In a tumultuous market, dividend-paying stocks can provide stability to your portfolio. That’s because companies paying consistent dividends have a history of outperforming the overall stock market while providing the added benefit of passive income. 

When you want to add to your portfolio, don’t overlook dividend stocks because they might be the key to your market-beating returns. Here are three great dividend stocks you can buy for less than $50 each.

1. Cedar Fair

It’s almost summertime, which means thrill seekers across the United States will soon be flocking to amusement and water parks, many of which are owned and operated by Cedar Fair (FUN 0.18%), which trades for roughly $45 per share. Over the past few years, the stock price has resembled a staple of all of its 11 regional amusement parks: a roller coaster. Due to the pandemic, admissions and its financials cratered, causing the company to suspend its dividend.

However, management recently reissued its quarterly dividend, which currently stands at $0.30 per share, or a 2.66% yield, as park attendance finally stabilized in 2022.

Specifically, Cedar Fair had nearly 27 million visits in 2022, just shy of its pre-pandemic level of 28 million in 2019. The company posted revenue of about $1.8 billion in 2022 compared to $1.5 billion in 2019, demonstrating its strong pricing power.

The company does have nearly $2.2 billion in net debt (another pandemic effect), which caused it to pay almost $152 million in interest expenses in 2022. If management can pay down its debt to pre-pandemic levels, expect Cedar Fair to grow its dividend in the future and its stock to reach new heights. 

2. Paramount Global

The media giant Paramount Global (PARA 2.96%), trading for roughly $22 per share, has a long, successful history in the entertainment business. A favorite in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway portfolio, Paramount currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, representing a yield of 4.4%.

Paramount’s two growth areas are its film and direct-to-consumer (DTC) segments.

First, the company’s movie business rebounded nicely in 2022 after the pandemic subsided, with the second-highest-grossing movie of the year, Top Gun: Maverick, making nearly $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office. The company has many popular franchises and intellectual properties, including new Mission Impossible and Transformers movies this summer.

Next, Paramount’s DTC business, which includes Paramount+ and Pluto TV, is growing nicely, with the segment’s 2022 revenue up 47% year over year as its global subscribers increased from 56 million to more than 77 million.

Like Cedar Fair, Paramount Global has some debt concerns, with nearly $13 billion in net debt on its balance sheet. However, the company trimmed that figure by more than 27% over the past few years.

Still, any high-yielding dividend stock that catches the attention of Buffett’s prolific investing firm and offers promising revenue growth is worth consideration.

3. Rollins

Rollins (ROL -0.59%), a leading pest control company priced at nearly $39 per share, has raised consistently paid quarterly dividends since 1987. Its current quarterly dividend is $0.13 per share, which yields about 1.3%.

Unlike the other two stocks on this list, the pandemic didn’t impede Rollins’ business terribly. That’s because nearly 26 million housing units in the United States reported sightings of roaches or rats, according to a 2019 American Housing Survey. As a result, its stock has produced a total return of about 84% over the past five years.

Rollins capitalizes on America’s pest problem with recurring contracts for its residential and commercial customers. So instead of a one-time visit, Rollins is likelier to sign customers to a contract for one to three years.

For 2022, the pest control company generated $2.7 billion in revenue and $0.75 in earnings per share, year-over-year increases of 11% and 4%, respectively.

Rollins is feeling inflationary pressure for its products and fuel for its fleet of vehicles. As a result, management is raising prices for its services sooner than expected in 2023, risking lower customer retention. Still, as the top player in a $10 billion industry growing at a rate of 4% to 5% annually, Rollins is well positioned to capitalize on America’s pest problem for years to come.

Are these dividend stocks buys?

Dividend-paying stocks offer shareholders a great way to capture a company’s profits. Moreover, they often prove less risky than growth stocks because management knows it must continually allocate a portion of the company’s earnings to its shareholders.

These three dividend stocks, all trading for less than $50 per share, offer stability and upside while paying you to own them. That makes all three stocks great additions to any portfolio.