4 Bank Stocks With Recent Dividend Hikes to Keep an Eye On

With U.S. markets experiencing an upswing, investors are keenly observing opportunities to bolster their portfolios amid the positive momentum. This year has been good for bank stocks after a hiccup in April because of Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff plans. The optimistic stance seems to be driven by trade clarity and interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. Nonetheless, investors must keep an eye on inflationary pressure and geopolitical uncertainties.As such, investors must watch fundamentally solid banks, which also offer a robust dividend yield and stand out as a potential source of stability and income. These companies often possess resilient business models and a long track record of profitability, which can help them weather volatility. By providing steady cash flows through dividends, they may serve as a defensive anchor for portfolios in uncertain times. Four such bank stocks are ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. SFBS, Fulton Financial Corporation FULT, First Financial Corporation THFF and Norwood Financial Corp. NWFL — all of which recently announced dividend hikes.The abovementioned banks have been increasing quarterly dividends regularly, thus enhancing shareholder value. Also, over the past month, these stocks have rallied more than 3%.One-Month Price PerformanceImage Source: Zacks Investment Research4 Bank Stocks to WatchServisFirst Bancshares, headquartered in Birmingham, AL, offers commercial banking services through full-service banking offices located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Also, it has a loan production office in Florida. As of Sept. 30, 2025, it had $17.6 billion in assets.On Dec. 15, SFBS announced a quarterly cash dividend of 38 cents per share, marking an increase of 13.4% from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on Jan. 13, 2026, to common stock shareholders of record as of Jan. 2, 2026.Notably, ServisFirst has increased its dividend annually since it went public in 2014. It has a dividend yield of 1.84% and a dividend payout ratio of 28%.SFBS Dividend YieldImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for SFBS’ 2025 sales indicates a year-over-year rise of 16.2%, while that for earnings suggests 21.8% growth. This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company has a market cap of $3.97 billion. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Fulton Financial is the financial holding company headquartered in Lancaster, PA, offering a full range of consumer and commercial financial services. As of Sept. 30, 2025, FULT had $32 billion in assets and operated 200 financial centers across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.On Dec. 16, FULT announced a quarterly cash dividend of 19 cents per share, representing a rise of 5.6% from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on Jan. 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 31, 2025.The company has increased its dividend nine times in the past five years, with an annualized dividend growth rate of 7.01%. Fulton has a dividend yield of 3.57% and a dividend payout ratio of 34%.FULT Dividend YieldImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Fulton’s 2025 sales indicates a rise of 8.5% year over year, while earnings are expected to grow 11.9%. This Zacks Rank #3 stock has a market cap of $3.65 billion.First Financial Corp operates in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia through 79 banking centers. As of Sept. 30, 2025, THFF had $5.7 billion of assets.On Dec. 18, First Financial announced a quarterly cash dividend of 56 cents per share on its common stock, marking a hike of 9.8% from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out Jan. 15, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Jan. 2, 2026.The company has increased its dividend five times in the past five years, with an annualized dividend growth rate of 18.83%. THFF has a dividend yield of 3.19%. Further, it has a dividend payout ratio of 33%.THFF Dividend YieldImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for THFF’s 2025 sales suggests year-over-year growth of 18.5%, while that for earnings indicates a 64.8% surge. This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company has a market cap of $758.7 million. Norwood Financial, the holding company of Wayne Bank, offers a wide variety of personal and business credit services, trust and investment products and real estate settlement services. It operates through 15 offices across Northeastern Pennsylvania and 14 offices in Delaware, Sullivan, Ontario, Otsego and Yates Counties, New York. As of Sept. 30, 2025, it had $2.4 billion in assets.On Dec. 17, NWFL announced a quarterly cash dividend of 32 cents per share, marking an increase of 3.1% from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on Feb. 2, 2026, to common stock shareholders of record as of Jan. 15, 2026.The company has increased its dividend six times in the past five years, with an annualized dividend growth rate of 4.47%. Norwood Financial has a dividend yield of 4.18% and a dividend payout ratio of 47%.NWFL Dividend YieldImage Source: Zacks Investment ResearchThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for NWFL’s 2025 sales indicates a year-over-year rise of 23.1%, while that for earnings suggests an 60.1% jump. This Zacks Rank #1 company has a market cap of $274.78 million.Final Words on Bank Stocks Implementing Dividend HikesEnriching one’s portfolio with dividend stocks shows prudence, as these provide a source of steady income and a cushion against market risks. Despite the benefits of dividend stocks, not every company can maintain its dividend-paying streak. So, investors must be judicious while picking dividend stocks for steady returns.Zacks Naming Top 10 Stocks for 2026Want to be tipped off early to our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2026? History suggests their performance could be sensational.From 2012 (when our Director of Research Sheraz Mian assumed responsibility for the portfolio) through November, 2025, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks gained +2,530.8%, more than QUADRUPLING the S&P 500’s +570.3%.Now Sheraz is combing through 4,400 companies to handpick the best 10 tickers to buy and hold in 2026. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these stocks when they’re released on January 5. Be First to New Top 10 Stocks >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Fulton Financial Corporation (FULT): Free Stock Analysis Report First Financial Corporation Indiana (THFF): Free Stock Analysis Report ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. (SFBS): Free Stock Analysis Report Norwood Financial Corp. (NWFL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks