The key word to describe last week’s dividend payout increases is “book.” That’s because a publishing company, a hotel operator, a data storage giant and an energy behemoth all did their own form of booking higher dividends to shareholders. Publisher John Wiley & Sons (NYSE: JW-A) sold a lot of books last quarter, and last week the company said its fiscal fourth-quarter net income rose 2% over the previous year, while revenue also rose 2%.
Wiley said its e-books division continues to see growth, and as such, the company has spent 25% more capital on its e-books technology. Despite the higher capital expenditures on technology, Wiley had enough money on hand to book a regular quarterly dividend of 20 cents, 4 cents more than the previous payout. The new dividend is payable on July 14, to shareholders of record as of July 5.
Hotel real estate investment trust (REIT) operator Host Hotels & Resorts (NYSE: HST) booked a big dividend increase to shareholders last week, raising its payout 200% to 3 cents per share from a penny per share. The new dividend will be paid on July 15, to shareholders of record on June 30. The boosted dividend from the largest lodging REIT, and one of the largest owners of luxury and upper-upscale hotels, could bode well for the travel industry and for the economy at large going forward, as consumers begin to spend more discretionary dollars on vacations.
Data storage giant Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) is known for managing and safekeeping many companies’ books, and last week it managed to safeguard a 33% increase in its quarterly dividend. The new payout of 25 cents per share will be made on July 15, to shareholders of record as of June 24. Iron Mountain CEO Richard Reese explained that the dividend hike represents another step in the company’s commitment to return $2.2 billion to shareholders through 2013, including $1.2 billion by next May.
Natural gas behemoth Chesapeake Energy (NYSE: CHK
) drilled down into its books and pumped out a 17% quarterly dividend increase. The new dividend of 8.75 cents a share will be paid on July 15, to shareholders of record as of July 1. It was the energy firm’s first dividend increase since June, 2008.
Two other companies booking increased dividends last week were financial asset and property manager W.P. Carey & Co. (NYSE: WPC), and convenience store operator Casey General Stores (NASDAQ: CASY). Carey said it would share more of the cash on its books with shareholders, boosting its quarterly distribution 7% to 55 cents per share. The new distribution is payable on July 15, to shareholders of record as of June 30. Casey upped its quarterly dividend by 11% to 15 cents per share. The new payout will be made Aug. 15, to shareholders of record as of Aug. 1.
At the time of publication, Jim Woods held no positions in any of the stocks mentioned in this article.
