3 Dividend Stocks to Buy Now With Yields Over 3%

Comcast, PepsiCo, and Darden Restaurants offer dividend yields of 5.6%, 4.4%, and 3.1%, respectively, positioning them as income-focused long-term holdings. Comcast has fallen more than 20% over the past year and trades below 8x trailing earnings, but its planned NBCUniversal spinoff, profitable Peacock service, and cash-generative connectivity business could support value realization. PepsiCo has raised its dividend for 54 straight years and is posting its strongest global organic sales-volume growth in four years, while Darden is expected to grow revenue 4% this year and 6% next year.

Analysis

CMCSA is not a conventional deep-value catalyst until the separation perimeter, capital structure and stranded-cost allocation are disclosed. The key risk is that declining connectivity economics—not linear-TV exposure—drives the residual multiple: fixed-wireless broadband substitution can force retention pricing and raise churn, turning apparently durable cash flow into a higher-capex, lower-margin business. A cleaner media asset could attract a strategic premium, but the residual cable entity would likely deserve a lower terminal multiple unless broadband net adds stabilize within the next 2-3 quarters.

PEP's volume improvement matters only if it persists without incremental trade spending. The market is likely discounting a mature staples business with limited multiple support while rates remain elevated; sustained volume-led growth can protect gross-margin recovery and reduce the probability of another guidance reset over the next 1-3 quarters. Relative to KO, PEP has greater exposure to snack categories and therefore more sensitivity to commodity inputs and GLP-1-driven snacking concerns, but also more opportunity for mix improvement if North American volumes inflect.

DRI is the cleaner cyclical expression: same-store sales leverage and restaurant-level margin expansion can produce earnings growth above sales growth, but that operating leverage reverses quickly if lower-income traffic weakens. Its multi-brand portfolio reduces concept-specific risk, yet wage inflation and beef costs are the critical variables; an apparent revenue acceleration without traffic gains would be promotion-led and not investable. The article's dividend framing is not itself a catalyst for any of the three names.

Contrarian view: CMCSA's low valuation may be correctly pricing a structurally shrinking access business rather than overlooking a media breakup. Prefer waiting for separation disclosures and broadband KPIs over buying solely for yield. PEP offers the best downside-adjusted quality, while DRI offers the better upside torque only if consumer spending data remain resilient.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Watch CMCSA; do not initiate a standalone long before definitive separation filings. Enter only if broadband subscriber losses narrow for two consecutive quarters and management quantifies stranded costs/debt allocation; target a 15-20% rerating potential over 6-12 months, with thesis invalidated by accelerating churn or incremental retention-capex guidance.
• Initiate a 3-6 month long PEP / short KO pair in equal dollar amounts if PEP's next reported volume growth remains positive without a material increase in promotional spending. The trade monetizes relative volume and mix improvement while neutralizing much of staples-rate sensitivity; exit if PEP organic volume decelerates or gross-margin guidance falls.
• Use DRI as a tactical 1-3 month long only following evidence of positive traffic and stable restaurant-level margins; pair against EAT or DIN to isolate Darden's scale and portfolio advantage. Target 10-15% upside on an earnings re-rating, but cut on a traffic-led comparable-sales miss, wage-cost acceleration, or a deterioration in monthly restaurant spending data.
• For defensive consumer exposure, allocate new capital to PEP rather than treating CMCSA's yield as bond-like income. CMCSA's payout safety is contingent on cash-flow durability through a potentially disruptive restructuring, whereas PEP's principal near-term risk is valuation/rates rather than business-model impairment.