The Top Dividend Stocks of the Week
When a company raises its dividend, it's a significant event. When a company -- such as
St. Joe
(JOE) - Get Report
-- starts eliminating dividends entirely, the significance is even greater. St. Joe, a Florida-based real estate development company, dropped its dividend completely to help pay off debt as part of its restructuring plan.
When a company issues a dividend for the first time or raises its dividend, it shows that the executives and board of directors believe that the company is in strong financial shape.
Stockpickr has reviewed the companies that increased their dividends last week and posted the stocks with the largest percentage dividend increases in the
Top Dividend Raisers for the Week Ending Oct. 7
.
First up is
Allegheny Energy
( AYE). The Pennsylvania-based electric utility reinstated its dividend to 15 cents a share, after going almost five years without any payouts. The stock has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 26, a P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of 1.2, and based on its new dividend, a projected yield of 1.1%. The company will host its earnings call on Oct. 25.
Allegheny was recently added to the portfolio of
(PRUAX), an open-end fund run by Shaun Hong that specializes in investing in utility equities and bonds. The four-star Morningstar-rated fund has generated an outstanding average annual return -- especially considering it comes from utilities -- of 34% over the last three years. Jennison also owns
Sempra Energy
(SRE) - Get Report
, which has a yield of 2.1%, and
Edison International
(EIX) - Get Report
, with a payout of 2%.
ConocoPhillips
(COP) - Get Report
didn't raise its dividend this week, it is another dividend play we like. Its earnings call is scheduled for Oct. 24. The oil stock as a P/E of 13, a PEG of 0.9 and a yield of 1.9%.
ConocoPhillips stock was recently purchased by
, one of the most successful hedge fund managers. Soros owns a few other dividend-paying stocks such as
Union Pacific
(UNP) - Get Report
, which pays 1.2%, and
Halliburton
(HAL) - Get Report
, which yields 0.9%.
Another stock with a large dividend increase is
Teekay
(TK) - Get Report
. The oil tanker company raised its quarterly dividend by 16%, to 27.5 cents a share, its fifth consecutive yearly dividend increase. Teekay has a P/E of 14, a PEG of 3.1 and a yield of 1.7%.
Teekay is listed in the
portfolio at Stockpickr. This list, which the magazine issued last year, also includes
Seaspan
(SSW) - Get Report
, yielding 5.6%, and
Quintana Maritime
( QMAR), yielding 5.4%.
Check out Stockpickr to see the entire list of the
Top Dividend Raisers for the Week Ending Oct. 7
.
At the time of publication, Altucher and/or his fund had no positions in stocks mentioned, although positions may change at any time.
James Altucher is president of Stockpickr LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com and part of its network of Web properties, and a managing partner at Formula Capital, an alternative asset management firm that runs a fund of hedge funds. He is also a weekly columnist for
The Financial Times
and the author of
Trade Like a Hedge Fund
,
Trade Like Warren Buffett
and
SuperCa$h
. Under no circumstances does the information in this column represent a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. Altucher appreciates your feedback;
to send him an email.
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