8 Stock Ideas for Sustainable High Yielding Dividends

One of the dangers of high yielding dividend paying investments is the uncertainty that the lofty annual income payouts will be sustained. How can we find blue chip stocks and REITs with over 10% annual payouts that have a decent chance of maintaining this? Is Low Dividend Payout the Key?... more

4 Dividend Stocks Showing You the Money

Dividend checks continue to get fatter in Corporate America, as more companies jack up their distribution rates. Readers of the Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.... more

The Easiest Returns You May Be Missing

As an investor, your returns come from three key sources: growth, dividends, and compounding. In the short term, the growth part of those returns might seem to be the most important. After all, it's the part you see every day, and it can change your net worth in a heartbeat. Over time, though, the dividends from a company that takes its responsibility as stewards of its shareholders' money seriously and rewards its owners directly for their risks can really add up. And if you take those dividends and reinvest them, either in the same company or in other strong, shareholder friendly businesses, then you start getting the true benefits of compounding.... more

5 Stocks to Profit From the Boom in Rentals

There's a boom going on that many investors haven't heard about: apartment rentals. As more Americans forgo owning homes and decide to rent, rental prices are rising, stoking the earnings of apartment REITs. Since the beginning of 2005, homeownership has been steadily declining from a high of 69.1% and is expected to continue downward. Also, in a survey by the National Apartment Association, 76% of surveyed individuals believed that renting an apartment was a smarter decision than buying a home. As more Americans turn to renting, rents are being driven up: Source: Hotpads.com... more

The Most Promising Dividends in Tobacco

Dividend payers deserve a berth in any long-term stock portfolio. But seemingly attractive dividend yields are not always as fetching as they may appear. Let's see which companies in the tobacco industry offer the most promising dividends. 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.... more

3 Ways to Boost Your Dividend Income

Investors can't get enough of dividend stocks. With their unique combination of capital gain potential and regular income, stocks that pay dividends have never been in greater demand. One of the most influential groups of investors who have been turning to dividend stocks lately have been those in or near retirement. After all, retirees need their long-held investment portfolios to generate cold hard cash -- cash they can't afford to go without. With more traditional conservative investments, such as bank CDs and Treasury bonds, paying extremely low interest rates lately, retirees have had difficulty making ends meet -- and the temptation to turn to riskier investments like stocks has become increasingly difficult to resist.... more

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) Raises Dividend 1.9%

Bar Harbor Bankshares (NYSE Amex: BHB) declared a quarterly cash dividend of 27.0 cents per share of common stock, representing an increase of 0.5 cents, or 1.9% compared with the prior quarter, and an increase of 1.0 cents or 3.8% compared with the first quarter of 2010. The quarterly cash dividend is payable to all shareholders of record as of the close of business February 16, 2011 and will be paid on March 15, 2011.... more

TCF Financial (TCB) Declares $0.05 Quarterly Dividend; 1.3% Yield

TCF Financial Corporation (“TCF”) (NYSE: TCB) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per common share, $0.20 annualized. The dividend is payable February 28, 2011 to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 28, 2011. The ex-dividend date is January 24, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 1.3%.... more

First Commonwealth Financial (FCF) Sharply Increases Quarterly Dividend to $0.03; Yields 1.7%

First Commonwealth Financial Corporation (NYSE: FCF) declared a dividend on January 18, 2011 of $0.03 per share, $0.12 annualized. The dividend is an increase from the current rate of $0.01. payable on February 15, 2011, to shareholders of record at the close of business January 31, 2011. The ex-dividend date is January 26, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 1.7%.... more

Northern Trust (NTRS) Declares $0.28 Quarterly Dividend; 2% Yield

The Northern Trust Company, (Nasdaq: NTRS) today declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.28 per share, $1.12 annualized. The dividend is payable on April 1, 2011 to stockholders of record on March 10, 2011. The ex-dividend date is March 8, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 2%.... more