Five dividend-paying stocks to purchase despite consumer concerns about prices are showing resilience that investors may appreciate.
I prefer to own stocks that benefit society and provide good value to their customers. The five dividend-paying stocks described in this column offer important products such as food and beverages, fuel, school supplies and household goods.
The companies also provide benefits for their employees that include health care insurance, paid time off and 401(k) programs. Further benefits also are available to their employees that in some cases even offer stock ownership plans.
Five Dividend-paying Stocks to Purchase Despite Consumer Concerns: Value
Demand exists for the products that the five consumer businesses sell, but their management teams increasingly are looking to offer enhanced value. Indeed, customers may be especially price-sensitive during times when the economy is slowing.
Overall, U.S. consumers are set up relatively well with full employment and widespread market participation, according to the Chicago-based investment firm William Blair & Co., citing nearly 60% of U.S. households own U.S. equities and/or bonds, compared to close to 50% in 2000. Still, signs of concern about affordability arose during a recent dip in real wage growth starting in April, alongside a year and a half of significant drawdown on consumer savings, the investment firm wrote in a recent research note.
“Consumer spending has been supported by a structurally tight labor market where unemployment over the last year has bounced between 4.1% and 4.5%,” William Blair analysts commented. “However, despite a strong employment environment, consumers have been drawing down heavily against savings since early 2025, implying increasingly less spending power.”
Five Dividend-paying Stocks to Purchase Despite Consumer Concerns: Risks Remain
Despite higher gas prices caused by Iran interfering with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, firing missiles at neighboring nations and U.S. forces in the region, the U.S. consumer has been incredibly resilient, with retail sales since the end of February growing at a pace slightly above the 20-year average of 4.4%, excluding car dealers and gasoline stations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Increased energy prices could reduce economic growth in the same way as tighter monetary policy, unless the Fed decides to loosen monetary policy, wrote Bob Carlson in the August 2026 issue of Retirement Watch. As the head of the publication and the inventor of a recently updated IRA calculator for those considering conversions to Roth IRAs, Carlson cautioned that the Fed does not want to loosen monetary policy because that would exacerbate inflation.
Retirement Watch Chief Bob Carlson talks to Paul Dykewicz
“So far, economic growth remains solid despite higher energy prices,” Carlson wrote. “Consumer spending and incomes are registering solid growth rates. But consumer spending is growing faster than incomes. Households are borrowing or reducing savings to maintain spending growth. This precarious foundation of retail spending growth adds to the uncertainty and volatility caused by the other factors.”
With that backdrop, leaders of Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) began selectively cutting prices last year before President Trump publicly asked for price reductions earlier this year for consumer goods and gasoline at the pump. President Trump has praised Walmart, along with privately-held Giant Eagle, headquartered in Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, roughly 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, as well as other companies that have cut prices to aid customer affordability.
Giant Eagle, a regional supermarket chain, previously agreed to be acquired by Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger (NYSE: KR) in a $1.65 billion deal. That purchase is pending regulatory clearance and is expected to close in 2027, Kroger officials projected. Walmart and Kroger signaled during first-quarter earnings reports that they were lowering prices across a broad range of items.
Five Dividend-paying Stocks to Purchase Despite Consumer Concerns: CASY
Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY), a regional convenience store chain in the southern and midwestern United States, recently unveiled a new three-year strategic plan. Since rolling out its last strategic plan in 2023, the company has exceeded its strategic and financial targets by adding more than 500 stores and joining the S&P 500.
Casey’s plans to add at least 400 stores through a combination of strategic acquisitions and new-store development. More than two-thirds of its stores are in rural communities with less than 20,000 people and seek to become a key place to shop in those areas.
As the third-largest convenience retailer and fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States, Casey’s General Stores has carved out a niche in providing restaurant-quality food, convenience and fuel. The company’s latest plan calls for focusing on store growth, accelerating food and beverage sales and using technology to improve operational efficiency.
These three priorities are intended to enable the company to continue gaining market share, driving profitable growth and delivering long-term value for its shareholders, said Casey’s President and CEO Darren M. Rebelez. The company also has increased the availability of private-label products at its stores to give price-sensitive customers less expensive goods to buy than well-known brands.
Even though Rebelez recently sold about $15.2 million in CASY, or 18% of his direct common stock holdings and 17% of his reported equity in Casey’s General Stores, he still retains a hefty holding in the company valued around $71.9 million. But Rebelez also rewards employees with its benefit plan.
The company offers its employee medical and dental insurance, a 401(k) plan with a company match and an employee stock purchase plan, along with paid vacations and holidays.
The company also offers shareholders a current dividend yield of 0.32%, despite it still needing capital to grow. It shows that management appears to be trying to offer something to all of its stakeholders.
William Blair & Co. rates the stock as “outperform.” After attending a recent meeting with management, the investment firm wrote that further upside appears on the horizon.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Five Dividend-paying Retailers to Purchase Despite Consumer Concerns: KO
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) has its challenges, but is rated a Citi Research buy. The company offers a 2.58% dividend yield and has not needed to cut its prices so far.
Citi Research views KO’s valuation of 25.5x 2026 price/earnings as “compelling” due to its strong topline growth and higher margin profile compared to its mega-cap peers. KO’s 29.5x 2026 estimated P/E is above the company’s historical average amid expectation for strong topline growth and profitability. Given this multiple, Citi Research gave KO a $97 target price.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
“The key risks to our investment thesis and the shares reaching the target price on KO are: (i) global consumer weakness; (ii) an unfavorable shift in foreign exchange; (iii) challenges in working with its bottling partners; (iv) an unfavorable outcome from the IRS tax case and (v) a resurgence of COVID that would negatively impact KO’s on-premise business,” Citi wrote.
If the impact on the company from any of these factors proves to be more negative than anticipated, the stock will likely have difficulty achieving Citi’s financial and price targets, the investment firm wrote. Likewise, if any of these factors proves to have less of an effect than Citi anticipates, the stock could “materially outperform” its target price.
Five Dividend-paying Retailers to Purchase Despite Price Cuts: WMT
Walmart has produced a historical total return averaging 18.64% annually for the last 10 years. Its annual total return soared to 74% in 2024 and reached 24% in 2025, but is only up about 1.1% so far in 2026.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Amid comparatively weak share price gains so far in 2026, Walmart has cut prices on thousands of its products this summer. A prime example is cutting the price of a 73% ground beef roll by 11.7% to $5.94 per pound from $6.74, among thousands of “roll backs” during the summer of 2026. Walmart also slashed Coca-Cola 24-pack prices 33% to $9.97, despite the retailer’s already low operating margins of 5%.
Jim Woods recommends Walmart in the Forecasts & Strategies investment newsletter that he leads. The stock has been a recommendation in the publication since September 2018, rising 312.27% during that time. Woods, who also heads the TNT Trader, Tactical Trader, Five Star Trader and Bullseye Stock Trader advisory services that recommend both stocks and options, lists Walmart in his Income Multipliers portfolio that recommends dividend-paying stocks that typically provide capital appreciation and income.
Paul Dykewicz meets with Jim Woods, head of TNT Trader and Tactical Trader.
I personally visited a Walmart store in Shrewsbury, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and spotted some back-to-school specials that included coloring supplies, scissors, glue and other items for classroom use.
Walmart cuts the price of school supplies.
A display next to that one featured one-subject spiral notebooks of various colors that had been marked down 63.9% to just 35 cents from 97 cents. The 70-sheet notebooks with paper sized at 8″ x 10.5″ particularly caught my attention, and I purchased one to use for note taking in my reporting and during phone calls with my publisher. Even with 10.238% in local and state sales tax, the total price to me was just 39 cents.
This colorful Walmart display shows spiral notebooks priced at 35 cents each, before taxes.
“We started in the second half of last year, and we now have about 7,200 rollbacks [price reductions] in place… which is up more than 20% versus last year,” according to Walmart.
Five Dividend-paying Retailers to Purchase Despite Consumer Concerns: COST
Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST), of Issaquah, Washington, an eastern suburb of Seattle, is rated outperform along with Walmart by William Blair & Co. The investment firm described Costco in a research note as a solid defensive play, particularly after recent pressure caused its share price to decline some 16% from all-time highs near $1,100 in mid-May.
“The decline has been partly driven by the company falling just below very elevated expectations after robust traffic growth in April and May on elevated demand for its discounted fuel offering, but we believe most of the pressure has been more rotational as investors have shifted toward beat-up discretionary names on rising hopes for an end to the war with Iran.”
But if the “Street” shifts back toward a more risk-off positioning, William Blair & Co. wrote Costco would be a major beneficiary as a defensive, consistent and high-quality name that is a historically safe place for “investors to hide.” Investors continue to maintain concerns about the health of the consumer and potential pressure on volumes as inflation rises, the investment firm wrote in its research note.
“However, Costco’s high-income membership base and discounted offering should support resilient, strong comp growth, even in a broader consumer pullback,” according to the investment firm. “Furthermore, the company’s highly specialized merchants and the flexibility of its limited in-store assortment and high inventory turnover should allow [Costco] to deepen its value proposition with any price increases likely well below peers.”
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Five Dividend-paying Retailers to Purchase Despite Consumer Concerns: TGT
Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has mixed ratings from Wall Street analysts as a potential investment. Among 34 analysts covering the stock, 12 recommend a buy, 23 suggest a hold and three advise selling.
First-quarter earnings for Target were solid, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.71 and revenue up 6.7% to $25.44 billion. Despite this outperformance pushing the stock to new 52-week highs around $139.67-144.40, the average analyst price target sits near $134.72, showing slight potential downside from current trading levels.
Valuation metrics signal that Target Corporation may be undervalued, according to Zacks investment Research. In addition, Zacks wrote that it is expecting an above average return from the TGT shares relative to the market in the next few months.
“The price reductions — most of which are 5% to 20% lower than the original price — are the latest example of Target’s strategy to deliver style and design at an incredible value to guests,” Target announced along with its latest earnings report.
For investors who take into account the social responsibility of a company, Target may be worth supporting. But the lack of a highly bullish rating on the stock suggests no rush exists to buy its shares right now. A watchful eye to spot the start of a sustained rise could be a good strategy for investors to decide whether and when to purchase the company’s shares.
Chart courtesy of www.stockcharts.com.
Five Dividend-paying Retailers to Purchase Despite Consumer Concerns: Geopolitics
With military action occurring in multiple places in the world and global geopolitical risk still a big concern, these three investments offer a potentially profitable way to collect income and share-price appreciation amid geopolitical tumult.
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.
