Is PACCAR's Dividend Safe?

Here, we'll highlight a given company and its closest competitors to see just how safe their dividends are, with a little help from three crucial tools: The interest coverage ratio, or earnings before interest and taxes, divided by interest expense. The interest coverage ratio measures a company's ability to pay the interest on its debt. An interest coverage ratio less than 1.5 is questionable; a number less than 1 means that the company is not bringing in enough money to cover its interest expenses. The EPS payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by earnings per share. The EPS payout ratio measures the percentage of earnings that go toward paying the dividend. A ratio greater than 80% is worrisome. The FCF payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by free cash flow per... more

6 Dividend Kings of the Second Quarter

Why do income investors like dividends? They like to get paid. Why should any investor like dividends? It is one of the surest ways to signal financial strength.New companies often reinvest all of their profits to grow the company. Eventually the company reaches a stable point whereby it can afford to both reinvest an adequate portion of profits and pay out the significant leftovers. The longer a company is profitable, the longer it is able to not only pay out but also increase dividends. Let’s see if these six stocks have what it takes to be the dividend kings of the future.I actually used a 3M (MMM) product to write this article and I bet you have used it too: Post-It. But this Minnesota-based industrial goods company is more than sticky notes and clear tape. MMM is extremely... more

20 Tech Stocks With the Fastest Growing Dividends

Although high dividend yields are sometimes considered unsustainable, a fast-growing dividend can also be a sign of increased profitability.Here we present a list of 20 tech stocks with 5-year dividend growth rates that far exceed their industry averages. These companies, along with pertinent data, are listed below. click for expanded images We also created an equal weighted index of the stocks mentioned below, and monitored the performance of the list relative to the S&P 500 index over the last month. To access a complete analysis of this list's recent performance, click here. Do you think these companies will continue increasing their dividends? Use this list as a starting-off point for your own analysis.List sorted by difference between company and industry 5-year dividend growth... more

Dividends in Danger? Hudson City Chops, Sysco Surprises and Others Receive Attention

This monthly series collects and summarizes SA members’ opinions about companies with dividends that may be in danger. Not all information for each company has been independently verified. Readers’ comments have been integrated and edited. If you wish to see the full comment stream, consult last month’s article. Always perform your own due diligence before making any investment decisions. Hudson City Hudson City Bancorp (HCBK), which was identified as having a dividend in danger in both the March and April articles, did cut its dividend on April 20. The dividend... more

S&P 500 Stocks Going Ex-Dividend

Below is a list of just the S&P 500 (SPY) stocks that have ex-dividend dates through the end of May that have yields of more than 2%. Remember, to receive the dividend, you have to own the stock at the close on the day prior to the ex-dividend date.... more

6 Dividend Monsters for Your IRA

IRAs, of course, are one of the greatest wealth-building tools available, thanks to their flexibility and immense tax advantages. They're especially good places for dividend stocks. Why? Simple: In an IRA, those dividend streams don't generate the annual tax consequences that they would in a regular account. That doesn't just simplify your life at tax time, it leaves even more money in the market to grow and compound -- right up until you retire. And dividend stocks continue to offer special advantages after you retire as well.... more

The Most Promising Dividends in Scientific and Technical Instruments

Yields and growth rates and payout ratios, oh my! Before we get to those companies, though, you should understand just why you'd want to own dividend payers. These stocks can contribute a huge chunk of growth to your portfolio in good times, and bolster it during market downturns. As my colleague Matt Koppenheffer has noted: "Between 2000 and 2009, the average dividend-adjusted return on stocks with market caps above $5 billion and a trailing yield of 2.5% or better was a whopping 114%. Compare that to a 19% drop for the S&P 500."... more

Investing in High Dividend Credit Services Stocks

Financial stocks haven’t been appealing to dividend lovers recently. In our article, we showed that the high dividend yielding financial stocks performed better than low dividend yielding financial stocks in the last 52-week period. However, most of these mega-cap financials don’t have high dividend yields that are attractive for dividend investors.... more

Dividend Scan: NNN, WSR, ESEA, RIG, AIZ, MDP, TW

As the U.S. stock indexes remained volatile during the day's trading, several companies declared their future dividend plans. Some notable dividend payers are discussed here. National Retail Properties Inc. (NYSE: NNN) shares added 0.27 percent, or 7 cents, to trade at $25.92 as it declared a quarterly dividend of 46.09 cents per depository share. The dividend is payable on June 15, 2011 to shareholders of record on May 31, 2011. Whitestone REIT (AMEX: WSR) announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.285 per share, payable on August 8, 2011 to shareholders of record on July 7, 2011. Shares added 1.43 percent, or 17 cents, to trade at $12.74. Shares of Euroseas Ltd. (Nasdaq: ESEA) gained 3.55 percent, or 16 cents ,to trade at $4.67 as it declared a dividend of 7 cents per share. The... more

Dividend Report Card: Home Depot

The Dividend Report Card wasn't designed as a buy or sell signal but rather as a tool to gauge the health of a company's dividend. For a full explanation of each category, click here for a tutorial. Today's pupil is Home Depot (NYSE: HD) , which posts a 2.7% yield. When we looked at Home Depot last quarter, it scored a very respectable grade of "B" (3.8 out of 5). Let's see how it did this time around.... more