Top-Yielding Utilities (You Might Actually Want to Buy)

The power of dividend investing is pretty well-known these days. Higher-yielding stocks tend to offer higher returns over time than low- or no-yield stocks, according to research from Jeremy Siegel and others. In fact, the 20 best-performing survivor stocks from the original S&P 500 in 1957 are all dividend payers. What's more, reinvesting dividends acts as a "bear-market protector and return accelerator," according to Siegel. The extra shares purchased and accumulated at higher dividend yields during down periods act as a protector in falling markets, and these extra shares rising in value turn into a "return accelerator" when prices rise.... more

Best Buy Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis. What: Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) reported Q3 earnings this morning, with headline numbers reading as follows: Same-store sales are down 5%, and profits are off by 4.4%.... more

How Long Can Gap's Dividends Last?

Whether you're a beginning investor or a near-retiree, the importance of purchasing stocks that pay dividends cannot be overstated. Not only do companies that have quarterly or annual payouts provide you with a steady stream of income, they also have the potential for capital appreciation. Simply put, dividend stocks can you give your portfolio what almost no other investment can -- both income and growth. At The Motley Fool, we're avid fans of dividends -- and not just because we like that steady stream of cash. Studies have shown that from 1972 to 2006, stocks in the S&P 500 that don't pay dividends have earned an average annual return of 4.1%; dividend stocks, however, have averaged a whopping 10.1% per year. That is an incredible difference -- one that you'd be crazy to not take... more

3 Warning Signs for Dividend Investors

Fantastic dividends are often exactly that: too good to be true. I learned that lesson the hard way four years ago. My retirement portfolio included a few shares or mortgage REIT NovaStar Financial because the stock paid a jaw-dropping 17% dividend yield. To my untrained dividend-hunting eye, NovaStar's payouts looked solid enough as the company had been raising its common dividends year by year while also keeping its cash balances fairly stable. It was a guaranteed goldmine until my retiring days -- or so I thought.... more

Brown Shoe Co.: 351 Consecutive Quarters of Dividends and Counting

With trading days left in 2010 dwindling, many investors are looking through their portfolio and trying to decide what should stay, what should go, and where to increase exposure. True, the major stock indicies are up for the year: The Dow Jones industrial average has rebounded 10% in 2010, and the Standard & Poor's 500 has regained about 11%.... more

EOG Resources (EOG) Declares $0.155 Quarterly Dividend; 0.7% Yield

EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE: EOG) (EOG) has declared a dividend of $0.155 per share, $0.62 annualized. The dividend is payable January 31, 2011 to stockholders of record as of January 14, 2011. The ex-dividend date is January 12, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 0.7%.... more

Oil-Dri (ODC) Declares $0.16 Quarterly Dividend; 3% Yield

Oil-Dri Corporation of America (NYSE: ODC) today declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.16 per share of the Company's Common Stock, $0.64 annualized. The dividend will be payable on March 11, 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 25, 2011. The ex-dividend date is February 23, 2011. Yield on the dividend is 3%.... more

Jacksonville Bancorp (JAXB) Declares $0.075 Quarterly Dividend; 4.1% Yield

Jacksonville Bancorp, Inc. (Nasdaq: JAXB) today announced that the Bancorp has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per common share, $0.30 annualized. The dividend will be payable to stockholders of record as of December 24, 2010, and will be paid on January 4, 2011. The ex-dividend date is December 31, 2010. Yield on the dividend is 4.1%.... more

Kaman Corporation (KAMN) Approves $0.14 Quarterly Cash Dividend - Annual Yield 1.90%

The Kaman Corporation (Nasdaq: KAMN) board of directors today declared a regular quarterly dividend of 14 cents per common share. The dividend will be paid on January 10, 2011 to shareholders of record on December 27, 2010.... more

Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) Raises Qtr. Dividend to 33c/Share, Yielding 4.97%

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) declared a 3.1% increase in the company’s quarterly dividend, beginning in the first quarter of 2011. The dividend increase will result in a quarterly dividend of thirty-three cents ($0.33) per share on the $.10 par value Common Stock of the corporation for an indicative 2011 full-year dividend of $1.32 per share, subject to the normal quarterly review by the Board. The next quarterly dividend will be payable on February 1, 2011, to stockholders of record at the close of business on January 7, 2011. The ex-dividend date is Jan. 5. The dividend yield moves from 4.82% to 4.97%.... more