Dividend-paying stocks usually get punished in a rising rate environment. That rationale is that as rates on fixed income securities rise, they become more attractive to income-seeking investors than the more volatile common stocks of dividend-paying companies. So naturally, investors sell their dividend-paying stocks in favor of bonds that not only provide more stable prices, but are also higher on the priority list within a company's capital structure.
The same does not hold true for dividend growth stocks. That is, for those companies that have historically raised, and more importantly, are expected to continue to