A crude oil-focused pipeline operator has just earned a spot in this portfolio, offering income investors a forward yield near 7.4% alongside a beta of just 0.47, a signal of low correlation to broader equity market swings. Its three-year dividend growth rate of 16% ranks among the strongest in the dividend universe, reflecting a business built on stable, fee-based transportation contracts across a vast pipeline network spanning two countries.
The company is undergoing a deliberate transformation, shedding a non-core natural gas liquids business to sharpen its focus on crude oil transportation, a move that has already begun reducing balance sheet leverage. Growth is anchored by a dominant footprint in one of the country’s most productive shale regions, though that same concentration also introduces a degree of geographic risk that investors should weigh. Rising geopolitical tension has increased the strategic value of domestic energy infrastructure, a dynamic that plays directly into this operator’s favor.
This stock has been added to the Best Dividend Stocks Portfolio because it combines a high, well-supported yield with improving financial discipline and a defensive risk profile. Its blend of income strength and balance sheet repair aligns closely with the portfolio’s mandate of pairing quality dividends with manageable downside risk. The addition reflects growing confidence in the durability of its cash flow generation.
