Volatility has returned to Wall Street as concerns grow over rising inflation and fears of a potential rate hike by the Federal Reserve this year. Oil prices have eased after the United States and Iran signed a preliminary peace deal, but a tech selloff lately has once again been rattling markets.
Given this ongoing uncertainty, conservative investors seeking assured income and looking for ways to protect their capital may want to consider holding or investing in dividend-paying stocks.
Such stocks provide steady earnings through regular dividend payouts and can help mitigate the effects of market volatility. Three such stocks are: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. WLY, AZZ Inc. AZZ and Matson, Inc. MATX.
Volatility Returns to Wall Street
AI-related tech stocks have been suffering lately as concerns have been growing about their sustainability. This has resulted in investors rotating out of AI-related stocks and taking refuge in defensive assets. Tech stocks have been driving the broader market rally over the past few years, but doubts about their profitability are now concerning investors.
Several other factors are also weighing on the markets. Inflation has been rising over the last three months. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index jumped 4.1% from year-ago levels in May, its largest gain since April 2023, the Commerce Department reported last week. This comes after PCE inflation jumped an unrevised 3.8% in April.
Month over month, the PCE index rose 0.4% in May, after climbing 0.7% in April. Oil and other energy prices rose 6.5%. Although oil prices have eased substantially since the United States and Iran signed a temporary peace deal, the impact of the Middle East crisis is far from over.
The jump in global oil prices was primarily responsible for the surge in inflation, which has now drifted far away from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. The Federal Reserve is now planning to go for a rate hike in its bid to tame inflation. Markets are pricing in a 25-basis-point interest rate hike by the end of this year.
3 Stocks That Recently Announced Dividend Hikes
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is a global provider of knowledge and knowledge-enabled services that improve outcomes in areas of research, professional practice and education. Through the Research segment, WLY provides digital and print scientific, technical, medical and scholarly journals, reference works, books, database services, and advertising. John Wiley & Sons has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
On June 25, John Wiley & Sons announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.36 a share on Aug. 23. WLY has a dividend yield of 2.95%. Over the past five years, John Wiley & Sons has increased its dividend six times, and its payout ratio presently sits at 34% of earnings. Check John Wiley & Sons’ dividend history here.
AZZ Inc
AZZ Inc. is a global provider of metal coating services, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services to the markets of power generation, transmission, distribution and industrial in protecting metal and electrical systems used to build and enhance the world's infrastructure. AZZ has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
On June 25, AZZ declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.25 a share on Aug. 30. AZZ has a dividend yield of 0.51%. Over the past five years, AZZ has increased its dividend two times, and its payout ratio presently sits at 13% of earnings. Check AZZ’s dividend history here.
Matson, Inc.
Matson, Inc. operates as an ocean transportation and logistics company. MATX offers shipping services in Hawaii, Guam and the Micronesia islands and expedited service from China to Southern California. Matson has a Zacks Rank #3.
On June 25, Matson announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.38 a share on Sept. 3. MATX has a dividend yield of 0.74%. Over the past five years, Matson has increased its dividend six times, and its payout ratio presently sits at 11% of earnings. Check Matson’s dividend history here.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
AZZ Inc. (AZZ): Free Stock Analysis Report
Matson, Inc. (MATX): Free Stock Analysis Report
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).