Brown Shoe (BWS) Declares $0.07/Sh Qtr Dividend, 2.2% Yield

Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (NYSE: BWS) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share, payable October 1, 2010 to shareholders of record on September 17, 2010. The ex-dividend date is September 15. The dividend yield on BWS is 2.2%... more

Seven Companies Likely to Increase Their Dividends in September

One nice thing about compiling the Dividend Champions list of companies that have paid higher dividends for at least 25 straight years is that I get to see which companies are nearing the anniversaries of their previous dividend increases. Since most of these firms raise their payout about the same time every year, we can say with some confidence that they are likely to do so again. Consequently, I'm expecting the following companies to announce dividend increases in the month of September. (Dates in parentheses are the Ex-Dividend Dates of last year's increases.)... more

High-Yield Dividend Stocks: Data Mining I

Data mining methods commonly employ either generative or discriminative approaches, where the former is model-driven and based on probability theory and the latter is data-driven and based on discrimination. This article looks at discriminative data-driven unsupervised methods for natural grouping of 43 high-yield dividend stocks based on 46 attributes represented by recent key fundamentals. The idea here is to graphically present feature-rich data in a way that reflects similarity in patterns of association that otherwise are not cognitively discernable through tabular listings. First, we perform linear hierarchical cluster analysis [HCA] which agglomerates stocks together to construct a single tree with the individual stocks acting likes leaves on the end of branches of varying... more

Johnson & Johnson: More Than Just a Band-Aid for the Dividend Portfolio

In Q2, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A) invested $1 billion to buy 17 million additional shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Berkshire Hathaway has been a longtime stockholder but its position has fluctuated over time. It now now owns over 41 million shares worth almost $2½ billion. Warren Buffett was attracted to a Dow stock and Dividend Aristocrat, which has a streak of annual dividend increases for almost half a century. The stock had a fabulous run, like many Dividend Aristocrats, from low single digits 30 years ago to $50 in 2002. Since then, JNJ has largely been trading sideways with an upward basis, bringing the stock to its present price of $58.69 (near its record high in the low $70s reached two years ago).... more

UGI Dividend Stock Analysis

Linked here is a detailed quantitative analysis of UGI Corporation (UGI) [pdf file]. Below are some highlights from the above linked analysis.... more

Two Reasonable Value Stocks Raising Dividends This Week

With the stock market in distress and bonds yielding practically nothing, many analysts and bloggers are proposing that investors should focus on companies paying dividends.For this post, I've combined my Reasonable Value screen with a filter for those companies that have raised their dividend in the last week. Two stocks below qualified and, coincidentally, both raised their dividends by $0.08.... more

Dividend-Increasing Stocks Should Catch Investor Attention

Over the course of the last few years, the Dow Jones has lacked consistency, presenting a volatile platform of figures that are making investors ever more hesitant. What market analysts are now seeing is the growth and solidarity contained in dividend stocks, exposing growth stocks as being somewhat precarious. Mark Skousen, editor of the Forecasts & Strategies newsletter, said at the San Francisco Money Show a couple days ago that over long periods of time, dividend stocks outperform non-dividend stocks, and dividend-increasing stocks outperform dividend stocks in general. This finding is not being ignored as dividend investors see a much better long-term return when investing in dividend stocks, especially those that increase their dividends regularly.... more

Four Stocks With Strong Dividends Look More Attractive Than Bonds

Corporate Stocks versus Corporate Bonds: and the winner is? Money has been moving out of stocks into bonds, driving down bond yields to eye popping low levels.Case in point: Kimberly-Clark's (KMB) 7.5% November 2018 bond (A2 rated Moody's) is now selling for a yield of 3.1%. Meanwhile, the stock KMB yields 4.1%. Clearly, bond holders want to be associated with KMB; they've entrusted their money to the company for the next 8 years. The most they can make if they hold the bond to maturity is the 3.1% yearly interest.... more

G&K Services (GKSR) Raises Qtr Dividend 27% to $0.095, 1.9% Yield

G&K Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: GK) announced today that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.095 per share, an increase of approximately 27.0 percent from its previous quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share. The next quarterly dividend will be payable on September 30, 2010 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 16, 2010. The ex-dividend date is September 1. The dividend yield is 1.9 percent.... more

Westlake Chemical (WLK) Boost Qtr Dividend to $0.0635/Share, 1% Yield

Westlake Chemical Corporation (NYSE: WLK) declared a dividend of 6.35 cents per share, representing an ncrease of 0.6 cent per share, or 10%, over the 5.75 cents per share that the company has previously paid. The dividend is payable on September 16, 2010, to stockholders of record on September 1, 2010. The ex-dividend date is August 30. The dividend yield is 0.98 percent.... more