5 Safe Dividend Stocks Yielding 6.9% or More

The article spotlights a “coverage-first” income basket targeting ~7%+ yields with stated distribution/FFO coverage, led by Western Midstream Partners’ third straight $0.93/unit quarterly distribution (annualized $3.72) and a ~7.96% forward yield. Coverage is described as comfortable for WES (guided 2026 distributable cash flow of ~$1.85B-$2.05B; though Q1 free cash flow was -$137.4M amid capex ramp) and GLPI, with GLPI raising Q2 AFFO guidance to $4.10-$4.12/share (guiding coverage above the ~$3.28 annualized dividend). The main negatives are name-specific concentration and earnings/coverage risk—Campbell’s stands out with FY26 adjusted EPS guidance down 23%-26% from FY25 (despite the ~6.97% yield) and Universal Health Realty’s exposure to Medicaid/reimbursement headwinds.

Analysis

This basket is really a trade on equity behaving like subordinated credit. The best risk/reward sits in the fee/lease-backed names with visible reinvestment paths: WES and HESM should compound better than their yields imply if volume and payout growth stay intact, while GLPI screens as the cleanest balance-sheet-quality story because its rent stream is less operationally fragile than an operating company. UHT is a smaller, slower version of the same idea; the upside is not rerating, but the market paying up for certainty once the next project converts into FFO.

CPB is the odd one out: the dividend is covered, but that is a trailing indicator if category demand keeps eroding and leverage limits strategic flexibility. In consumer staples, the equity usually starts de-rating before the payout is threatened, so the risk is not a cut tomorrow but multiple compression over the next 2-4 quarters if cost savings merely offset volume declines. If rates back up, all of these income names can trade off together; if rates fall because growth is weakening, CPB’s relative defensiveness improves while the midstream/REIT beta can lag.

The consensus appears to be confusing yield with safety. The market is likely underpricing the difference between cash flows that can grow and cash flows that merely persist, and overpricing the durability of a "covered" dividend when the underlying business is shrinking. Over 6-18 months, the better expression is long quality income with visible growth versus a high-yield staple with deteriorating earnings power.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Long WES / short CPB as a 1-3 month relative-value pair; look for 5-10% outperformance if WES second-half DCF converts and CPB keeps missing on volume. Falsify if WES guidance is cut or CPB raises FY26 EPS.
• Add HESM on pullbacks for a 6-12 month hold; this is a cash-flow compounder as long as Bakken volumes and Chevron’s drilling cadence stay stable. Exit if customer concentration starts showing up in throughput data.
• Overweight GLPI versus lower-quality yield proxies in the REIT/defensive income bucket; use any rate-driven selloff to accumulate. Thesis breaks if tenant coverage at the Caesars lease or other concentrated names falls meaningfully.
• Treat UHT as a watchlist long, not a full-size buy, until Miller Medical pre-leasing and completion progress are independently visible. The stock is attractive only if FFO growth accelerates without reimbursement pressure.
• If bearish on CPB, use put spreads into the next earnings window rather than a naked short; carry is unfavorable, but equity downside can accelerate if guidance or category scans worsen.