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Friday, January 24, 2014

13 Stocks Delivering What's Important: Dividend Increases

We all know what surprising The Street will do to a stock’s price. The street focuses on quarterly revenue, EPS, EBIT, EBITDA and margins. The income statement is where you find all the metrics that The Street loves. It therefore must be the most important financial statement. Not! That title goes to the lowly cash flow statement. Ultimately cash flow is what drives the value of any financial asset, including dividend stocks.

This week several companies provided their shareholders with a special delivery in the form of higher cash dividends:

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) and its subsidiaries provide insurance brokerage and risk management services to various commercial, industrial, institutional, and governmental organizations. January 23rd the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.9% to $0.36 per share. The dividend is payable March 20, 2014, to stockholders of record on March 4, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.0%.

Old National Bancorp (ONB) operates as the bank holding company for Old National Bank, which provides financial services to individuals and commercial customers in the United States. January 23rd the company increased its quarterly dividend 10% to $0.11 per share. The dividend is payable March 17, 2014 to stockholders of record on February 27, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.0%.

CMS Energy Corporation (CMS) operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan, the United States. January 23rd the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.9% to $0.27 per share. the dividend is payable February 28, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.0%.

GATX Corporation leases (GMT), operates, manages, and remarkets assets in the rail and marine markets in North America and internationally. January 23rd the company increased its quarterly dividend 6.5% to $0.33 per share. The dividend is payable March 31, 2014 to stockholders of record on February 28, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.2%.

Markwest Energy Partners, L.P. (MWE) engages in the gathering, processing, and transportation of natural gas in the United States. January 23rd the company increased its quarterly dividend 1.2% to $0.86 per share. the dividend is payable February 14, 2014 to stockholders of record on February 6, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 5.0%.

Meridian Bioscience, Inc. (VIVO), a life science company, develops, manufactures, sells, and distributes diagnostic test kits primarily for gastrointestinal, viral, respiratory, and parasitic infectious diseases. January 22nd the company increased its quarterly dividend 5.3% to $0.20 per share. The dividend is payable February 14, 2014 to stockholders of record on February 3, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.1%.

Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. (EBTC) operates as the holding company for Enterprise Bank and Trust Company that provides banking and other financial services. January 21st the company increased its quarterly dividend 4.3% to $0.12 per share. the dividend is payable March 3, 2014 to stockholders of record on February 10, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.3%.

Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products, and finished goods in the United States. January 21st the company increased its quarterly dividend 3.8% to $0.54 per share. The dividend is payable March 10, 2014 to stockholders of record on February 7, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.4%.

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides various banking products and services in Maine. January 21st the company increased its quarterly dividend 1.6% to $0.325 per share. The dividend is payable March 14, 2014, to stockholders of record on February 15, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 3.3%.

Compressco Partners, L.P. (GSJK) provides compression-based production enhancement services for natural gas and oil exploration and production companies. January 21st the comnpany increased its quarterly dividend 1.7% to $0.4375 per share. The dividend is payable February 14, 2014 to stockholders of record on January 31, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 7.9%.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (CNP) operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. January 21st the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.5% to $0.2375 per share. The dividend is payable March 10 2014 to stockholders of record on February 14, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 4.0%.

LRR Energy, L.P. (LRE) engages in the acquisition, exploitation, development, and operation of oil and natural 0.5% to $0.49 per share. The dividend is payable February 14, 2014 to stockholders of record on January 31, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 11.1%. The yield based on the new payout is 11.0%.

Sierra Bancorp (BSRR) operates as the bank holding company for Bank of the Sierra that provides a range of retail and commercial banking services to communities in the central and southern regions of the San Joaquin Valley in California. January 17th the company increased its quarterly dividend 14.3% to $0.08 per share. The dividend is payable February 13, 2014 to stockholders of record on January 30, 2014. The yield based on the new payout is 2.0%.

Selecting stocks with increasing dividends is critical for an income growth strategy. The above list contains stocks that recently raised their dividends; it is not a list of recommend buys. As always, due diligence should be performed before buying or selling any stock. For a list of stocks with a long string of consecutive cash dividend increases, see this list.

Full Disclosure: Long NSC in my Dividend Growth Stocks Portfolio. See a list of all my dividend growth holdings here.

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Tags: [NSC] [VIVO] [CNP] [AJG] [ONB] [CMS] [GMT] [MWE] [EBTC] [BHB] [GSJK] [LRE] [BSRR]