The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights H&R Block, Chemed, Suncor Energy, Open Text and Essent Group

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 12, 2022 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: H&R Block Inc. HRB, Chemed Corp. CHE, Suncor Energy Inc. SU, Open Text Corp. OTEX and Essent Group Ltd. ESNT.

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

5 Stocks in Focus That Recently Hiked Their Dividends

U.S. stocks have maintained their northbound journey in August after completing an astonishing bull run in July. The consumer price index (CPI) for July dropped to 8.5% from 9.1% in June and came in below the consensus estimate of 8.7%. The core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy items) rose 5.9% compared with the consensus estimate of 6.1%.

However, we are not out of the woods. Despite the drop in the inflation rate, July's data is well ahead of the Fed's targeted mark of 2%. The central bank has decided to pursue aggressive monetary stances of a rigorous interest rate hike and reduction in the size of its balance sheet to combat high inflation.

Moreover, the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine is yet to be resolved and a new conflict is emerging between China and Taiwan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the latter. Escalation of this conflict will create a massive problem for the global economy.

At this stage, investors should remain cautious and stay invested in dividend-paying stocks to safeguard their portfolios. In this respect, investors should consider stocks that have recently raised their dividend payments. Five such companies are - H&R Block Inc., Chemed Corp., Suncor Energy Inc., Open Text Corp. and Essent Group Ltd..

H&R Block is a leading provider of tax preparation services. HRB provides assisted income tax return preparation, do-it-yourself tax solutions and other products and services associated with income tax return preparation in the United States, Canada and Australia. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

On Aug 9, 2022, H&R Block declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.29 per share on Oct 3, 2022. HRB has a dividend yield of 2.94%. Over the past 5 years, HRB has increased its dividend three times, and its payout ratio presently stays at 29% of earnings. Check HRB's dividend history here.

Chemed purchases, operates and divests subsidiaries engaged in diverse business activities. CHE's operating businesses are managed on a decentralized basis. Since its inception, Chemed has engaged in 12 significant acquisitions or divestitures of diverse business units. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

On Aug 5, 2022, Chemed declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.38 per share on Sep 2, 2022. CHE has a dividend yield of 0.30%. Over the past 5 years, CHE has increased its dividend five times, and its payout ratio presently stays at 7% of earnings. Check CHE's dividend history here.

Suncor Energy is Canada's premier integrated energy company. SU's operations include oil sands development and upgrading, conventional and offshore crude oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing. Suncor Energy is one of the largest owners of oil sands in the world. The company carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

On Aug 8, 2022, Suncor Energy declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.3656 per share on Sep 26, 2022. SU has a dividend yield of 4.80%. Over the past 5 years, SU has increased its dividend 13 times, and its payout ratio presently stays at 30% of earnings. Check SU's dividend history here.

Open Text is engaged in the development of innovative intranet, extranet and e-business applications. Since creating one of the first search engines to index the World Wide Web, OTEX has remained at the forefront of Internet-based technologies. Open Text enables individuals, organizations, and global trading communities to collaborate on projects, share ideas and accelerate innovation. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

On Aug 8, 2022, Open Text declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.243 per share on Sep 23, 2022. OTEX has a dividend yield of 2.30%. Over the past 5 years, OTEX has increased its dividend five times, and its payout ratio presently stays at 29% of earnings. Check OTEX's dividend history here.

Essent Group operates as a private mortgage insurance company. ESNT serves originators of residential mortgage loans, such as regulated depository institutions, mortgage banks, credit unions, and other lenders. The company carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

On Aug 5, 2022, Essent Group declared that its shareholders would receive a dividend of $0.22 per share on Sep 12, 2022. ESNT has a dividend yield of 2.05%. Over the past 5 years, ESNT has increased its dividend seven times, and its payout ratio presently stays at 10% of earnings. Check ESNT's dividend history here.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
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