9 Great Dividend Stocks From Cullen Capital

James Cullen managed Cullen High Dividend Equity fund (CHDEX) since 2000. He sifts through the universe of large companies using several criteria: stocks must have dividend payouts greater than the average yield of the S&P 500 (SPY), and they must have price-to-earnings, price-to-book, and debt-to-capital ratios below the S&P 500 average. Beyond that, the company should be likely to continually increase its payouts in the future. The fund can invest up to 30% of its assets in foreign stocks. The dividend stock pick strategy has worked well: in 2011, it returned about 10% and in the last three years, it returned 14% annually. The following are the top nine stock holdings of CHDEX: Company Symbol Annual Yield % Assets Bristol-Myers Squibb... more

Progressive Reports December Results and Annual Dividend Amount

On December 9, 2011, the Board of Directors declared an annual variable dividend to be paid on February 3, 2012, to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 26, 2012 (ex-dividend date of January 24, 2012). The amount of the dividend is $.4072 per common share, or an estimated $249.6 million in the aggregate, and is reflected in our 2011 financial statements.
Progressive is scheduled to hold a one-hour conference call to address questions on Thursday, March 1, 2012, at 9:00 a.m., eastern time, subsequent to the posting of our 2011 Shareholders' Report online and the filing of our 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC.... more

Mosaic Capital Corporation Initiates Dividend on Common Shares

Mosaic Capital Corporation ("Mosaic") (TSX-V Symbols: M and M.PR.A) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has adopted a policy to pay a regular quarterly dividend on Mosaic's common shares (TSX-V Symbol: M) in such amount as Mosaic's Board of Directors may from time to time determine. Today, Mosaic also announced that its Board of Directors has declared an initial quarterly cash dividend for its common shares of $0.02 per share to be paid on February 15, 2012 to holders of record on January 31, 2012. The objective of paying a dividend is to allow common shareholders of the company to participate in its free cash flow, while ensuring Mosaic retains sufficient capital to preserve its strong balance sheet, continue its acquisition strategy and fund organic growth.... more

High-Yield CEFs With Big Price Gains In The Last Month

There are several strategies when investing in closed-end funds. Many investors look at these investments as long-term holdings where they simply reinvest their dividends to compound their growth rate. Others may purchase a CEF for its high distributions to use as a supplement to their monthly income. One of the rules CEF investors follow is to buy at a discount to NAV. The theory is you are buying a $1.00 of assets for a price below $1.00 depending on the amount of discount to NAV. This all sounds good when the CEF market price increases to the NAV. But what if it doesn't increase as some CEFs may trade at a discount to NAV for an extended period of time? Here is one way of looking at this from a different perspective. Buying CEFs at a discount is very similar to value investing as... more

Crosstex Declares Increases in Quarterly Distribution and Dividend

The Crosstex Energy companies today announced the declaration of the quarterly distribution for Crosstex Energy, L.P. (XTEX) (the Partnership) and the quarterly dividend for Crosstex Energy, Inc. (XTXI) (the Corporation) from the fourth quarter of 2011:

The quarterly distribution on the Partnership’s common units will be $0.32 per unit. The distribution is payable February 14 to unitholders of record February 1. This amount is approximately a 23 percent increase over the fourth-quarter 2010 rate.
The quarterly dividend on the Corporation’s common stock will be $0.11 per share. The dividend is payable February 14 to shareholders of record February 1. This amount is approximately a 38 percent increase over the fourth-quarter 2010 rate.... more

Carnevale's Power 25 Index January Dogs Chase Yields

In November respected analyst and Seeking Alpha blogger, Chuck Carnevale published the article Our 25 Dividend Growth Stocks Are Dirt Cheap. Mr. Carnevale's portfolio review listed top 25 blue chip dividend growth stocks (1) available at current valuations that were significantly below their historical norms; and (2) remained profitable through the great recession of 2008 and 2009. The resulting portfolio of companies he says "offers a three-pronged opportunity for above-average future total returns at below-average risk. We expect that each company will benefit in the future from a potential expansion in their PE ratios coupled with future earnings growth and finally followed by dividend increases offering a return kicker." That article ranked these stocks by 5 year estimated total... more

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Reports $126.9 Million of Net Income, or $0.14 Per Common Share, for the 2011 Fourth Quarter, Down 12% from the Prior Quarter and up 3% from the Year-Ago Quarter; Declares Quarterly Dividend...

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN): Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Reports $126.9 Million of Net Income, or $0.14 Per Common Share, for the 2011 Fourth Quarter, Down 12% from the Prior Quarter and up 3% from the Year-Ago Quarter; Declares Quarterly Dividend on Common Stock of $0.04 Per Share
Huntington Bancshares Incorporated (Nasdaq: HBAN) reported 2011 fourth quarter net income of $126.9 million, down $16.5 million, or 12%, from $143.4 million in the prior quarter. Earnings per common share in the current quarter were $0.14, down $0.02 from the prior quarter. Net income in the year-ago quarter was $122.9 million, or $0.05 per common share.... more

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated Declares Quarterly Cash Dividend on Its Series A and B Preferred Stocks

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated announced that the board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend on its 8.50% Series A Non-Cumulative Perpetual Convertible Preferred Stock (Nasdaq: HBANP) of $21.25 per share. The dividend is payable April 16, 2012, to shareholders of record on April 1, 2012. The board of directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend on Floating Rate Series B Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock (CUSIP#: 446150500) of $8.17875183 per share (equivalent to $.2044688 per depositary receipt share). The dividend is payable April 16, 2012, to shareholders of record on April 1, 2012.... more

5 Dividend Stocks I Get Hung Up On

It's never a bad idea to bounce ideas off your faithful investing buddies, right? That's why often times I'll call one of them up to run a potential stock purchase by them, explaining the company's main business ventures, asset and debt ratios, dividend yields, payout ratios and earnings figures. Eventually, I'll pause for a second to hear their opinion about my newfound favorite dividend pick only to find they're nowhere to be found. How can you have a "bad" landline connection? Thankfully having you, the faithful Seeking Alpha community, out there to listen to and comment on my incessant ramblings about dividend-paying stocks and potential value plays is a godsend. I'd rather hang out with you over my snooty college buddies anyway. Here are five dividend plays I'm consistently hung up... more

Dividends: A Good Problem Or Sign Of Weakness?

A few months back at the solar company I manage in San Diego, the president of our company called an emergency meeting. "Listen up everyone, today we find ourselves in an interesting situation." As it turns out, a marketing venture we had taken on weeks earlier just happened to be wildly successful and a new wave of customers were literally causing our phone to ring off the hook asking for bids and signing contracts. We broke a company record for monthly and quarterly sales during this short time. As the meeting continued and we brainstormed ways of dealing with our newfound business, a coworker leaned over to me in a cavalier manner and quietly whispered, "well this is a good problem to have, wouldn't you say?" As I leaned back in my chair, I wasn't so sure. As my head hit the pillow... more