partners, Citi Research reported.
Citi Research rates Cisco as a buy, but its price target for the stock is not much different from Cisco’s share price. A dividend yield of 1.41% offers an extra way to boost total return for shareholders. However, Citi Research is projecting a future dividend yield of 4.1%.
Citi Research forecasts that AI will benefit Cisco’s revenue, as well as the valuation gap of its networking peers. The investment firm sees a sizable discount to networking peer valuations, reflecting lingering share loss concerns, somewhat tempered by growing AI opportunities, Citi Research wrote.
Even at a 30%+ discounted target multiple to Cisco’s peer average, Citi Research wrote that it expects “meaningful upside” to the company’s shares.
Three Dividend-paying Mid-year Investments to Buy: WMB
Williams Companies Inc. (NYSE: WMB), of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a large, diversified midstream energy company primarily engaged in gathering, processing, transporting, storing and marketing natural gas and natural gas liquids. WMB is also exposed to upstream natural gas operations in the Haynesville and Wamsutter Basins. The company is one of the largest natural gas pipeline businesses in the United States, with assets throughout the mainland United States and Gulf of Mexico.
Citi Research regards Williams as a “Buy” and issued a June 30 research report that described its growth outlook as compelling for a company its size. Williams continues to leverage its footprint to find growth projects at attractive economics, Citi Research wrote.
Williams Companies is in advanced negotiations to acquire natural gas pipeline operator Momentum Midstream from privately held EnCap Flatrock Midstream for about $5.5 billion. It would be the largest acquisition in Williams’ history, if it occurs.
“More opportunities to capitalize on power demand exist as well, which creates a large growth opportunity,” Citi Research wrote. “Building new pipelines has become increasingly difficult, making WMB’s ability to leverage its current network a strategic asset. Our long-term constructive volume outlook remains given the new LNG capacity slated to come online through the end of the decade, along with data center demand and re-shoring of industrial demand. The demand outlook suggests asymmetric upside potential.”
Jim Woods, who heads the Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter, as well as the Tactical Trader advisory service, recommends Williams as a dividend-paying investment. The company’s current dividend yield is 2.87%.
Paul Dykewicz meets with Jim Woods, head of Tactical Trader.
“Now, one big reason why WMB has delivered investors a total return of 33.7% over the past year has been its exposure to high-growth secular trends demanding a lot of energy,” Woods told me. “Demands such as AI data centers, LNG exports around the globe and industrial reshoring of manufacturing are all bullish trends feeding the WMB toll road.
“Through its extensive transmission, gathering, processing and storage operations, WMB allows investors to get exposure to its vast U.S. natural gas infrastructure. The company’s Transco and Northwest pipeline systems, which transport roughly 30% of the nation’s natural gas from the Gulf Coast to densely populated areas along the East Coast, give it a near-monopoly in these regions, limiting competitive pressure on pricing.
“As a fee-based midstream business, WMB earns revenue primarily from transporting, storing and processing gas rather than from commodity price swings, creating predictable and resilient cash flows. That revenue turns into money in investors’ pockets, and as of this writing, WMB has delivered us a total return of nearly 152% since we added it to the Gold & Natural Resources portfolio in January 2023.”
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com
Three Dividend-paying Mid-year Investments to Buy: EMF
The closed-end Templeton Emerging Markets (NYSE: EMF) is a recommendation of Bob Carlson, a retired pension fund chairman, and I personally own some shares. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is updated each month in the Retirement Watch newsletter. The fund seeks to hold shares in portfolio companies that offer strong growth and business fundamentals whose stocks trade at reasonable prices, Carlson wrote.
Bob Carlson leads Retirement Watch.
“The technology sector recently accounted for almost 47% of the fund,” Carlson continued. “Close to 18% was in financial services, and just under 14% was in consumer cyclical stocks.”
In addition, stocks based in Taiwan and South Korea together comprised almost 50% of the fund. China was the third-largest country exposure, but its allocation declined in recent months and was below 15%, Carlson counseled.
Of the 96 securities the fund held, the 10 largest holdings were 51% of its assets. The largest stock positions were Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, SK Hynix, Samsung Electronics, MediaTek and Prosus.
“EMF recently traded at a discount to net asset value of just under 10% and had a leverage ratio below 3%,” Carlson continued.
The fund gained close to 10% in the last four weeks and nearly 100% for the past year, Carlson added. EMF offers a current dividend yield of 4.03%.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Three Dividend-paying Mid-year Investments to Buy: Geopolitical Risk
With military action taking place in multiple places in the world and global geopolitical risk still a big concern, these three investments offer a potentially profitable path forward to receive income and share-price appreciation amid the chaos.
Paul Dykewicz, www.pauldykewicz.com, is an accomplished, award-winning journalist who has written for Dow Jones, the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, the Journal of Commerce, Seeking Alpha, GuruFocus and other publications and websites. Paul is the editor of StockInvestor.com and DividendInvestor.com, a writer for both websites and a columnist. He further is the editorial director of Eagle Financial Publications in Washington, D.C., where he edits monthly investment newsletters, time-sensitive trading alerts, free e-letters and other investment reports. Paul previously served as business editor of Baltimore’s Daily Record newspaper. Paul also is the author of an inspirational book, “Holy Smokes! Golden Guidance from Notre Dame’s Championship Chaplain,” with a foreword by former national championship-winning football coach Lou Holtz. Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulDykewicz.
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