3 Dividend Stocks That Were Home Runs in the First Half (Will the Second Half Be as Good?)

The stock market enjoyed a strong first half, with the S&P 500 rallying 14.5%. Given the election uncertainty and growing macroeconomic concerns, it will be hard for the market to repeat that performance in the second half. Many dividend stocks enjoyed even stronger first-half returns, including NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), Targa Resources (NYSE: TRGP), and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM). While they'll likely face similar second-half headwinds as the broader market, they stand out to a few Fool.com contributors because they could deliver an encore performance in the second half.Reuben Gregg Brewer (NextEra Energy): Although NextEra Energy is a utility, it somehow managed to provide investors with a total return of just over 18% in the first half of 2024. That soundly beats the S&P 500 index's total return of roughly 15%. That said, NextEra Energy's price performance really represents a bounce back after rising interest rates led to a steep price decline. So investors probably shouldn't go in here thinking that a utility stock is going to shoot to the Moon.Continue readingWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei MotleyFool