Raven Industries (RAVN) Announces Special $1.25/Share Dividend, Regular Dividend of $0.16/Share

Raven Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: RAVN) announced today that its board of directors approved a special cash dividend of $1.25 per share, payable September 30, 2010 to shareholders of record on September 15, 2010. Raven has approximately 18 million shares outstanding. The special dividend will total approximately $22.6 million. The board also declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.16 payable October 15, 2010 to shareholders of record on September 30, 2010.... more

Todd Shipyards (TOD) Raises Qtr Dividend to $0.10/Share

Todd Shipyards Corporation (NYSE: TOD) declared an increase in its dividend of two and one-half cents per share, bringing its quarterly dividend to ten cents ($0.10) per share. This dividend will be paid December 23, 2010, to all shareholders of record as of December 8, 2010. The Company’s previously announced seven and one-half cent ($0.075) dividend payable on September 23, 2010, to all shareholders of record as of September 8, 2010, remains unchanged.... more

Administaff (ASF) Declares $0.13/Share Dividend, 2.4% Yield

Administaff, Inc. (NYSE: ASF) approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.13 per share. The dividend will be paid on Sept. 24, 2010, to all stockholders of record as of Sept. 3, 2010. The ex-dividend date is Sept. 1. The dividend yield is 2.4%.... more

Four Dividend ETFs Beating the S&P 500 in 2010

Dividend ETFs are beating the S&P500 handily and it appears as though they have the propensity to do so into the foreseeable future. There are some interesting happenings in both the broader market as well as the fixed-income space. Treasuries continue to break new lows leaving investors scratching their heads as to whether we’re truly headed into a a deflationary environment, whether government paper is really THAT much more attractive than risky assets or whether this is the beginning of a bond bubble of epic proportions. Common equities meanwhile have been pretty much range bound with good recent earnings news tempered by continued economic malaise in the US at large and last week, the dreaded Hindenburg Omen reared its ugly head. While there are only a handful of AAA companies left... more

Ten Quality Dividend Stocks for 2011

With 2010 more than half way done and the economic outlook uncertain to say the least, investors are now looking ahead to what the best stocks in 2011 could be. They need to ensure that they still have growth in their portfolios to deal with inflation and higher taxes, while also picking stocks that protect their portfolio from any domestic or international financial shocks.With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of blue chip stocks with good growth potential, yet defensive enough to weather an economic downturn via a high dividend and diversified business model. Here’s what makes them appealing and worth considering for your portfolio:... more

Dividend-Payers vs. the S&P 500

Dividend-paying companies can be among the most reliable stock investment choices. This is because dividend-paying companies provide cash to their investors on a regular basis, and usually these cash payouts grow each year as the business grows. In addition, dividend-paying companies are often basic and necessary. Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) provides healthcare products, Procter and Gamble (PG) provides useful consumer products like razors, and Smuckers (SJM) provides jelly, jam, peanut butter, and other foods. During this past decade, the S&P 500, which is an index of some of the most profitable companies in the US, has not provided investors with any returns. It has been a “lost decade” for investors. On the other hand, companies like JNJ, PG, and SJM have continued to provide... more

Tempted by High Yields on Junk Bond Funds?

Treasuries are having another substantial rally, reducing yields to record or near record low levels. Current annualized yields for popular Treasuries are (as of August 18, 2010):3-month__0.15%2-year____0.49%10-year___2.63%... more

Should Dividend Investors Reconsider AT&T?

We are now well beyond the halfway point in 2010 and yet the major stock indices are still basically where they were to start the year. The Dow Jones index has gained less than 1% since the year began, but two surprising stocks have been thriving this summer. Verizon (VZ) shares have gained nearly 8% since the end of June, while AT&T’s (T) stock price has soared nearly 12%. This summer rally has enabled the two telecom giants to pare their losses for the year. Earlier this year, we speculated that AT&T and Verizon were not the best dividend stocks in the Dow. However, the recent strong performance in both stocks should cause dividend investors to reconsider these high yielders. Last month, we highlighted 5 reasons to buy Verizon stock and this month eDividendStocks.com interviewed AT&T... more

How to Be a Picky Dividend Investor

One question that clients and subscribers frequently ask me is "Can I use yield alone to pick the best dividend stocks?" This is an easy question to answer because the answer is all of two letters long: No! This is one of the most valuable lessons from the market meltdown of 2008: An investor can not use yield alone to make investment decisions. Remember the days when Bank of America (BAC), JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and scores of other financial services firms looked like inviting propositions because of their juicy yields? Well, we all know how that story ended. Those juicy yields were packed with sour juice because putting those stocks into your portfolio would have been a return buster. Once those banks (and some other stocks in other sectors) reached what appeared to be "attractive"... more

26 Aristocrats Yielding More Than 10-Year Treasuries

With fixed income yields continuing to drift lower, investors looking for higher yields may want to consider stable dividend paying stocks. However, it should be emphasized that there is no such thing as a free lunch - with higher yields comes added risk. One place to look for dividend yield is the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index which measures the performance of large cap, blue chip companies within the S&P 500 that have followed a policy of increasing dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. The current list has 43 constituents and the entire list is available from S&P or on the right hand side of my site. There are currently 26 Dividend Aristocrat stocks yielding more than 10 year Treasuries which closed Thursday at 2.58%. Each stock should be considered on its own... more