Investors are worried again as market volatility, which started two months ago, has been continuing in October. This is primarily because market participants are yet to get a clear picture of how the Fed plans to go ahead with its monetary tightening policy in the final quarter of this year and in 2024 when rate cuts are expected for the first time since March 2022.

The Federal Reserve kept its benchmark policy rate unchanged in its September meeting at the existing range of 5.25-5.5%. The Fed’s decision was highly expected but it failed to boost investors’ sentiment.

Concerns grew further last week after the Fed released the minutes of the September FOMC, which also failed to give a clear picture of the central bank’s next move. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that although inflation has declined sharply over the past year, it remains elevated and way above the central bank’s 2% target. Hence, the Fed has hinted at another quarter percentage point interest rate hike this year.

This will take the terminal interest rate of this monetary tightening campaign to 5.6%, which is a lot higher than the 5.1% forecast given in July.

Moreover, the Fed is also likely to keep interest rates higher for a longer period of time than expected earlier, as the Fed has now forecast two instead of four interest rate cuts in 2024 as projected earlier.

Also, geopolitical tensions have risen once again. Oil prices have been on the rise for the past month, which saw the consumer price index (CPI) rising 0.4% in September, higher than economists’ expectations of a 0.3% rise.

Moreover, the recent surprise attack by Hamas on Israel has also raised concerns as many believe this could further push oil prices up.

Stocks in Focus

Given this situation, dividend-yielding stocks should be an ideal choice for investors aiming to secure their portfolios. We recommend considering stocks that have recently raised their dividend payouts.

Five such stocks are Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. (SKT Quick QuoteSKT - Free Report) , Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. (REPX Quick QuoteREPX - Free Report) , EQT Corporation (EQT Quick QuoteEQT - Free Report) , MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. (MSM Quick QuoteMSM - Free Report) and Maximus, Inc. (MMS Quick QuoteMMS - Free Report) .

Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. is a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust, which focuses exclusively on developing, acquiring, owning and operating factory outlet centers. Since entering the factory outlet center business, SKT has become one of the largest owners and operators of factory outlet centers in the United States. Tanger Factory Outlet Centers currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

On Oct 13, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.26 a share on Nov 15, 2023. SKT has a dividend yield of 4.36%. Over the past five years, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers has increased its dividend seven times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 52% of earnings. Check Tanger Factory Outlet Centers’ dividend history here.

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. is an independent oil and natural gas company. REPX is involved in the acquisition, exploration, development and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids, or NGLs, principally in the Permian Basin.

On Oct 12, Riley Exploration Permian announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.36 a share on Nov 9, 2023. REPX has a dividend yield of 4.30%. Over the past five years, Riley Exploration Permian has increased its dividend three times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 23% of earnings. Check Riley Exploration Permian’s dividend history here.

EQT Corporation is primarily an explorer and producer of natural gas, with a primary focus on the Appalachian Basin in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Notably, in terms of average daily sales volumes, EQT is the largest natural gas producer in the domestic market.

On Oct 12, EQT Corporation declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.16 a share on Dec 1, 2023. EQT has a dividend yield of 1.38%. Over the past five years, EQT Corporation has increased its dividend four times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 20% of earnings. Check EQT Corporation’s dividend history here.

MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. is one of the premier distributors of Metalworking and Maintenance, Repair and Operations supplies to industrial customers throughout the United States. MSM distributes approximately 590,000 industrial products from approximately 3,000 suppliers to approximately 350,000 customers. MSC Industrial Directreaches its customers through a combination of approximately 27 million direct-mail catalogs and CD-ROMs, 96 branch sales offices, 927 sales people, the Internet and associations with some of the world's most prominent B2B e-commerce portals.

On Oct 11, MSC Industrial Directannounced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.83 a share on Nov 28, 2023. MSM has a dividend yield of 3.04%. Over the past five years, MSC Industrial Directhas increased its dividend five times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 49% of earnings. Check EQT Corporation’s dividend history here.

Maximus, Inc. operates government health and human services programs globally. With more than 39,500 employees across the globe, MMS has a presence in the United States, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

On Oct 10, Maximus announced that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.30 a share on Nov 30, 2023. MMS has a dividend yield of 1.46%. Over the past five years, Maximus has increased its dividend three times, and its payout ratio at present sits at 29% of earnings. Check Maximus’ dividend history here.