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5 Top-Ranked Dividend Growth Stock Picks for the Second Half of 2025
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Key Takeaways
MCK, AEM, NTES, QFIN and UGI meet strict criteria for dividend, sales and earnings growth.
Each pick shows positive earnings revisions and strong Growth Scores, signaling continued strength.
These stocks are trading below industry cash flow averages.
Dividend investing remains one of the hottest segments in the first half of 2025 amid heightened volatility and uncertainty. While U.S. stocks have been hovering near record highs, driven by optimism over trade talks, corporate earnings growth, easing inflation and momentum in artificial intelligence, geopolitics and uncertain Fed moves continue to weigh on investors’ sentiment.
Dividends are major sources of consistent income for investors, but they do not offer dramatic price appreciation. Stocks backed by regular dividends can reduce the volatility of a portfolio and tend to outperform in a choppy market. In particular, focusing on the growth level in this strategy leads to higher returns. Zeroing in on stocks with a history of dividend growth leads to a healthy portfolio with a greater scope of capital appreciation, as opposed to simple dividend-paying stocks or those with high yields.
We have selected five dividend growth stocks — Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) , NetEase Inc. (NTES - Free Report) , Qifu Technology Inc. (QFIN - Free Report) , UGI Corporation (UGI - Free Report) and McKesson Corporation (MCK - Free Report) — which could be solid choices for the second half.
Why is Dividend Growth Better?
Stocks that have a strong history of dividend growth belong to mature companies, which are less susceptible to large swings in the market and thus act as a hedge against economic or political uncertainty as well as stock market volatility. At the same time, these offer downside protection with their consistent increase in payouts.
Additionally, these stocks have superior fundamentals that make dividend growth a quality and promising investment for the long term. These include a sustainable business model, a long track of profitability, rising cash flows, good liquidity, a strong balance sheet and some value characteristics. Further, a history of strong dividend growth indicates that dividend increase is likely in the future.
Although these stocks do not necessarily have the highest yields, they have outperformed for a longer period than the broader stock market or any other dividend-paying stock.
As a result, picking dividend growth stocks appears as a winning strategy when some other parameters are also included.
5-Year Historical Dividend Growth greater than zero: This selects stocks with a solid dividend growth history.
5-Year Historical Sales Growth greater than zero: This represents stocks with a strong record of growing revenues.
5-Year Historical EPS Growth greater than zero: This represents stocks with a solid earnings growth history.
Next 3-5 Year EPS Growth Rate greater than zero: This represents the rate at which a company’s earnings are expected to grow. Improving earnings should help companies sustain dividend payments.
Price/Cash Flow less than M-Industry: A ratio less than M-industry indicates that the stock is undervalued in that industry and that an investor needs to pay less for better cash flow generated by the company.
52-Week Price Change greater than S&P 500 (Market Weight): This ensures that the stock appreciated more than the S&P 500 over the past year.
Top Zacks Rank: Stocks having a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy) generally outperform their peers in all types of market environment.
Growth Score of B or better: Our research shows that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best upside potential.
Just these few criteria narrowed down the universe from more than 7,700 stocks to just 10.
Here are five of the 10 stocks that fit the bill:
Canada-based Agnico Eagle is a gold producer with mining operations in Canada, Mexico and Finland and exploration activities in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States. It saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 9 cents over the past seven days for this year. The company has an estimated earnings growth rate of 48.9%.
Beijing-based NetEase is an Internet technology company engaged in the development of applications, services and other technologies for the Internet in China. The stock has an estimated earnings growth rate of 19.9% for this year and delivered an average earnings surprise of 9.17% for the past four quarters.
NetEase sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A.
China-based Qifu Technology is a Credit-Tech platform principally in China that provides a comprehensive suite of technology services to assist financial institutions, consumers and SMEs in the loan lifecycle, ranging from borrower acquisition, preliminary credit assessment, and fund matching to post-facilitation services. The stock has an estimated earnings growth rate of 25.27% for this year and delivered an average earnings surprise of 14.25% for the past four quarters.
Qifu has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of A.
Pennsylvania-based UGI Corp is a holding company that distributes, stores, transports and markets energy products and related services through its subsidiaries. It is a domestic and international retail distributor of propane and butane liquefied petroleum gases; a provider of natural gas and electric service via regulated local distribution utilities; a generator of electricity and a regional marketer of energy commodities. The stock saw a positive earnings estimate revision of a couple of cents for the fiscal year (ending September 2025) over the past 30 days and has estimated earnings growth of 2.29%.
UGI Corp has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B.
California-based McKesson is a healthcare services and information technology company. The company saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 17 cents over the past month for the fiscal year (ending March 2026) and has an expected earnings growth rate of 12.65%
McKesson has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Image: Bigstock
5 Top-Ranked Dividend Growth Stock Picks for the Second Half of 2025
Key Takeaways
Dividend investing remains one of the hottest segments in the first half of 2025 amid heightened volatility and uncertainty. While U.S. stocks have been hovering near record highs, driven by optimism over trade talks, corporate earnings growth, easing inflation and momentum in artificial intelligence, geopolitics and uncertain Fed moves continue to weigh on investors’ sentiment.
Dividends are major sources of consistent income for investors, but they do not offer dramatic price appreciation. Stocks backed by regular dividends can reduce the volatility of a portfolio and tend to outperform in a choppy market. In particular, focusing on the growth level in this strategy leads to higher returns. Zeroing in on stocks with a history of dividend growth leads to a healthy portfolio with a greater scope of capital appreciation, as opposed to simple dividend-paying stocks or those with high yields.
We have selected five dividend growth stocks — Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM - Free Report) , NetEase Inc. (NTES - Free Report) , Qifu Technology Inc. (QFIN - Free Report) , UGI Corporation (UGI - Free Report) and McKesson Corporation (MCK - Free Report) — which could be solid choices for the second half.
Why is Dividend Growth Better?
Stocks that have a strong history of dividend growth belong to mature companies, which are less susceptible to large swings in the market and thus act as a hedge against economic or political uncertainty as well as stock market volatility. At the same time, these offer downside protection with their consistent increase in payouts.
Additionally, these stocks have superior fundamentals that make dividend growth a quality and promising investment for the long term. These include a sustainable business model, a long track of profitability, rising cash flows, good liquidity, a strong balance sheet and some value characteristics. Further, a history of strong dividend growth indicates that dividend increase is likely in the future.
Although these stocks do not necessarily have the highest yields, they have outperformed for a longer period than the broader stock market or any other dividend-paying stock.
As a result, picking dividend growth stocks appears as a winning strategy when some other parameters are also included.
5-Year Historical Dividend Growth greater than zero: This selects stocks with a solid dividend growth history.
5-Year Historical Sales Growth greater than zero: This represents stocks with a strong record of growing revenues.
5-Year Historical EPS Growth greater than zero: This represents stocks with a solid earnings growth history.
Next 3-5 Year EPS Growth Rate greater than zero: This represents the rate at which a company’s earnings are expected to grow. Improving earnings should help companies sustain dividend payments.
Price/Cash Flow less than M-Industry: A ratio less than M-industry indicates that the stock is undervalued in that industry and that an investor needs to pay less for better cash flow generated by the company.
52-Week Price Change greater than S&P 500 (Market Weight): This ensures that the stock appreciated more than the S&P 500 over the past year.
Top Zacks Rank: Stocks having a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and 2 (Buy) generally outperform their peers in all types of market environment.
Growth Score of B or better: Our research shows that stocks with a Growth Score of A or B when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 or 2 offer the best upside potential.
Just these few criteria narrowed down the universe from more than 7,700 stocks to just 10.
Here are five of the 10 stocks that fit the bill:
Canada-based Agnico Eagle is a gold producer with mining operations in Canada, Mexico and Finland and exploration activities in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States. It saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 9 cents over the past seven days for this year. The company has an estimated earnings growth rate of 48.9%.
AEM currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of B. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Beijing-based NetEase is an Internet technology company engaged in the development of applications, services and other technologies for the Internet in China. The stock has an estimated earnings growth rate of 19.9% for this year and delivered an average earnings surprise of 9.17% for the past four quarters.
NetEase sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of A.
China-based Qifu Technology is a Credit-Tech platform principally in China that provides a comprehensive suite of technology services to assist financial institutions, consumers and SMEs in the loan lifecycle, ranging from borrower acquisition, preliminary credit assessment, and fund matching to post-facilitation services. The stock has an estimated earnings growth rate of 25.27% for this year and delivered an average earnings surprise of 14.25% for the past four quarters.
Qifu has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of A.
Pennsylvania-based UGI Corp is a holding company that distributes, stores, transports and markets energy products and related services through its subsidiaries. It is a domestic and international retail distributor of propane and butane liquefied petroleum gases; a provider of natural gas and electric service via regulated local distribution utilities; a generator of electricity and a regional marketer of energy commodities. The stock saw a positive earnings estimate revision of a couple of cents for the fiscal year (ending September 2025) over the past 30 days and has estimated earnings growth of 2.29%.
UGI Corp has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B.
California-based McKesson is a healthcare services and information technology company. The company saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 17 cents over the past month for the fiscal year (ending March 2026) and has an expected earnings growth rate of 12.65%
McKesson has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of B.
You can get the rest of the stocks on this list by signing up now for your 2-week free trial to the Research Wizard and start using this screen in your own trading. Further, you can also create your own strategies and test them first before taking the investment plunge.
The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.
Click here to sign up for a free trial to the Research Wizard today.
Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.
Disclosure: Performance information for Zacks’ portfolios and strategies are available at: https://www.zacks.com/performance.