Top Dividend Stocks of the Week

Updated from 7:07 a.m. EDT

One way to find favorable investment opportunities is to look at stocks that have just increased their dividend payouts. A newly raised dividend is a sign that a company's executives and board of directors believe very strongly about the future revenue and earnings of the business.

With that in mind, Stockpickr has compiled a list of the Top Dividend-Raisers for the Week Ending April 26, providing you with a selection of stocks worth further homework.

One of last week's largest dividend increases came from Arch Coal ACI, which bumped up its quarterly dividend by 28.6% to 9 cents. This producer of steam and metallurgical coal just named a new chief financial officer, John Drexler. It also just named a new chief accounting officer and new corporate controller. The stock, which earlier last week traded to a new 52-week high, has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 13, a P/E-to-growth ratio of 1.2 and a yield of 0.5%.

Arch Coal is a stock owned by Clarium Capital Management, a global macro hedge fund with more than $1 billion under management and founded by Peter Thiel. Clarium also holds shares of Monsanto MON, which yields 0.6%, HJ Heinz HNZ, with a yield of 3.2%, and Family Dollar Stores FDO, with a 2.4% yield.

Carpenter Technology CRS is another company that raised its dividend last week, increasing its quarterly payout by 20% to 18 cents a share. Shares of this manufacturer of specialty metals and engineered products traded to a new 52-week low a couple of weeks ago due to lowered earnings guidance for its third quarter. The stock has a forward P/E of 9 and a yield of 1.4%.

Carpenter shows up in the portfolio of the Royce Opportunity Fund, which is rated four stars by Morningstar. Royce also holds Regal Entertainment Group RGC, which yields 6.2%, Cinemark CNK, yielding 5%, and McClatchy MNI, yielding 7.6%.

Another increased dividend last week came from Frontier Oil FTO, a petroleum refiner that increased its quarterly dividend by a penny to 6 cents a share. The company has scheduled to report its latest quarterly results May 7. It has a forward P/E of 6, a PEG of 0.3 and a yield of 0.9%.

Frontier is part of the Permanent Portfolio Fund, a five-star Morningstar-rated fund managed by Michael Cuggino. It also owns shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold FCX, which has a 1.6% yield, BHP Billiton BHP, with a 1.4% yield, and Chevron CVX, with a 2.5% yield.

For more newly raised dividend plays, check out the Top Dividend-Raisers for the Week Ending April 26 at Stockpickr.com.