Top Wall Street analysts like these dividend stocks for steady income

The stock market has been volatile due to rising Treasury yields and high oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East. Amid this uncertainty, dividend stocks can help investors secure consistent portfolio income. Top Wall Street analysts can inform investors on their search for attractive dividend stocks that have the ability to generate solid cash flows and pay dividends consistently. Here are three dividend-paying stocks that are highlighted by Wall Street's top pros, as tracked by TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their past performance. Energy Transfer Energy Transfer owns and operates a diversified portfolio of energy assets in the U.S., with about 140,000 miles of pipeline and associated infrastructure. The company recently announced an increase in its quarterly cash distribution to roughly 34 cents per common unit. Energy Transfer offers a yield of 6.7%. Recently, TD Cowen analyst Jason Gabelman reiterated a buy rating on Energy Transfer and slightly raised his price target to $23 from $22, saying, "We continue to see upside from underappreciated growth potential including underused assets in second-tier gas basins." The five-star analyst highlighted that Energy Transfer raised its full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, guidance, with the company capturing its full-year optimization target in the first quarter itself. The revised outlook reflects upside from higher volumes, rates, and spreads. …