3 Brilliant High-Yield Stocks to Buy Now and Hold for the Long Term

By Reuben Gregg Brewer – Apr 9, 2026 at 10:15PM ESTKey PointsFederal Realty is a relatively small REIT, but it has an incredible dividend record.Enterprise Products Partners is a midstream giant with an attractive yield and a great distribution history.Ares Capital has a huge yield, a huge caveat, and it's an industry-leading BDC.High-yield stocks are a mainstay of income investing, with many dividend lovers using the cash their portfolios generate to supplement Social Security in retirement. However, you have to understand the businesses you own and how they interact with other investments and your big-picture income needs. Here's why your income search should start with Federal Realty (FRT +0.00%), Enterprise Products Partners (EPD 1.34%), and, for the right investors, Ares Capital (ARCC 0.77%). Federal Realty has an unmatched dividend record As far as real estate investment trusts (REITs) go, Federal Realty is relatively small, with a portfolio of around 100 properties. That said, its strip mall and mixed-use assets are incredibly well located, with higher average incomes and population densities around them than other peers. This is a quality-over-quantity story, and Federal Realty invests heavily in developing and redeveloping its properties to ensure they remain in high demand. Image source: Getty Images. The most notable fact about Federal Realty, however, is that it is the only REIT to have achieved Dividend King status, with 58 consecutive annual dividend increases. Now add in a well above market 4.1% dividend yield, and you get the makings of a brilliant buy-and-hold high-yield dividend stock that even the most conservative investors will find attractive. ExpandNYSE: FRTFederal Realty Investment TrustToday's Change(0.00%) $0.00Current Price$107.39Key Data PointsMarket Cap$9.3BDay's Range$106.83 - $108.2452wk Range$87.19 - $110.89Volume1.4MAvg Vol857KGross Margin38.49%Dividend Yield4.18% Enterprise Products Partners avoids commodity risk Enterprise is one of the largest midstream energy businesses in North America. It owns a vast portfolio of energy infrastructure, including pipelines, storage facilities, transportation assets, and processing facilities. It is a vital partner to energy companies as oil and natural gas are moved around the world. However, the key to the income story is that Enterprise charges fees for the use of its assets; the price of the commodities it is moving isn't all that important to its cash flows. Avoiding commodity risk has allowed Enterprise to increase its distribution annually for 27 consecutive years, which is basically as long as the master limited partnership (MLP) has been publicly traded. That's not the only reason to be fond of Enterprise as an income investment. The MLP's distributable cash flow covers its distribution by a very comfortable 1.7x. And it has an investment-grade-rated balance sheet. There is a huge amount of room for adversity before a distribution cut would be on the table. And with a 5.7% yield, you are getting paid very well to own this energy stock. ExpandNYSE: EPDEnterprise Products PartnersToday's Change(-1.34%) $-0.51Current Price$37.52Key Data PointsMarket Cap$81BDay's Range$37.37 - $38.6052wk Range$28.54 - $39.73Volume3.5MAvg Vol4.7MGross Margin12.86%Dividend Yield5.80% Ares Capital is an acquired taste Ares Capital is one of the largest business development companies (BDCs). It will not be a good fit for every dividend investor. As a business, it provides high-interest rate loans to smaller companies, which is an inherently risky endeavor. It is normal for its customers to have trouble covering their interest costs during recessions. And because of that, the dividend has a history of volatility. This is pretty normal stuff for a BDC. ExpandNASDAQ: ARCCAres CapitalToday's Change(-0.77%) $-0.14Current Price$18.03Key Data PointsMarket Cap$13BDay's Range$17.88 - $18.1352wk Range$17.40 - $23.41Volume241KAvg Vol7.8MGross Margin75.68%Dividend Yield10.66% That said, BDCs like Ares Capital are designed to pay large dividends. So investors can expect this stock to generate a material income stream over time, even if the payments will rise and fall along the way. If you have enough dividend income from other investments to cover your basic spending needs, Ares Capital can be looked at as icing on the cake. It's pretty impressive icing, too, given the current yield of 10.5%. Just go in knowing that the dividend will vary over time, which will probably only be a good fit for a select group of dividend lovers. Three high-yield choices to ponder Federal Realty, Enterprise, and Ares Capital cover a fairly broad spectrum of dividend opportunities. They won't all be brilliant options for every investor. However, for the right person, they could be just what you are looking for in a market environment where the S&P 500 index (^GSPC +0.62%) yields a shockingly low 1.1%.Read NextApr 3, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloA Dividend Stock With a Double-Digit Yield: Is It Actually Sustainable?Apr 1, 2026 •By Reuben Gregg BrewerAres Capital's 10% Yield May Not Be as Alluring as it LooksMar 29, 2026 •By Matt DiLalloIs It Time to Load Up on These 3 Ultra-High-Yielding Dividend Stocks? (1 Yields 11%!)Mar 21, 2026 •By Dave KovaleskiMy Top 3 Dividend Stocks for March 2026Mar 15, 2026 •By Keith Speights3 Magnificent High-Yield Dividend Stocks to Buy and HoldApr 10, 2026 •By Ben GranCould Investing $10,000 in IWM Make You a Millionaire?About the AuthorReuben Gregg Brewer is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering energy, utilities, REITs, and consumer staples. He is the former director of research at Value Line Publishing, where he rose from mutual fund analyst to equity analyst before leading all research operations. Reuben holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Purchase, a master’s in social work from Columbia University, and an MBA from Regis University. He has been featured as a financial expert on CNBC and in the Financial Times, Barron’s, and InvestmentNews.TMFReubenGBrewerStocks MentionedAres CapitalNASDAQ: ARCC$18.03(-0.77%)-$0.14S&P 500 IndexSNPINDEX: ^GSPC$6,824.66(+0.62%)+$41.85Enterprise Products PartnersNYSE: EPD$37.52(-1.34%)-$0.51Federal Realty Investment TrustNYSE: FRT$107.36(-0.03%)-$0.03*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.