Wall Street's Most Accurate Analysts Give Their Take On 3 Defensive Stocks Delivering High-Dividend Yields

During times of turbulence and uncertainty in the markets, many investors turn to dividend-yielding stocks. These are often companies that have high free cash flows and reward shareholders with a high dividend payout.

Benzinga readers can review the latest analyst takes on their favorite stocks by visiting Analyst Stock Ratings page. Traders can sort through Benzinga's extensive database of analyst ratings, including by analyst accuracy.

Below are the ratings of the most accurate analysts for three high-yielding stocks in the consumer staples sector.

MPLX LP MPLX

• Dividend Yield: 7.70%
• Stifel analyst Selman Akyol maintained a Buy rating and raised the price target from $57 to $60 on Aug. 14, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 71%.
• Barclays analyst Theresa Chen maintained an Overweight rating and increased the price target from $52 to $53 on July 11, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 74%.
• Recent News: On Aug. 5, MPLX reported worse-than-expected quarterly financial results.
• Benzinga Pro’s real-time newsfeed alerted to latest MPLX news.

Energy Transfer LP ET

• Dividend Yield: 7.55%
• Wells Fargo analyst Michael Blum maintained an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $21 to $23 on Aug. 12, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 67%.
• Mizuho analyst Gabriel Moreen maintained an Outperform rating and increased the price target from $22 to $23 on May 20, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 70%.
• Recent News: On Aug. 11, Energy Transfer announced the pricing of $2.0 billion of junior subordinated notes.
• Benzinga Pro's real-time newsfeed alerted to latest ET news

Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. NOG

• Dividend Yield: 7.19%
• Raymond James analyst John Freeman maintained a Strong Buy rating and raised the price target from $35 to $36 on May 13, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 75%.
• Morgan Stanley analyst David McDermott maintained an Equal-Weight rating and slashed the price target from $43 to $38 on March 27, 2025. This analyst has an accuracy rate of 77%.
• Recent News: On July 31, Northern Oil & Gas posted upbeat quarterly earnings.
• Benzinga Pro’s real-time newsfeed alerted to latest NOG news

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