Movies and popcorn belong together. So do snow and Christmas, beaches and sunshine. Then there are combinations that just don't work, like oil and water, or the Dallas Cowboys and playoff victories.

Growth stocks and strong dividends usually fall into that second category. Companies chasing growth typically plow profits back into expansion, while dividend-focused businesses aren't obsessed with growing at breakneck speed. They're content generating steady cash and sending it your way.

But here's the thing about markets: they're enormous, messy places filled with thousands of companies. Every so often, you'll discover a dividend payer whose stock is actually positioned for serious upside momentum. When that happens, you get the best of both worlds.

Today we're examining five stocks that fit this rare profile.

Each one yields more than 2% and has delivered at least 10% annualized dividend growth over the past five years. They've also earned momentum scores of 80 or higher, suggesting their recent price action has real strength behind it.

Morgan Stanley: The Wealth Management Transformation

Momentum Score: 86.86

Morgan Stanley (MS) probably isn't the first name that comes to mind when you think about growth stocks. But the firm's strategic shift toward fee-based investment and wealth management has investors genuinely excited about its prospects in 2026.

The numbers tell the story. Morgan Stanley now manages more than $8 trillion in assets and pays a dividend yielding 2.14%. That yield might seem modest, but the dividend sits on solid ground with a 41% payout ratio and a remarkable 22.4% five-year annualized growth rate.

The company reports quarterly earnings on January 15th, and analysts are expecting another strong performance with Q4 revenue topping $17.4 billion. The stock has already caught one analyst upgrade this year, with Barclays bumping its price target from $183 to $219.

After a relatively quiet 2025, merger and acquisition activity plus IPO volumes are expected to surge in 2026. That increased corporate activity, combined with record revenue generation, creates a compelling bull case for MS. The daily chart reinforces this optimism, displaying strong momentum and several encouraging technical signals. The 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages are properly aligned in an uptrend, and a bullish Moving Average Convergence Divergence cross confirms the stock's significant advance over the past two trading sessions.

Eni SpA: Unlocking Value Through Strategic Spinoffs

Momentum Score: 84.75

Eni (E) is an Italian oil and gas conglomerate with quasi-governmental status and operations spanning five continents. With a market cap just under $58 billion, the company operates with the Italian government as its largest shareholder, controlling 30% of the equity.

Being partially government-owned doesn't mean Eni operates like a typical bureaucratic entity. The company has been surprisingly innovative and profitable, creating value by spinning off various business units to raise capital. Plenitude and Enilive, both focused on renewable energy, exemplify this strategy. They were once divisions within Eni but now function as independent entities that raise their own capital. Eni benefits by strengthening its cash position while maintaining ownership stakes in these spinoffs.

The dividend here is genuinely attractive, yielding just under 6% backed by 12.9% annualized growth over five years. The payout ratio exceeds 90%, which might raise eyebrows, but spinning off those low-carbon businesses should unlock additional cash flows and help sustain the dividend going forward.

Eni shares are showing technical strength on the daily chart. The 50-day simple moving average is providing solid support, while the MACD indicator suggests buying interest is building and momentum is accelerating to the upside. Eni might offer the best combination on this list of steady income with potential for outsized stock appreciation, though it trades as an American Depository Receipt, so currency fluctuations and foreign transaction considerations come into play.

Banc of California: Merger Momentum Meets Capital Returns

Momentum Score: 84.31

Banc of California (BANC) hit the mainstream radar following its high-profile merger with Pacific Western. Today the combined entity ranks among the premier mid-sized regional banks across the western United States.

Analysts are projecting substantial earnings per share growth from BANC in 2026, which could fuel even more aggressive capital returns to shareholders. The company's $150 million share repurchase program wraps up in March, and it has generated impressive dividend growth of 15.8% over the past five years.

The current yield sits just above 2%, but consider the fundamentals: a 23% payout ratio and a 4.3 coverage ratio give BANC enormous flexibility to aggressively boost its dividend in 2026. With merger synergies still materializing, that dividend growth could accelerate.

Steering clear of troubled commercial real estate has helped boost Banc of California's profitability, and the stock has climbed nearly 30% over the past twelve months. The chart displays textbook signs of an uptrend. Price sits comfortably above both the 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages, with the 50-day functioning as support. The stock spent much of December in overbought territory according to the RSI, but that indicator has now retreated below 70, potentially setting the stage for the next leg higher.

Johnson Outdoors: The Contrarian Bet on Affluent Consumers

Momentum Score: 85.18

Johnson Outdoors (JOUT) is positioning itself to benefit from the K-shaped economic trend in 2026, where wealthy consumers account for the lion's share of spending. Outdoor sports and recreation represent big business, but it's also highly targeted and deeply cyclical.

Johnson Outdoors has been stuck on the wrong end of one of those cycles recently, and its 125% dividend payout ratio doesn't exactly signal safety for a company with a $469 million market cap. But look closer and the firm's positioning for this year becomes intriguing. The balance sheet is virtually debt-free, and Johnson Outdoors has leveraged its healthy $127 million net cash position to meet dividend obligations without financial stress. If the company hits its internal cost-cutting targets and returns to profitability by the second quarter of 2026, JOUT shares could become a compelling value play.

The dividend currently yields 3.04%, representing five-year annualized growth exceeding 14%. With the dividend actually stronger than the payout ratio suggests thanks to that cash-rich balance sheet, investors have been bidding up JOUT shares. The stock has climbed over 27% in the past year, including nearly 11% in the last month alone. A bullish technical pattern has emerged, with the 50-day simple moving average providing support and the RSI sitting comfortably below the overbought threshold while trending upward.

Finding dividend stocks with genuine growth potential requires patience and careful screening. These five companies demonstrate that income and momentum don't have to be mutually exclusive. Whether it's Morgan Stanley's wealth management transformation, Eni's strategic spinoff strategy, Banc of California's post-merger runway, or Johnson Outdoors' contrarian setup, each offers a different path to combining current income with future appreciation.