Here are Wall Street's favorite dividend stocks right now

Published Thu, Apr 30 20207:14 AM EDT

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.) As the fast-spreading coronavirus causes unprecedented disruption to society and wreaks havoc on the financial markets, investors need to find steady income somewhere. The stock market has tumbled and the economy is facing a deep recession from the shutdown of U.S. businesses during the COVID-19 quarantine. On Wednesday the Commerce Department reported the first U.S. GDP growth decline since 2014 and the pain is expected to continue. Certain stocks with high dividends could be way to receive yield in a world of disappearing income and market volatility. Dividend stocks have traditionally been coveted by investors because they provide guaranteed returns to shareholders, typically paid out annually out of the company's profits. CNBC used FactSet to find Wall Street's most loved dividend-paying stocks. CNBC sorted through all the S & P 500 stocks and found those with the highest percentage of buy ratings and a healthy dividend. The list features stocks which all have a dividend yield higher than the market's current 2% dividend yield. Take a look at Wall Street's favorite dividend stocks here. To be sure, any dividend could be at risk in this tough economic environment. But even for accounting for that risk, Wall Street analysts love these stocks and believe the price will appreciate as well. Energy stocks are well-represented on the list. Many stocks in the energy sector are known to pay generous dividends historically. Certain energy behemoths are resorting to cuts in capital spending and raising additional funds, just to keep their dividend promises. Energy stocks have been beaten down recently from oil's historic drop due to an evaporation of demand for the commodity during the coronavirus pandemic. Phillips 66 , Diamondback Energy , NRG Energy, FirstEnergy Corp , Marathon Petroleum , Pioneer Natural Resources , Valero Energy , Baker Hughes and Chevron all make CNBC's list. Utility AES Corporation not only has a bountiful 4.3% dividend yield, but Wall Street got bullish on the company during the pandemic. AES has been upgraded by about two thirds of its analysts in the past 30 days, as the U.S. economy has been forced to shut down. Real estate stocks also make up a portion of CNBC's list. Prologis , which owns warehouses across the U.S., and Alexandria Real Estate Equities , which owns medical laboratories among other assets, could be benefiting from the coronavirus crisis as companies need more space for storage and health research. Prologis has a 2.5% dividend yield and Alexandria Real Estate Equities has a 2.7% dividend yield. Consumer staples Mondelez International and Tyson Foods are also on the list of Wall Street's favorite dividend paying stocks. The defensive stocks are getting a boost from the millions of consumers stocking up on food items during the stay-at-home orders. The oreo-maker has a dividend yield of 2.2% and the meat producer has a dividend yield of 2.8%. BlackRock and Synchrony Financial also make CNBC's list. The world's largest money manager has a 2.9% dividend yield and the financial company has a generous 5% dividend yield.

A BlackRock signage is displayed on a monitor on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.)

As the fast-spreading coronavirus causes unprecedented disruption to society and wreaks havoc on the financial markets, investors need to find steady income somewhere.