Dividend Stocks Draw Interest Amid Market Uncertainty

U.S. markets have swung between record highs after cooler-than-expected inflation data and pullbacks driven by earnings and renewed U.S.–China trade tensions, a backdrop that has made dividend and dividend-growth stocks especially attractive ahead of expected Fed rate cuts. Dividend screeners favor financials and regional banks — examples include First Financial Bancorp (4.11% yield, low payout ratio), Hancock Whitney, Burke & Herbert and Westamerica — which are being flagged for stable dividends and potential undervaluation. Amgen is singled out as a top dividend-growth buy, trading up roughly 16% year-to-date while projecting mid-single-digit revenue growth and advancing pipeline candidates (notably MariTide and an eczema therapy) that could offset biosimilar pressure. In Europe, investors are seeking fast-growing companies with high insider ownership as alignment signals, with names such as Himalaya Shipping and Humble Group noted for earnings upside. Observers caution that cash generation alone is not sufficient — several cash-rich firms (including Acushnet, United Airlines, Paychex, Trane, Qualys, Sabre, Becton Dickinson and Nasdaq) are profiled for capital deployment or structural risks — and valuation dispersion and corporate actions (for example, Fifth Third’s planned Comerica deal) may materially affect EPS and share counts in 2026–27.