In this article, we will take a look at the 5 Best Dividend Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now. For deeper discussion and analysis, read 11 Best Dividend Penny Stocks to Buy Right Now.
Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
5. Cricut, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRCT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21
Share Price as of the Close of May 15: $3.93
On May 7, Goldman Sachs raised the firm’s price recommendation on Cricut, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRCT) to $3.75 from $3.25. It reiterated a Sell rating on the shares.
During the Q1 2026 earnings call, CEO, President, and Director Ashish Arora said the company continued to face pressure on its overall performance, even though several operating metrics improved during the quarter. He noted that profitability, platform revenue, and global machine sell-out units all moved higher in Q1. Still, those gains were not enough to return the company to overall sales growth, as revenue declined by less than 2% year over year during the quarter.
Arora also discussed several recent product launches and the rollout of a new service offering. He said the company introduced two new cutting machines, Joy 2 and Explore 5, along with the next generation of its handheld heat presses, EasyPress SE. In addition, he noted that Cricut launched its direct-to-film service, marking the company’s first service-based offering.
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Kimball Shill said first-quarter revenue totaled $159.5 million, down 2% from the same period last year. He added that the company generated $20.3 million in net income during the quarter, which represented 12.7% of total sales.
Cricut, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRCT) is a creative technology company that has built an ecosystem of connected cutting machines, accessories, and materials designed to work together seamlessly. The company uses that platform to introduce new products while continuing to update its existing physical and digital offerings.
4. Gray Media, Inc. (NYSE:GTN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 21
Share Price as of the Close of May 15: $4.15
On May 15, Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker lowered the firm’s price recommendation on Gray Media, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) to $7 from $8. The analyst reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. The firm updated its model following the company’s Q1 results and guidance.
During the Q1 2026 earnings call, Executive Chairman and CEO Howell said the company had recently completed the acquisition of television stations in 10 markets from Allen Media Group, along with stations in three markets from Block Communications. He added that the remaining transactions involving E.W. Scripps and Sagamore Hill were expected to close within the next few weeks.
President, Co-CEO, and Director Patrick LaPlatney said the company had begun seeing some softness in core advertising trends heading into the second quarter. He noted that tensions in the Middle East and swings in oil prices were influencing advertiser behavior. According to LaPlatney, some clients were delaying spending commitments, which reduced visibility into near-term advertising demand.
Meanwhile, Executive Vice President and CFO Jeff Gignac said net retransmission revenue declined by $4 million in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. Despite the decline, he said the company still expected full-year 2026 net retransmission revenue growth to remain in the low single-digit range, broadly in line with the pace recorded during the first quarter.
Gray Media, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) is a multimedia company that owns local television stations and digital assets serving roughly 120 full-power television markets across the United States.
3. Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Share Price as of the Close of May 15: $3.95
On April 24, Citi analyst Anthony Pettinari lowered the firm’s price recommendation on Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) to $5 from $6. The analyst reiterated a Buy rating on the shares.
The same day, BofA analyst George Staphos raised the firm’s price goal on Ardagh to $4 from $3.70. He kept an Underperform rating on the stock following the company’s Q1 results and reaffirmed guidance. The analyst said BofA increased its EPS forecasts to $0.25 from $0.22 for 2026 and to $0.31 from $0.29 for 2027. The revisions reflected stronger-than-expected Q1 execution, improved margins in Europe, and what the firm described as a degree of conservatism in expectations.
Oliver Graham, CEO of Ardagh Metal Packaging, said the company delivered strong first-quarter results, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 15% from the prior-year period and finishing well above guidance. He said the results highlighted the resilience of the business despite operating in a difficult environment. Graham noted that beverage can sales volumes declined 1% year over year, which he said aligned with the company’s expectations. According to him, the decline partly reflected tough comparisons against the prior-year quarter, when shipments had increased 6%, as well as the effect of contract resets in North America.
He also said the company was maintaining its full-year 2026 adjusted EBITDA guidance despite continued macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, along with higher commodity-related input costs. Graham added that AMP still expected moderate growth in global shipments. He said the company’s outlook was supported by stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance, contractual cost pass-through mechanisms, energy hedging arrangements, and expected shipment growth, which were all anticipated to help offset rising commodity prices.
Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) is a Luxembourg-based company that supplies metal beverage cans to consumer brands. The company focuses on infinitely recyclable metal packaging solutions for beverage producers.
2. Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 40
Share Price as of the Close of May 15: $3.84
On May 4, Deutsche Bank analyst Steve Powers raised the firm’s price recommendation on Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) to $4 from $3. The analyst reiterated a Hold rating on the shares.
During the Q1 2026 earnings call, President, CEO, and Director Christopher Peterson said all three of the company’s business segments delivered core sales growth above expectations. He also noted that the Learning & Development segment returned to core sales growth during the quarter.
Peterson attributed the stronger performance to improving consumer demand and the company’s execution strategy. He said point-of-sale trends and market share gains came in ahead of expectations, which he linked to Newell’s focus on innovation along with increased advertising and promotional spending. He also pointed out that six of the company’s top 10 brands gained market share in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Mark Erceg said normalized gross margin expanded by 70 basis points year over year to 33.2% during the first quarter. He added that Newell’s normalized operating margin reached 4.8% during the period. Erceg also said the company generated roughly $25 million in net pricing benefits, which he attributed to improved claims experience and stronger deduction management.
Newell Brands Inc. (NASDAQ:NWL) is a global consumer goods company operating through three segments: Home and Commercial Solutions, Learning and Development, and Outdoor and Recreation.
1. UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 46
Share Price as of the Close of May 15: $3.00
On May 8, Keefe Bruyette analyst Bose George lowered the firm’s price recommendation on UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC) to $4.50 from $5. The analyst reiterated a Market Perform rating on the shares.
During the Q1 2026 earnings call, Chairman, President, and CEO Mat Ishbia discussed the company’s efforts to bring loan servicing operations in-house. He said the transition was moving along very well, noting that fewer than 100,000 loans remained on the existing platform. According to Ishbia, all new loan originations were already being added to the company’s in-house servicing platform, and UWM had also transferred a large number of loans from Cenlar.
Ishbia added that the company expected to complete the transition by the end of 2026, with all loans eventually serviced internally and no subservicers remaining. He said the initiative involved partnerships with Black Knight and Bilt, along with systems developed internally by the company. Discussing profitability trends, Ishbia said gain-on-sale margins were currently within what he viewed as the appropriate range and expected them to stay around similar levels during the second quarter.
He also described the mortgage market as highly competitive and said broader uncertainty continued to weigh on the operating environment.
UWM Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UWMC), through its subsidiaries, originates, sells, and services residential mortgage loans across the United States. The company primarily originates conforming and government loans in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
While we acknowledge the potential of UWMC to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UWMC and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 10 Best Dividend Stocks with 5%+ Yields and Growing Cash Flows and 10 Best “Dogs of the Dow” Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2026
Disclosure: None. Insider Monkey focuses on uncovering the best investment ideas of hedge funds and insiders. Please subscribe to our free daily e-newsletter to get the latest investment ideas from hedge funds’ investor letters by entering your email address below.
