Dividend growth stocks that are struggling can be ideal buys for income investors right now. As long as their payouts remain safe, there's plenty of incentive to consider them. Not only are their yields higher than normal due to the current bear market and lower prices, but their payouts could also continue to increase in the years ahead.

One beaten-down dividend stock that investors should consider buying today is Medtronic (NYSE: MDT). It hasn't gotten much love over the past year, falling 28% and nearing its 52-week low. However, the future remains bright for the business, and here's why you may want to load up on the medical device company.

Diversification can be both a blessing and a curse for a company, and Medtronic is a good example. The business reported its third-quarter earnings last month and the results appeared underwhelming, with revenue of $7.7 billion for the period ended Jan. 27 coming in flat from the prior-year quarter. But that was due to one of its segments -- medical surgical -- weighing on the top line. Hospital procedures are still recovering and getting back to normal after disruptions due to the pandemic, and so that's been an area that hasn't been doing too well lately.

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Source Fool.com