There's a lot to like about dividend stocks. They supply their owners with passive income. On top of that, they've historically delivered market-beating total returns.

Investors who like dividends are usually on the lookout for another income producer to add to their portfolios. Southern Company (NYSE: SO), Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE: BAM), and Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) are three top-notch dividend stocks that income seekers should love because they offer higher-yielding payouts that should grow in the future. That makes them seem like great income stocks to buy and hold for the long haul.

Southern Company currently offers a 4%-yielding dividend. That's more than twice the S 500's dividend yield (recently around 1.5%).

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Source Fool.com