The bearish sentiment remains dominant in stock markets as we are coming close to the end of 2022. The S&P 500, the Dow and the Nasdaq have yielded negative returns of 16.17%, 6.53% and 28.60%, respectively, so far this year. Investors have lost a massive amount of wealth across most of the sectors and the economy is expected to run into recession in the coming year.
Domestically, inflation in the United States, has been the biggest challenge for the economy. inflation, as reflected by the consumer price index (CPI), came in at a 7.1% increase year over year for November, showing signs of cooling off, after the record high of 8.2% in September and 8.3% in August. Yet, it is far from the Federal Reserves’ ambitious target of 2% for a strong economy.
November’s services sector PMI data, provided by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), jumped to 56.5% from 54.4% in October, indicating exceptional growth. At the same time, the employment level increased to 263,000 jobs for November, and the average hourly income rose 0.6% for the month, up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. The above data suggest that the Fed’s efforts to check inflation by drying the liquidity and slowing down the labor market are ineffective.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has continued with a hawkish monetary policy by a 0.5 basis point increase in overnight interest rate, marking its seventh hike in 2022. The cumulative interest is now in the range of 4.25-4.5%, making it the maximum since 1980. The chair has mentioned that the Fed will continue to increase its rate in the New Year as long it’s needed to meet the inflation goal.
Global geopolitical tensions, especially the Russia-Ukraine war, which resulted in global oil and gas scarcity during winter, are leaving indirect impacts on the supply-chain disruptions. A fresh COVID-19 breakout in China forced the authorities to impose restrictions in several cities in China, shrinking businesses and consumer activity. Such situations have impacted business around the world and aggravated volatility in the stock market.
Thus, investors seeking regular income in such an unstable situation may invest in matured businesses with regular dividend payout. These dividend stocks have shown profitability due to their proven business model, which helps them stay afloat during adverse economic conditions.
Investors can expect a regular flow of income along with the preservation of capital against unexpected price changes. It is often seen that a company, which tends to reward its investors with a high dividend payout, comparatively outperforms non-dividend-paying stocks during market volatility.
On that note, let us look at companies like
Lamb Weston
LW
,
Nucor
NUE
,
Quanta Services
PWR
,
Toro
TTC
, and
Amgen
AMGN
that have lately hiked their dividend payments.
Lamb Weston
is an Eagle, ID-based company. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company is a leading global manufacturer, marketer and distributor of value-added frozen potato products, particularly French fries, and provides a range of appetizers.
You can see
the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here
.
On Dec 14, LW declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.28 a share on Mar 3, 2023. LW has a dividend yield of 1.29%.
Over the past five years, LW has increased its dividend five times and its payout ratio at present sits at 37% of earnings.
Check Farmers Lamb Weston’s dividend history here
.
Nucor
is a Charlotte, NC-based company. This Zacks Rank #3 company is a leading producer of structural steel, steel bars, steel joists, steel deck and cold-finished bars in the United States.
On Dec 14, NUE declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.51 a share on Feb 10, 2023. NUE has a dividend yield of 1.39%.
Over the past five years, NUE has increased its dividend five times and its payout ratio presently sits at 6% of earnings.
Check Nucor’s dividend history here
.
Quanta Services
is a Houston, TX-based company. The Zacks Rank #3 company is a leading national provider of specialty contracting services, and one of the largest contractors serving the transmission and distribution sector of the North American electric utility industry.
On Dec 13, PWR declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.08 a share on Jan 13, 2023. PWR has a dividend yield of 0.21%.
Over the past five years, PWR has increased its dividend four times and its payout ratio presently sits at 5% of earnings.
Quanta Services’ dividend history here
.
Toro
is a Bloomington, MN-based company. This Zacks Rank #3 company is a leading worldwide provider of innovative solutions for the outdoor environment, including turf, snow and ground-engaging equipment and irrigation and outdoor lighting solutions.
On Dec 13, TTC declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.34 a share on Jan 11, 2023. TTC has a dividend yield of 1.21%.
In the past five-year period, TTC has increased its dividend six times. Its payout ratio at present sits at 33% of earnings.
Check Toro’s dividend history
.
Amgen
is a Thousand Oaks, CA-based company. This Zacks Rank #3 company is one of the biggest biotech companies in the world, with a strong presence in the oncology/hematology, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience, inflammation, bone health and nephrology and neuroscience markets.
On Dec 12, AMGN announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $2.13 a share on Mar 8, 2023. AMGN has a dividend yield of 3.08%.
Over the past five years, AMGN has increased its dividend six times. Its payout ratio now sits at 43% of earnings.
Check Amgen’s dividend history here
.
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Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.8% per year. So be sure to give these hand-picked 7 your immediate attention.
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