3 Dividend Stocks for Shrewd Investors

Dividend-paying stocks offer the best of both worlds: regular and recurring income, plus the opportunity for capital gains over time. Historical studies show that, over long periods of time, investors who buy high-yielding stocks tend to outperform those who buy the market's lowest-yielding stocks, adding to the case for investing in a diversified portfolio of dividend stocks.

Below, three Fools lay out the case for buying Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE), Oaktree Capital Group (NYSE: OAK), and Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) for high yields that offer the potential to grow over time.

Jason Hall (Nucor Corporation): Few steelmakers are even worth considering as long-term investments, and only Nucor has a proven track record of decades-long dividend growth, having increased its base dividend every year since 1973. While the increases in recent years have been modest, Nucor is an excellent dividend stock to buy today.

Source: Fool.com