Dividend stocks are proven wealth creators. Over the last 50 years, they have outperformed non-payers by more than 2 to 1. A big driver is their steady (and often growing) income stream, which provides investors with a solid base return year in and year out.

One Liberty Properties (NYSE: OLP), Truist Financial (NYSE: TFC), and Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE: MAA) have magnificent records of paying dividends. That's one of the factors that make them stand out to a few Fool.com contributors. Here's why they believe investors won't regret buying these top-notch dividend stocks right now.

Tyler Crowe (One Liberty Properties): There are many shorthand ways investors assess the viability of a dividend for years into the future. One of the more underappreciated ones is when founding families have large company ownership. When a family's income comes from a single stock's dividend payments, you can be reasonably sure that the company will be managed to preserve those dividend payouts.

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Source Fool.com