Zacks.com Highlights: Jones Lang LaSalle, Lockheed Martin, Owens Corning, Westlake Chemical And Columbia Sportswear

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – Feb 28, 2018 - Stocks in this week’s article include: Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE:JLL) , Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) , Owens Corning Inc. (NYSE:OC) , Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE:WLK) and Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ:COLM) .

Screen of the Week of Zacks Investment Research:

Smart Beta Dividend Stocks to Buy Now

Though the prospect of higher-than-expected rates hike and rising bond yields have diminished the appeal of dividend stocks, applying some smart beta strategies to the dividend investing world could fetch higher returns.

This is because the strategy helps to capture market inefficiencies in a transparent way by adding extra metrics like volatility, revenues, earnings, momentum and other fundamental factors to the market cap or rules-based indices. And nothing seems better than picking the dividend growth strategy.

Why Dividend Growth Strategy?

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 dividend increase is likely in the future.

Moreover, a history of dividend growth year over year leads to a healthy portfolio with a greater scope of capital appreciation as opposed to simple dividend paying stocks or those with high yields. 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.

And that's what we're screening for today…

For the rest of this Screen of the Week article please visit Zacks.com at: https://www.zacks.com/stock/news/293865/6-smart-beta-dividend-stocks-to-buy-now

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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.

About Screen of the Week

Zacks.com created the first and best screening system on the web earning the distinction as the "#1 site for screening stocks" by Money Magazine. But powerful screening tools is just the start. That is why Zacks created the Screen of the Week to highlight profitable stock picking strategies that investors can actively use.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has more than doubled the market from 1988 through 2016. Its average gain has been a stellar +25% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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