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5 Top-Ranked, Dividend Raising Stocks to Dodge Volatility

The last few months have been increasingly taxing for the global economy and financial markets across the world. The rapid decline in crude oil prices, uncertainty with respect to the timing of the Fed rate hike, macroeconomic headwinds looming large in China and a slowdown in global markets were some of the economic factors at play. As things stand, the resulting volatility is not likely to dissipate any time soon.

Uncertainty Looms Large

Though the U.S. Federal Reserve kept the interest rate unchanged for the time being, reaffirming the current rate of 0–0.25%, a hike in the future cannot be ruled out, as per the Sep 17 release of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Moreover, concerns related to China are likely to prevail. The economy, which for so long was absorbing recessionary blows, has taken a beating and a revival may not be in the cards. It became evident when September trade data showed that exports were down 3.7% from the same period last year while imports plunged 20.4% in dollar denominated terms.

Meanwhile, according to information provided by FactSet, it appears that the S&P 500 will report a year-over-year decline in earnings for the third quarter. If this happens, it will be the first time for the index to suffer two consecutive quarters of year-over-year earnings decline since the second and third quarters of 2009.

And the picture for the fourth quarter is not rosy either. Analysts believe that earnings will decline in the fourth quarter too. The estimated earnings growth rate for the fourth quarter, which was 4.3% on Jun 30, declined to 0.2% and is now -0.4%.

So, the remainder of the year may not be any different from the year so far. In this dismal scenario, where an economic recovery seems to be elusive, what will investors turn to? If a man as rich as John D. Rockefeller could once say – “Do you know the only thing that gives me pleasure? It’s to see my dividends coming in.” – we know where the answer lies.

In such distraught circumstances, investors should not panic. Instead, they should devise a strategy on how to play out the global ills. An investor craving for a steady stream of funds in the form of sizeable yields on a regular basis may think of adding good reliable dividend paying stocks to his/her portfolio. They are a comparatively safer bet in the current low-rate environment as they provide a cushion during economic uncertainties.

5 Solid Dividend Buys

We have picked five stocks that could be promising picks. Not only do these stocks have a favorable Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2 (Buy) but also have a dividend yield of greater than 5% and a 5-year historical dividend growth rate of 5% or more.

DuPont Fabros Technology, Inc. DFT: This Washington-based real estate investment trust (REIT) is a leading owner, developer, operator and manager of enterprise-class, carrier-neutral, large multi-tenant wholesale data centers. The company’s 12 data centers located in four major U.S. markets are highly specialized and are primarily used by national and international technology companies across several industries including media, communications, cloud-based, healthcare and financial services among others in order to support most of their critical business processes.

•    Zacks Rank #2
•    Dividend Yield: 6.02%
•    5-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 39.2%

Orchids Paper Products Company TIS: This manufacturer of high-quality consumer tissue products including paper towels, bathroom tissue and paper napkins serves the ultra-premium quality market segments with operations in northeast Oklahoma and Mexicali, Mexico. Beginning 2016, Orchids Paper Products will also be operating from its Barnwell, SC greenfield site. This Oklahoma-based consumer-centric company offers its products mainly through retail chains across the U.S.

•    Zacks Rank #2
•    Dividend Yield: 5.00%
•    5-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 45.5%

Iron Mountain Inc. IRM: Based in Massachusetts, the company with a presence in 36 countries is a leading provider of storage and information management services. Iron Mountain stores and protects billions of information assets including business documents, backup tapes, electronic files and medical data of organizations. The company provides solutions for record management, data management, document management and secure shredding helping organizations to lower storage costs, comply with regulations, recover from disaster and better use their information for business advantage.

•    Zacks Rank #2
•    Dividend Yield: 6.07%
•    5-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 19.5%

W. P. Carey Inc. WPC: This New York-based company is a leading global net-lease REIT that provides long-term sale-leaseback and build-to-suit financing solutions for companies worldwide. Additionally, W. P. Carey manages a series of non-traded publicly registered investment programs with assets under management of about $10.4 billion.

•    Zacks Rank #1
•    Dividend Yield: 6.36%
•    5-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 17.2%

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. BIP: Based in Canada, the company’s business consists of the ownership and operation of premier utilities, transport, energy and communications infrastructure assets in North and South America, Australia, and Europe.

•    Zacks Rank #1
•    Dividend Yield: 5.26%
•    5-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 13.6%

Bottom Line

While looking for a dividend stock that can yield steady returns, an investor should be prudent to choose a consistent performer with strong fundamentals. And one should also not forget to diversify the portfolio across industries to minimize risk.

Meanwhile, volatility in the markets is expected to continue with a heightened level of activity on both economic and corporate fronts. While the third-quarter earnings season will gain momentum with companies releasing their results, U.S. retail sales and the September CPI and PPI will remain in focus. On the other hand, the European Union Summit meeting will begin tomorrow. In this context, it will be wise to pay heed to the top-ranked, dividend paying stocks discussed above.

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 >>


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
 
IRON MOUNTAIN (IRM): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
BROOKFIELD INFR (BIP): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
DUPONT FABROS (DFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
WP CAREY INC (WPC): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
ORCHIDS PAPER (TIS): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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