Published on 16 Feb 2024 on Zacks via Yahoo Finance

5 Stocks to Watch on Their Recent Dividend Hikes

Investor sentiment took a hit after the Consumer Price Index, the most accepted gauge for inflation, came in higher than expected for the month of January 2024. Due to an unexpected rise in inflation, the Federal Reserve’s rate cut is most likely to be delayed further.The key indexes, the Dow, the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq, have returned 15.1%, 23% and 34.2%, respectively, over the past year.The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Feb 14 that the headline inflation for the month of January rose 0.3% monthly and 3.1% on a year-over-year basis against the street expectation of 0.2% and 2.9%, respectively. Higher shelter prices accounted for much of the rise. Since the current inflation is higher than the Fed’s ambitious target of 2%, the expectation of an interest rate cut in March seems unlikely.The Fed has already kept the interest rate at its highest level since 2001 in the range of 5.25-5.5% with an intention to slow down the overall economy. By maintaining high interest rates, the Fed wants to cool off demand by making borrowing money more expensive. This would impact corporate performance and, thereby, stock prices. Although investors are expecting the central bank to be less hawkish this year, keeping in mind sticky inflation, the Fed will most probably keep the interest rate high for longer.Prudent investors who wish to invest their money for regular income and capital preservation can buy dividend stocks. These companies, due to their well-established businesses, pay out regular dividends and remain profitable due to their proven business models. Companies that tend to reward investors with a high dividend payout outperform non-dividend-paying stocks in a highly volatile market.On that note, let us look at companies like Genuine Parts GPC, Koppers KOP, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies WAB, CSX CSX and SherwinWilliams SHW that have lately hiked their dividend payouts.Genuine Parts is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company distributes automotive and industrial replacement parts and materials. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.    On Feb 15, GPC announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $1 a share on Apr 1, 2024. GPC has a dividend yield of 2.6%.Over the past five years, GPC has increased its dividend six times. Its payout ratio now sits at 42% of earnings. Check Genuine Parts' dividend history here.

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Genuine Parts Company Dividend Yield (TTM)