No one can deny that April 2025 has so far been incredibly volatile, to a degree we haven’t experienced in quite some time. And that got me thinking about protecting my portfolio during these uncertain times while generating reliable income. With U.S. President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff war, The Fed’s evolving interest rate policy, and recession risks are likely just around the corner, investors may find stocks with both stability and growth attractive.

While I often write about the companies on Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Kings lists, today, I’m going to expand on the results. For today’s piece, I screened through thousands of companies and found three quality names with potential to grow while having a good chance of increasing the dividends. 

How I Came Up With The Following Stocks

• 60-Month Beta: I set this metric to 0 to 1. Beta tells us how much more or less volatile a stock is, compared with the index. Stocks with a 60-Month Beta of less than 1 mean they are less volatile than the index.
• Dividend Payout Ratio: The dividend payout ratio tells us how much of the company’s net income is allocated to dividends. The generally accepted “healthy” limit is 60%. To err on the side of caution, I set it to 50% or less.
• 5-Year Percent Change: 70% or more. I’m looking for stocks with at least 70% returns over five years.
• Number of Analysts: 8 or more. The more, the better, especially when it comes to getting a consensus.
• Current Analyst Rating: 4 to 5 (Moderate to Strong Buy) to get companies with a positive overall consensus.
• 5-Year Dividend Growth: 100% or more. This measures how much the company’s payouts have increased over the last five years.
• Annual Dividend Yield: I left this blank so I can sort this column later.

After applying all the filters, I was left with 13 companies. Then I sorted the list from HIGHEST to LOWEST dividend yields and focused on the top three.

And I chose the top three low volatility dividend stocks: ConocoPhillips, EoG Resources, and Popular Inc.

ConocoPhillips (COP)

ConocoPhillips is a global oil and gas exploration company. Its segment in Alaska focuses on oil, gas, and NGLs production while the Lower 48 segment covers the United States and Gulf of Mexico. The company maintains Canadian operations in Alberta's Surmont oil sands and British Columbia's Montney play.

The company’s Q4’24 financials reported after-tax earnings down 23.3% to $2.3 billion and quarterly EPS of $1.90, down from $2.52 in the year-ago quarter, comfortably covering ConocoPhillips’ $0.78 per share quarterly dividend.

Dividend growth investors will appreciate that ConocoPhillips’ forward yield is approximately 3.61% and its 5-YR dividend growth rate is 132.84%.

Consensus on Wall Street is rather bullish with 27 analysts rating COP stock a moderate buy (4.7 out of 5) with a high target of $165 - suggesting as much as a 91% upside potential from its current price. The stock returned 139.29% over the last five years, all while being less volatile (0.83 beta) than the index. 

EoG Resources (EOG)

The next stock the list is EOG Resources, an oil and gas company focusing on crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas productions. The company’s core operations are mainly in the U.S.: Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Leonard, and Eagle Ford Shale, along with the Dorado gas play. EOG also operates in Trinidad, with interests in the South East Coast Consortium, Pelican Blocks, and the Banyan and Sercan Areas.

EOG’s Q4’24 financials reported revenue of $5.58 billion nearly $1.3 billion in free cash flow, with translated to a quarterly EPS of $2.23, comfortably covering the company’s quarterly dividend payout of $0.9750.

The company's forward annual dividend is $3.90 per share, and that works out to a competitive yield of approximately 3.60%. However, the story doesn’t end there. EOG’s forward dividend has soared over 256% over the last 5 years.

A consensus among 29 Wall Street analysts rate EOG stock a moderate (4 out of 5) with a high target of $161. This suggests an approximate 49% upside potential from the stock’s current price levels. 

Speaking of price levels, EOG stock is up 147.8% over the last 5 years and has a 60-month beta of 0.83 - an indication that the company’s stock is less volatile than the index.

Popular Inc (BPOP)

Popular Inc., a financial holding company, is the last on the list. Popular operates through two main segments:

• Banco Popular de Puerto Rico: Providing retail, mortgage, and commercial banking in Puerto Rico, plus leasing, investment banking, broker-dealer, and insurance services via subsidiaries.
• Banco Popular North America: Operating in the mainland US through Popular North America, Inc. and E-LOAN for banking services in New York, Florida, and New Jersey under the Popular Community Bank brand.

The company’s Q4'24 financials reported net income surging 88% YoY to $177.46 million, and quarterly EPS nearly doubling from $1.31 to $2.51 from the same quarter last year.

In terms of dividends, Popular’s forward payout is $2.80 ($0.70 quarterly) which translates to an approximate 3.30% yield. Its EPS also covers dividend payout. Moreover, its dividend has grown 113.33% over the past five years.

Wall Street analysts are also bullish on the BPOP stock, with 9 analysts rating the stock a consensus moderate buy (4.33 out of 5) and an approximate 56.95% upside potential from current levels. 

The stock has also grown over 133% in the last five years, outpacing many of its peers in the banking and financial sector - all while maintaining a 60-month beta of just 0.62. 

Final Thoughts

The companies I’ve covered all have shareholder-friendly management, with their stocks being less volatile than the idex. But remember, all investments carry some degree of risk, and past performance doesn't guarantee future results. That’s why applying a portfolio based approach is often best.

On the date of publication, Rick Orford did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.