Yamana Gold Just Became 50% More Interesting For Dividend Investors

Income investors rejoice: The dividends I indicated would emerge from these miners of gold have materialized in short order, and Yamana revved-up the party this week with a bold 50% increase of its quarterly dividend (to reach an annualized yield of 1.5%). When 50% of sales revenue is converted to operating profit, as was the case for Yamana in the first quarter, returning some cash to shareholder seems a wholly reasonable response. A 1.5% yield may not sound like much of a windfall just yet, but it is 83% better than that of larger rival Goldcorp (NYSE: GG) , and I believe Goldcorp will now feel at least 20% more compelled to re-raise its own payout. After all, Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) recently upped its dividend by 33% to yield 1.5%, and Newmont boasts nowhere near the sort of production growth profile that makes Goldcorp such a prominent force in the industry.... Read more