October is off to a rocky start, but a strong period of seasonality is only just beginning – particularly for select dividend-paying stocks, Bespoke Investment Group found. "Entering October is the strongest period of the year for three-month returns, and shorter-term returns are also some of the best," the firm said in a report earlier this week. Dividend-paying stocks have been especially strong when it comes to fourth-quarter returns over the past 10 years, Bespoke found.
He also sees potential upside to the stock's multiple, along with possible fiscal 2025 revenue and gross margin growth. Bespoke also called out KeyCorp on its list of dividend-payers that have historically had a strong finish in the final quarter of the year. Over the past 10 years, the stock has climbed an average of nearly 15% in the fourth quarter. The stock has a total return of more than 21% in 2024, as well as a dividend yield of nearly 5%. Piper Sandler analyst R.