Investors have become more cautious about home improvement stocks lately. Rising interest rates and the threat of a recession on the way sparked fears about weak growth ahead for the industry following many years of fantastic gains.

Yet these concerns are short term in nature. Meanwhile, declining stock prices have lifted dividend yields for both Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Lowe's (NYSE: LOW) stocks, which have thrived through many past recessions. But which stock is the better dividend investment today? Let's take a closer look.

Lowe's struggled to close the market share gap with its larger rival in 2022. While Home Depot achieved a 3% comparable-store sales increase, Lowe's result was flat for the year. Both companies saw rising spending, in part thanks to higher prices. But customer traffic declined less at Home Depot (down 5%) than it did at Lowe's (down 7%) this past year.

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Source Fool.com