The post-Iran-war rebound has been fast and furious — but rising tides lift all boats, including the leaky ones. When every stock is going up, separating genuine quality from speculative momentum feels nearly impossible. That won’t matter until it suddenly does.



There’s a screen that cuts through the noise. Using Benzinga Edge’s Quality metric — a composite score that rewards earnings consistency, financial strength, and operational durability — combined with dividend growth rates of at least 10% over the last 12 months, we’ve identified five companies that earned their gains. Each one carries a Quality Score above 90. These aren’t momentum plays hoping the tide stays high; they’re businesses that have continued raising payouts while peers were just trying to survive.



Right now, two of them are coming off blowout earnings — one with an 85% year-over-year surge in its highest-growth division, another with a 44% EPS beat that sent shares up 14% in a single session. One just announced its 17th consecutive dividend increase, this one above 20%. Here’s what the quality screen found.



KLA Corp. (NASDAQ:KLAC) Benzinga Edge Quality Score: 97.90



KLA Corp. has become one of the most crucial links in the semiconductor supply chain. The $237 billion company manufactures wafer fabrication equipment used in quality-control processes at semiconductor fabs worldwide. The stock is up nearly 500% over the last five years, though it has lagged some of its more parabolic peers in the current semiconductor rally. There was little in the company’s fiscal Q3 2026 earnings report — released April 29 — to explain the relative underperformance: management maintained full-year 2026 guidance and announced a 17th consecutive dividend increase, this one exceeding 20%.



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KLAC shares are also in the middle of a strong technical uptrend. The 50-day moving average has served as reliable support since bullish momentum began last spring, and the stock has gained more than 160% over the last 12 months. After a brief pullback, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has recrossed the bullish threshold of 50 — often a signal that the next wave of upward momentum is building. Citigroup is among the firms in the bull camp; analysts there recently raised their price target to $2,067.



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Argan Corp. (NASDAQ:AGX) Benzinga Edge Quality Score: 96.09



Argan Corp. was a relatively anonymous small-cap construction firm focused on renewable energy — until a 300% gain over the last 12 months changed that. The company’s market cap has surged past $10 billion, a run backed by record earnings, including $137 million in net income for fiscal 2026. Gross margins accelerated to 25% in fiscal Q4, and the project backlog is now approaching $3 billion. The company also raised its dividend to $0.50 per share late last year — its second increase in as many years.



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Like KLAC, AGX has found consistent support at the 50-day moving average, helping push the stock up more than 130% year-to-date. A gain of that magnitude in three months will tempt some profit-taking, and the RSI does look extended above 75. But the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicator shows bullish momentum is still building — suggesting the stock may have further to run before the next meaningful pullback.



Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Benzinga Edge Quality Score: 94.99



Murphy USA is a downstream oil and gas company operating more than 1,500 U.S. fuel and convenience retail locations under brands including Murphy Express and QuikChek, along with wholesale fuel distribution through third-party channels. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been a tailwind for downstream operators, and MUSA shares are up more than 50% in the last three months. The company had already raised its dividend payout by more than 18% last October — and then followed that with one of its strongest quarters in recent memory in Q1 2026, including a 44% EPS surprise.



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The MUSA rally actually predates the Iran conflict: a five-day winning streak in late February and early March pushed the stock above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. The April 29 earnings release then sent shares up more than 14% in a single session. Some profit-taking followed, pulling the RSI out of overbought territory. The MACD, however, hasn’t pulled back — it suggests buying momentum is beginning to rebuild even as the post-earnings euphoria fades.



Monolithic Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:MPWR) Benzinga Edge Quality Score: 91.93



Monolithic Power Systems is a fabless chipmaker with an $80 billion market cap whose products span a wide range of electrical systems — but it’s the enterprise data division driving the stock’s 80%-plus year-to-date gain. The company comfortably beat analyst estimates in its Q1 2026 results, released April 30, posting record sales and EPS. Enterprise data was the story: revenue in that segment jumped 85% year over year. Management guided Q2 revenue above $900 million with expected EPS of $5.49. Monolithic Power also pays a small but steadily growing dividend — currently yielding 0.48% — and has raised its payout for eight consecutive years at a 25% annualized growth rate over the last five. The most recent increase came in February, when management lifted the per-share payout from $1.56 to $2.00.



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More than 40% of the stock’s year-to-date gain has come in the last 30 days, and MPWR now appears to be consolidating ahead of its next move. The post-earnings reaction was muted, allowing the share price to pull back from the upper Bollinger Band toward a more neutral position. The MACD hinted at slowing momentum, but the bearish crossover failed to materialize — a sign that sellers are hard to find in this market. With the stock out of overbought territory, the longer-term uptrend looks intact.

KLAC

The article highlights four high-quality stocks with growing dividends, focusing on KLA Corp. (KLAC) and Argan Corp. (AGX) as standout performers post-Iran-war. KLAC, with a Quality Score of 97.90, has seen a 500% increase over five years and recently announced its 17th consecutive dividend increase. AGX, scoring 96.09, has gained 300% in the last year, backed by record earnings and a growing project backlog. Other notable mentions include Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA), which has also experienced significant growth and dividend increases.

4 High Quality Stocks with Growing Dividends