The 3 Best Dividend Growth Stocks to Buy in February 2024

High-yielding stocks often fall short on capital appreciation while growth stocks rarely offer dividends. Investors who mix the best traits of each asset will end up with dividend-growth stocks. 

These assets have several growth catalysts and the means to raise cash flow at a high rate. Investors won’t get the best cash flow now, but the dividend income will be ready by the time retirement approaches. 

Some dividend growth stocks are better than others, and researching several stocks can help you determine what works best for you. These are some of the best dividend growth stocks to consider.

Wingstop (WING)

Wingstop (NASDAQ:WING) is gaining market share and rewarding long-term investors. The restaurant chain gained 73% over the past year and is up by 320% over the past five years. 

Wingstop offers meaningful revenue and earnings growth with an $8 billion market cap. If the company can maintain its current growth rates, the stock price should move up too. Wingstop reported 26.4% year-over-year revenue growth in the fiscal third quarter of 2023. This figure also included a 66.9% year-over-year jump in digital sales.

Wingstop is also profitable and closed out the quarter with a 16.7% net profit margin. The company’s net income increased by 46% year-over-year to make that happen.

Leadership envisions scaling the restaurant chain to a top 10 global restaurant brand. The long-term vision and enticing financial growth to back it up makes this equity a pick to consider. Wingstop closed out the third fiscal quarter with over 2,000 restaurants.

Wingstop also rewards shareholders with a rapidly growing dividend as it embarks on its goal to become a top restaurant. The company raised its dividend by 15.8% in 2023. Wingstop also has a good habit of distributing a special dividend every two years. The special dividend came to $4 per share in 2022.

Moody’s (MCO)

Moody’s (NYSE:MCO) is a dividend-yielding risk management and financial services company that offers meaningful dividend growth rates and asset appreciation.

The ratings agency almost always hikes its dividend by more than 10% each year. The firm raised its quarterly dividend per share from 70 cents to 77 cents in 2023. Moody’s is expected to announce a higher dividend payout this month.

Yet the firm is tapping into artificial intelligence to strengthen its core software. The decision can attract new clients, increase retention rates, and raise the average revenue per customer. 

Moody’s offers a high-profit margin and generated double-digit revenue and earnings growth in the third quarter of 2023. The company also returned capital to shareholders by repurchasing $278 million worth of shares over the first nine months of 2023. Dividend payouts have come in at $424 million during that period.

Moody’s currently trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 35. The highest price target of $455 per share implies a 15% upside.

Walmart (WMT)

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) has been helping people to save money and live better for over 60 years. The company has also helped many of its investors by delivering a 77% gain over the past five years and repurchasing $1.3 billion in shares during the first nine months of fiscal 2024.

The retailer is growing in domestic and international markets. Like many large companies based in the U.S., Walmart is experiencing higher growth rates abroad. Total revenue growth came to 5.2% year-over-year which included 15% year-over-year e-commerce growth in Q3 FY2024. Moreover, Walmart also raised its guidance for its fiscal year sales growth from 5% to 5.5%. The corporation also hiked its annual earnings per share estimate from $6.40 to $6.48.

Walmart boasts healthy cash flow and a 1.35% dividend yield. The retailer has steadily increased its dividend over the years and recently hiked the quarterly payout from 56 cents to 57 cents per share. Walmart is due to increase its dividend again in a few weeks.

The average price target suggests a 7% upside from the current price. The highest price target of $210 per share suggests the equity can rally by 24.3% from here.

On the date of publication, Marc Guberti did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.