November turned out to be an outstanding month for income investors as a number of companies raised their dividends amid signs of economic recovery. The recent flurry of dividend increases came as a welcome relief for many income investors who look for monthly dividend payments in order to support their retirement income. A company's willingness and ability to pay regular dividends over time-and its power to increase them--provide good clues about its fundamentals. Also, dividends can be reinvested and used to purchase more shares, leading to even larger dividend checks.
Below we highlight 22 companies that rewarded investors by raising dividend.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC): The world's biggest chipmaker recently announced that it will raise its dividend by 12.5 percent to 15.75 cents per share, up from 14 cents, beginning with the dividend that will be declared in the first quarter of 2010. Intel is slated to report its fourth-quarter financial results on January 14, 2010. Analysts, on average, currently forecast a profit of $0.36 per share with revenue estimate of $10.13 billion for the fourth quarter.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE): The maker of athletic shoes and apparel upped its quarterly dividend by 8 percent to 27 cents per share from 25 cents. The dividend will be paid on Jan. 4 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 7.
Prudential Financial Inc. (NYSE: PRU): The second-largest U.S. life insurer increased its annual dividend by 21 percent to 70 cents a share from 58 cents. The dividend is payable on Dec. 18 to owners of record on Nov. 24.
Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB): The soup maker hiked its quarterly dividend 10% to 27.5 cents a share from 25 cents, effective for the second quarter of fiscal 2010. The dividend will be paid Feb. 1 to shareholders of record on Dec. 30.
Sysco Corp. (NYSE: SYY): The food marketing and distribution firm boosted its quarterly dividend by 4% to 25 cents a share from 24 cents.The new dividend is payable on January 22, 2010, to common shareholders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2009.
Automatic Data Processing (NYSE: ADP): The payroll processing and human resources services company, increased its quarterly dividend by 3% to 34 cents a share from 33 cents. The dividend is payable on January 1, 2010 to shareholders of record at December 11, 2009. The ex-dividend date is December 9.
Baxter (NYSE: BAX): The medical products and services company raised its quarterly dividend 12% to 29 cents a share from 26 cents. The dividend is payable on January 5, 2010, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 10, 2009. The ex-dividend date is December 8. The dividend is payable on January 5, 2010, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 10, 2009.
MDU Resources Group (NYSE: MDU): The company increased its quarterly dividend by 1.60% to 15.75 cents per share from its previous quarterly dividend of 15.5 cents per share. The dividend is payable o January 1, 2010 to stockholders of record on December 10, 2009. .
Tennant Company (NYSE: TNC): The company, which engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of cleaning solutions, increased its quarterly dividend by 8 percent to 14 cents per share. The company has increased its annual cash dividend payout for 38 consecutive years.
AmerisourceBergen Corporation (NYSE ABC): The pharmaceutical services company boosted its quarterly dividend by 33% to 8 cents per share from 6 cents per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 7 to stockholders of record on Nov. 23.
Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF): The mining company increased its quarterly dividend more than 100% to 8.75 cents. The dividend is payable on Dec. 1, 2009, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Nov. 20, 2009. The dividend is payable Dec. 1 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 20.
DeVry Inc. (NYSE: DV): The provider of adult education raised its annual dividend by 25% to 20 cents a share from 16 cents. The company said that the next dividend, which is paid semiannually, will be paid Jan. 7 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 11.
Vodafone Group (NASDAQ: VOD): The telecom company increased its interim dividend by 3.5 percent to 2.66 pence per share. The final dividend for 2009 was 5.2 pence/share.
Span-America Medical Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: SPAN): The Medical supplies company hiked its quarterly dividend by 11 percent to 10 cents per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 4 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 20.
Brown-Forman (BF-B): The producer and marketer of fine quality beverage alcohol brands on November 16 lifted its dividend 4.3% to 30 cents per share. Stockholders of record on December 7, 2009 will receive the cash dividend on January 4, 2010.
Bob Evans Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: BOBE): The restaurant company lifted its dividend by 13 percent to 18 cents per share from 16 cents. The dividend will be payable on Dec. 15 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 4.
Royal Gold Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD): The precious-metals royalty company, increased the annual dividend for its common stock by 13 percent to 36 cents per share from 32 cents. The first quarterly dividend at that rate will be paid on Jan. 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 4.
PennantPark (NASDAQ: PNNT): The firm, which specializes in direct and mezzanine investments in middle-market companies, raised its quarterly dividend 4.2 percent to 25 cents per share. The dividend is payable on January 4, 2010 to stockholders of record as of December 24, 2009.
Lancaster Colony (NASDAQ: LANC): The consumer products maker boosted its dividend 5.3 percent to 30 cents per share. The payable is payable December 31, 2009 to shareholders of record on December 10, 2009. The ex-dividend date is December 8.
Laclede Group (NYSE: LG): The company, which distributes natural gas on a retail basis in St. Louis and nearby suburban areas on November 19th raised its quarterly dividend by 1 cent to 39.5 cents per share. The dividend will be payable on January 4, 2010, to shareholders of record on December 11, 2009.
NSTAR (NYSE: NST): The company, which operates a gas and electric utility, upped its annual dividend by 6.7 percent to $1.60 per share from $1.50 per share. A quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share will be paid Feb. 1 to shareholders of record on Jan. 8.
Harsco Corp. (NYSE: HSC): The industrial services company increased its annual dividend by 2.5 percent by by 2 cents to 82 cents per share. A quarterly dividend of 20.5 cents will be paid Feb. 16 to shareholders of record on Jan. 15.
Full Disclosure: None
