Northfield Bancorp (NFBK) Tops Q4 EPS by 3c; Declares $0.05 Quarterly Dividend; 1.5% Yield

Northfield Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFBK) reported Q4 EPS of $0.10, $0.03 better than the analyst estimate of $0.07. They have also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per common share, $0.20 annualized. The dividend is payable on February 23, 2011, to stockholders of record as of February 9, 2011. The ex-dividend date is February 7, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 1.5%.... more

SCBT Financial Corp. (SCBT) Misses Q4 EPS Views; Declares $0.17 Quarterly Dividend; 2.1% Yield

SCBT Financial Corp. (SCBT) reported Q4 EPS of $0.12, $0.07 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.19.
The company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.17 per share, $0.68 annualized.
The dividend will be payable on February 25, 2011 to shareholders of record as of February 18, 2011. The ex-dividend date is February 16, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 2.1%.... more

Sara Lee (SLE) to Split into Two Public Entities; Sees $3/Share Special Dividend, Offers FY11 Guidance

Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) announced that its Board has agreed in principle to divide the company into two separate, publicly traded companies. The separation is expected to be completed in early calendar year 2012. Under the plan approved, Sara Lee’s North American Retail and North American Foodservice units (excluding the North American beverage business) will be spun off, tax-free, into a new public company that will retain the “Sara Lee” name. Its brands will include Sara Lee, Jimmy Dean, Ball Park, Hillshire Farm, Chef Pierre and State Fair. The yet to be named other company will consist of Sara Lee’s current International Beverage and Bakery businesses, as well as the North American beverage business. Its leading brands will include Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Pickwick,... more

Provident Financial (PFS) Misses Q4 Views; Declares $0.11 Quarterly Dividend; 3% Yield

Provident Financial Services, Inc. (NYSE: PFS) reported Q4 EPS of $0.23, ex-items, $0.01 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.24. Provident's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.11 per common share, $0.44 annualized. The dividend is payable on February 28, 2011, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 15, 2011. The ex-dividend date is February 11, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 3%.... more

Limited Brands (LTD) Increases Quarterly Dividend 33% to $0.20; Yields 2.7%

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE: LTD) has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per common share, $0.80 annualized. The dividend is a 33% increase from the current rate of $0.15. The dividend is payable on March 11, 2011, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 25, 2011. The ex-dividend date is February 23, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 2.7%.... more

Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (OPY) Posts Stronger Q4 Results; Declares $0.11 Quarterly Dividend; 1.7% Yield

Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (NYSE: OPY) reports Q4 EPS of $1.18, versus $0.48 reported for the same period a year ago. Revenue for the quarter came in at $296.76 million versus the consensus estimate of $244.27 million. Oppenheimer announced a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of $0.11 per share, $0.44 annualized. The dividend is payable on February 25, 2011 to holders of record on February 11, 2011. The ex-dividend date is February 9, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 1.7%.... more

5 High Yield Stocks With Improving Analyst Sentiment

The following is a list of high yield dividend stocks that have seen improving analyst sentiment over the last three months. Analyst ratings are presented on a linear scale, where ratings close to 1 indicate "Strong Buy" while ratings close to 5 indicate "Strong Sell". All of the stocks in this list have seen their ratings move closer towards 1 over the last 3 months, i.e. improving analyst sentiment. Although analysts still remain cautious on most of these names, the improvement in ratings suggests that they think at least some of the bad news is being priced in. Do you agree?... more

Procter & Gamble: The Greatest Dividend Stock

The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) provides consumer packaged goods in the United States and internationally. The company operates in three global business units (GBUs): Beauty and Grooming, Health and Well-Being, and Household Care. The company is a Dividend Aristocrat which has increased distributions for 54 years in a row. One of the company’s largest investors is no other than Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.Over the past decade this dividend stock has delivered an annualized total return of 7.50% to its shareholders.The company has managed to deliver an average increase in EPS of 14.50% per year since 2000. Analysts expect Procter & Gamble to earn $3.98 per share in 2011 and $4.37 per share in 2012. This would be a nice increase from the $3.53/share the company earned in 2010.... more

3 Undervalued Dividend Champions Backed by Great Management Teams

If you're an income investor looking for companies backed by solid management teams, and you’re also concerned about valuation, the list below might offer a useful starting point.This is a follow-up to a list we generated a few days ago (20 Dividend Champions With Great Management Teams). We wanted to dig deeper, and identified the stocks from the list that are deeply undervalued (when comparing current price to analyst target price, used as a proxy for fair value).... more

The Cheapest Israeli Dividend Stock

How many stocks do you know that trade at a forward P/E multiple of less than 3? I’m guessing not too many. Even the cheapest blue chip stocks in the Dow Jones index (Pfizer (PFE), JP Morgan Chase (JPM) and Hewlett Packard (HPQ)) all trade at a future P/E multiple of over 8.... more