9 Companies Increasing Dividends

by Jim Woods | July 13, 2012 12:50 pm

Companies Increasing Dividends[1]Earnings season is here, and soon investors will be treated to a procession of companies reporting financial results for the prior three months. This week, we got a lackluster report[2] from industrial metals giant Alcoa (NYSE:AA[3]) to unofficially kickoff Q2 earnings season.

This week also marks the unofficial start to dividend season, as many companies time their payout announcements to coincide with their earnings release. Other firms like to time the release of their dividend increases near their earnings release. This week, we saw both of these scenarios play out. Nine companies made it onto our Companies Increasing Dividends[4] list this week:

Residential and commercial water heating equipment maker A.O. Smith (NYSE:AOS[5]) turned up the temperature on its quarterly dividend by 25% to 20 cents per share. The new dividend is payable on Aug. 15 to shareholders of record as of July 31. The new dividend yield, based on the July 9 closing price of $48.89 (the day the dividend was announced), is 1.64%.

Regional holding company Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ:OZRK[6]) operates in southern states such as Arkansas, Georgia and Texas. Prior to Independence Day, the company set fireworks to its quarterly payout by raising its dividend 8.3% to 13 cents per share. The new payout will be made on July 20 to shareholders of record as of July 13. The new dividend yield, based on the July 2 closing price of $30.60, is 1.7%. (Note: OZRK was the only company to increase its dividend last week.)

Diesel engine maker and Real America Index[7] component Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI[8]) lowered its full-year revenue outlook for the year, but that didn’t stop it from revving the dividend engine. The company boosted its payout 25% to 50 cents per share. The higher-RPM dividend will be paid on Sept. 1 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 22. The new dividend yield, based on the July 10 closing price of $86.91, is 2.3%.

Midstream energy services firm Enterprise Products Partners LP (NYSE:EPD[9]) turned up the heat ever so slightly on its quarterly payout, increasing its dividend 1.2% to 63.50 cents per share. The new payout will be delivered Aug. 8 to unitholders of record as of July 31. The new dividend yield, based on the July 11 closing price of $52.19, is 4.87%.

Industrial and construction supply seller Fastenal (NASDAQ:FAST[10]) nailed down an 11.8% rise in its quarterly payout to 19 cents per share. The new dividend is slated to be paid Aug. 24 to shareholders of record as of July 27. The new dividend yield, based on the July 11 closing price of $39.81, is 1.91%.

Texas-sized oil and gas partnership Genesis Energy LP (NYSE:GEL[11]) pushed more cash through its fiscal pipeline, increasing its payout to unitholders by 10.8% to 46 cents per unit. The new distribution will be paid Aug. 14 to unitholders of record as of Aug. 1. The new dividend yield, based on the July 9 closing price of $30.54, is 6.02%.

Semiconductor equipment maker KLA-Tencor (NASDAQ:KLAC[12]) booted up a 14% bigger payout to shareholders to 40 cents per share. The increase is expected to take effect beginning with KLA-Tencor’s quarterly dividend to be declared in August 2012. The new dividend yield, based on the July 10 closing price of $45.49, is 3.52%.

Crude oil and refined petroleum products firm Plains All-American Pipeline LP (NYSE:PAA[13]) pumped out an 8.4% increase to unitholders to $1.065 per unit. The new distribution will be payable on Aug. 14 to unitholders of record as of Aug. 3. The new dividend yield, based on the July 9 closing price of $82.84, is 5.14%.

Transportation and supply chain management solutions provider Ryder System (NYSE:R[14]) announced a 6.9% increase in its quarterly payout to 31 cents per share. The newly enhanced dividend will be paid on Sept. 21 to shareholders of record as of Aug. 20. The new dividend yield, based on the July 11 closing price of $33.43, is 3.71%. The latest dividend is Ryder’s 144th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, marking 36 years of uninterrupted dividend payments.

Note: Companies Increasing Dividends did not run last week, as OZRK was the only company to increase its dividend for the week.

As of this writing, Jim Woods did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. For more payout winners, see previous weeks’ lists of Companies Increasing Dividends[4].

Dividend Stocks[15]

Endnotes:

  1. [Image]: https://investorplace.com/hot-topics/companies-increasing-dividends/
  2. lackluster report: https://investorplace.com/2012/07/lackluster-alcoa-earnings-cant-take-shine-off-this-stock/
  3. AA: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AA
  4. Companies Increasing Dividends: https://investorplace.com/hot-topics/companies-increasing-dividends/%20
  5. AOS: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=AOS
  6. OZRK: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=OZRK
  7. Real America Index: https://investorplace.com/real-america-index/indiana-cummins-cmi-it-keeps-on-humming/
  8. CMI: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=CMI
  9. EPD: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=EPD
  10. FAST: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=FAST
  11. GEL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=GEL
  12. KLAC: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=KLAC
  13. PAA: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=PAA
  14. R: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=R
  15. Dividend Stocks: https://investorplace.com/stock-types/dividend-stocks/

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