Stockpickr
Top Dividend Stocks of the Week
James Altucher
05/06/08 - 11:02 AM EDT
Updated from 7:00 a.m. EDT
Last week was a positive one for the stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Averages finished up 1.3%, the Nasdaq ended 2.2% higher, the S&P added 1.3%, and many companies raised their dividends.
Stockpickr has reviewed the companies that declared dividends last week and compiled a list of the Top Dividend Increasers for the Week.
One of last week's didvidend increases came from Occidental Petroleum OXY, which declared a 32-cent quarterly dividend. This payment works out to an annual dividend of $1.28, a 28% boost from its previous $1 payout rate.
This multinational oil and gas company recently reported a solid first-quarter earnings beat. The stock has a price-to-earnings ratio of 12, a P/E-to-growth ratio of 0.9 and a 1.2% yield.
Occidental stock is owned by the Al Frank Asset Management Fund, a deep value mutual fund with $280 million under management. The fund also owns shares of UnitedHealth Group, which has a 0.1% yield, Archer Daniels Midland ADM, which has a 1.2% yield, and CSX CSX, which sprots a 1.1% yield.
Another dividend increase last week came from Marriott International MAR, which upped its quarterly payout by 17% to 8.75 cents a share. The company last month posted a decline in first-quarter earnings that nonetheless were in-line with Wall Street targets. The stock has a P/E of 22, a PEG of 1.4 and a yield of 0.8%.
Caxton Associates is a hedge fund invested in Marriott shares. This $20 billion fund, managed by Bruce Kovner, also owns shares of Trane TT, which yields 1.4%, Loews LTR, with a 0.6% yield, and Tesoro TSO, with a 1.5% yield.