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Focus on These 4 Stocks That Recently Hiked Dividends

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Markets have been on a rally in November, but high inflation remains a concern for both market participants and the Federal Reserve. Besides, various geopolitical tensions have been worrying investors. Moreover, they are yet to get a clear picture of the Fed’s next course of action with its interest rate hikes.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged in its last two FOMC meetings after indicating earlier that another 25-basis point interest rate hike would be required this year. The Fed’s benchmark interest rate currently is in the range of 5.25-5.5% after it hiked rates by 525 basis points since March 2022.

The Fed’s decision to leave rates unaltered has raised expectations that the central bank may be done with its monetary tightening campaign and may not increase interest rates in its December meeting.

However, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said that inflation is still way above the 2% target and has maintained his hawkish stance, keeping the central bank open for future rate hikes if required.

Moreover, the Fed earlier revised its rate cut forecast from four to two for next year, which won’t start anytime before September.

Higher borrowing cost is expected to have an impact on the profitability of American corporations. Moody's Investors Services took note of this on Nov 11 by lowering its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to "negative" from "stable." The decision was based on concerns about a substantial fiscal deficit, which is expected to significantly undermine debt affordability.

Also, the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict in the Middle East owing to the Oct 7 Hamas attack has disrupted the global supply chain and has ignited fears of a further rise in oil prices. 

Stocks in Focus

Given this situation, dividend-yielding stocks should be an ideal choice for investors aiming to secure their portfolios. We recommend stocks that have recently raised their dividend payouts.

Four such stocks are CDW Corporation (CDW - Free Report) , Motorola Solutions, Inc. (MSI - Free Report) , New Jersey Resources Corporation (NJR - Free Report) and Teck Resources Limited (TECK - Free Report) .

CDW Corporation is a leading provider of integrated information technology (IT) solutions to small, medium and large business, government, education and healthcare customers in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. CDW offers discrete hardware and software products to integrated IT solutions businesses such as mobility, security, data center optimization, cloud computing, virtualization and collaboration.

On Nov 19, CDW Corporation announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.62 a share on Dec 12, 2023. CDW has a dividend yield of 1.10%. Over the past five years, CDW Corporation has increased its dividend six times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 25% of earnings.CheckCDW Corporation’s dividend history here.

Motorola Solutions, Inc. is a leading communications equipment manufacturer and has strong market positions in bar code scanning, wireless infrastructure gear, and government communications. MSI generally provides services and solutions to government segments and public safety programs together with large enterprises and wireless infrastructure service providers.

On Nov 16, Motorola Solutionsdeclared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.98 a share on Jan 12, 2024. MSI has a dividend yield of 1.11%. Over the past five years, Motorola Solutionshas increased its dividend six times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 33% of earnings.CheckMotorola Solutions’ dividend history here.

New Jersey Resources Corporation is an energy services holding company that, through its subsidiaries, provides safe and reliable natural gas and clean energy services, including transportation, distribution, asset management and home services. NJR has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

On Nov 16, New Jersey Resources Corporation announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.42 a share on Jan 2, 2024. NJR has a dividend yield of 3.91%. Over the past five years, New Jersey Resources Corporation has increased its dividend five times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 54% of earnings.CheckNew Jersey Resources Corporation’s dividend history here.

Teck Resources Limited is a diversified resource company committed to mining and mineral development with business units focused on steelmaking coal, copper, zinc and energy. TECK’s principal products include steelmaking coal; copper concentrates and refined copper cathodes; refined zinc and zinc concentrates; energy products, such as bitumen; and lead concentrates. It also produces molybdenum, gold, silver, germanium, indium, mercury, and cadmium, as well as chemicals, industrial products, and fertilizers.

On Nov 16, Teck Resources Limited declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.13 a share on Dec 29, 2023. TECK has a dividend yield of 1%. Over the past five years, Teck Resources Limited has increased its dividend 10 times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 10% of earnings.CheckTeck Resources Limited’s dividend history here.

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