Zacks.com featured highlights include Agnico Eagle Mines, UGI, Qifu Technology, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Group 1 Automotive

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 17, 2025 – Stocks in this week’s article are Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. AEM, UGI Corp. UGI, Qifu Technology Inc. QFIN, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. TSM and Group 1 Automotive GPI.

5 Dividend Growth Stocks for a Safe, Income-Driven Portfolio

Dividend investing has emerged as one of the most resilient strategies in 2025, gaining traction amid heightened market volatility and lingering uncertainties. While U.S. stocks continue to hover near record highs, buoyed by optimism around trade negotiations, robust corporate earnings, cooling inflation and the AI-driven rally, investor sentiment remains clouded by geopolitical tensions and ambiguity surrounding the Fed's next moves.

Dividends offer a reliable stream of income, making them an attractive choice during uncertain times. Although they typically don't deliver outsized price gains, dividend-paying stocks are known for stabilizing portfolios and outperforming in turbulent markets. Focusing on dividend growth rather than just yield can further enhance returns.

Companies with a consistent track record of increasing their payouts tend to be financially strong and offer better long-term capital appreciation. This strategy helps build a healthier, more resilient portfolio compared to chasing high-yield or one-off dividend payers. We have selected five dividend growth stocks — Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., UGI Corp., Qifu Technology Inc., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd. and Group 1 Automotive — which could be solid choices for the second half.

Why Dividend Growth?

Stocks that have a strong history of dividend growth belong to mature companies, which are less susceptible to large swings in the market and thus act as a hedge against economic or political uncertainty as well as stock market volatility. At the same time, these offer downside protection with their consistent increase in payouts.

Additionally, these stocks have superior fundamentals that make dividend growth a quality and promising investment for the long term. These include a sustainable business model, a long track of profitability, rising cash flows, good liquidity, a strong balance sheet and some value characteristics. Further, a history of strong dividend growth indicates that a dividend increase is likely in the future.

Although these stocks do not necessarily have the highest yields, they have outperformed for a longer period than the broader stock market or any other dividend-paying stock.

Here are five of the 14 stocks that fit the bill:

Canada-based Agnico Eagle is a gold producer with mining operations in Canada, Mexico and Finland and exploration activities in Canada, Europe, Latin America and the United States. It saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 42 cents over the past 30 days for this year. The company has an estimated earnings growth rate of 52.5%.

AEM currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Growth Score of B. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Pennsylvania-based UGI Corp. is a holding company that distributes, stores, transports and markets energy products and related services through its subsidiaries. It is a domestic and international retail distributor of propane and butane liquefied petroleum gases; a provider of natural gas and electric service via regulated local distribution utilities; a generator of electricity and a regional marketer of energy commodities. The stock has an estimated earnings growth rate of 2.29% for the fiscal year (ending September 2025) and delivered an average earnings surprise of 75.67% for the past four quarters.

UGI Corp. has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B.

China-based Qifu Technology is a Credit-Tech platform principally in China that provides a comprehensive suite of technology services to assist financial institutions, consumers and SMEs in the loan lifecycle, ranging from borrower acquisition, preliminary credit assessment, and fund matching to post-facilitation services. The stock saw a positive earnings estimate revision of a couple of cents for this year, with an estimated earnings growth rate of 25.62%.

Qifu has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of B.

Taiwan-based Taiwan Semiconductor is the world's largest dedicated integrated circuit foundry. The company has seen a positive earnings estimate revision of 20 cents over the past 30 days for this year and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 34.66%.

TSM currently has a Zacks Rank #2 and a Growth Score of A.

Texas-based Group 1 Automotive is one of the leading automotive retailers in the world, with operations primarily located in the United States and the UK. The company saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 15 cents over the past month for this year and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 4.3%.

Group 1 Automotive has a Zacks Rank #1 and a Growth Score of A.

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The Research Wizard is a great place to begin. It's easy to use. Everything is in plain language. And it's very intuitive. Start your Research Wizard trial today. And the next time you read an economic report, open up the Research Wizard, plug your finds in, and see what gems come out.

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For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/2585822/5-dividend-growth-stocks-for-a-safe-income-driven-portfolio

Disclosure: Officers, directors and/or employees of Zacks Investment Research may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material. An affiliated investment advisory firm may own or have sold short securities and/or hold long and/or short positions in options that are mentioned in this material.

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Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

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