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5 Stocks to Watch on Recent Dividend Hikes as Rates Rise

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The Federal Reserve, in its effort to fight inflation, increased the interest rate by 75 basis points yet again in its last meeting in September. The inflation data commonly, represented by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, rose 0.1% for the month of August after remaining unchanged from July, mostly because of the increasing prices of goods and services, including rents, food and healthcare.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled in his speech that the central bank would continue with its hawkish stance to bring inflation to its desired level of around 2%. Investors are now worried that the Fed’s aggressive tightening measures to curb inflation might derail economic growth in the near future. The impact of rising interest rates will increase the cost of borrowing, which will have a spiraling impact on consumer spending and unemployment. It will thus slow down economic growth, which may force the economy toward a recession.

The broader index continues to bleed lately, with the S&P 500, the DOW & the Nasdaq declining 21.44%, 17.64%, and 29.22%, respectively, so far this year. The rising global geo-political tensions between Russia-Ukraine and China-Taiwan continue to dent investors’ sentiment.

Thus, investors who wish to park their money to earn a sizable income in such a gloomy environment may keep an eye on dividend-paying stocks. These dividend stocks hold a long track of profitability and have a proven business model that helps them stay afloat during adverse economic conditions. Due to their matured business models, investors can expect a steady flow of income along with higher protection of capital against wild swings in their prices. It is often seen that companies that reward shareholders with a comparatively high dividend payout tend to outperform non-dividend-paying stocks during market volatility.

On that note, let us look at companies like Luxfer (LXFR - Free Report) , Bank OZK (OZK - Free Report) , The First of Long Island (FLIC - Free Report) , Lockheed Martin (LMT - Free Report) and Honeywell International (HON - Free Report) that have lately hiked their dividend payments.

Luxfer is a materials technology company, specializing in the design, manufacture and supply of high-performance materials, components and gas cylinders. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company also offers recycling services and magnesium powders throughout global networks. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here.

On Oct 4, LXFR declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.13 a share on Nov 2, 2022. LXFR has a dividend yield of 3.4%.

Over the past five years, LXFR has increased its dividend two times and its payout ratio presently sits at 44% of earnings. Check Luxfer’s dividend history here.

Luxfer Holdings PLC Dividend Yield (TTM)

Luxfer Holdings PLC Dividend Yield (TTM)

Luxfer Holdings PLC dividend-yield-ttm | Luxfer Holdings PLC Quote

Bank OZK is a bank holding company. The Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company offers a wide range of retail and commercial banking services to businesses, individuals, and non-profit and governmental entities.

On Oct 3, OZK declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.33 a share on Oct 21. OZK has a dividend yield of 3.09%.

Over the past five years, OZK has increased its dividend 21 times and its payout ratio presently sits at 29% of earnings. Check Bank OZK’s dividend history here.

Bank OZK Dividend Yield (TTM)

Bank OZK Dividend Yield (TTM)

Bank OZK dividend-yield-ttm | Bank OZK Quote

The First of Long Island is a bank holding company. This Zacks Rank #3 company provides financial services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, consumers, municipalities, and other organizations.

On Sep 30, FLIC declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.21 a share on Oct 21. FLIC has a dividend yield of 4.72%.

In the past five-year period, FLIC has increased its dividend six times. Its payout ratio at present sits at 42% of earnings. Check The First of Long Island’s dividend history

Lockheed Martin is the largest defense contractor in the world. This Zacks Rank #3 company’s main areas of focus are defense, space, intelligence, homeland security and information technology, including cyber security.

On Sep 30, LMT announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $3 a share on Dec 30. LMT has a dividend yield of 3.11%.

Over the past five years, LMT has increased its dividend six times. Its payout ratio now sits at 42% of earnings. Check Lockheed Martin’s dividend history here.

Honeywell International operates as a diversified technology and manufacturing company worldwide. This Zacks Rank #3 company has a solid footprint in the aerospace industry, with commercial aviation and defense being two major business sources.

On Sep 30, HON declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $4.12 a share on Dec 2. HON has a dividend yield of 9.73%.

Over the past five years, HON has increased its dividend six times and its payout ratio at the present time sits at 48% of earnings. Check Honeywell’s dividend history here.

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