The Top Dividend Stocks of the Week

Updated from 6:32 a.m. EST

More than a dozen stocks increased their dividends last week and, surprisingly, in the current financial crunch, a few of them were bank stocks. When a company raises its dividend payout, the action serves as a powerful statement that the company believes it'll deliver strong earnings in the future.

Stockpickr has reviewed the stocks that just increased their dividends and came up with the top dividend raisers for the week.

One of the companies that boosted its payout is RPC(RES), which raised its quarterly dividend by 20% to 6 cents a share. The Atlanta-based oilfield services company also just reported a 16% increase in fourth-quarter revenue but a 31% drop in profits due to increased competition. The stock has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12 and a yield of 2.4%.

RPC also appears in Fastest-Growing Stocks, a Stockpickr portfolio that also lists Dynamic Materials(BOOM), which produces clad-metal plates and welding services and has a yield of 0.3%, Commercial Metals(CMC), with a yield of 1.9%, and Frontier Oil(FTO), with a yield of 0.6%.

Another recent dividend raiser is Polaris Industries(PII), which increased its quarterly payout by 12% to 38 cents a share. This manufacturer of all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles and motorcycles also also posted a 16% rise in fourth-quarter profits and increased its stock-repurchase program by another 3.5 million shares. The stock has a P/E of 15, a P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 1 and a yield of 3.8%.

Polaris is a stock owned by First Trust Value Line Dividend, the first closed-end fund to be turned into an exchange-traded fund. The fund also owns shares of ConocoPhillips(COP), which has a yield of 2.2%, Telecom Corp. of New Zealand(NZT), which yields 8%, and Plum Creek Timber(PCL) at 4%.

Filtration systems manufacturer Donaldson(DCI) also raised its quarterly dividend last week, by 10% to 11 cents a share. The payment marks the company's 210th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, which it has paid over the last 52 years. The stock has a P/E of 21, a PEG of 1.5 and a yield of 1.1%.

Donaldson also shows up in the portfolio of Columbia Acorn Fund, a five-star Morningstar-rated fund that also holsds shares of Expeditors International of Washington(EXPD), which offers a yield of 0.6%, Abercrombie & Fitch(ANF), with a 0.9% yield, and Eaton Vance(EV), with a 1.7% yield.

To see more stocks with freshly raised dividends, check out the Top Dividend Increasers for the Week Ending Jan. 26 at Stockpickr.com.

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