Investors love dividend stocks because they provide dependable passive income streams and an excellent opportunity for solid total return. Total return includes interest, capital gains, dividends, and distributions realized over time.

The big reason why a dividend growth investor would want to buy PepsiCo today is that its yield is near historical highs at roughly 3.6%. This suggests that Wall Street has placed the company on the deep discount rack. This is a view that's backed up by the stock's price-to-sales and price-to-earnings ratios being below their five-year averages.