The Skinny on Possible Dividend Boosts

Stocks that pay a dividend have consistently outperformed their nonpaying peers. In fact, Howard Silverblatt, market equity analyst at Standard & Poor's, calculated last November that dividends accounted for 41% of the benchmark S&P 500 index's gains since 1926.

I believe that dividend-paying stocks will deliver solid returns once again in 2005, especially the stocks that consistently reward investors with a higher payout each year.

With that in mind, I ran a screen for companies that have raised their dividends every year for at least a decade, focusing on the stocks that usually boost their payouts in the second quarter. This way, you readers have a chance to buy the names ahead of the next increase. ...