The Top Dividend Stocks of the Week
Updated from 7:01 a.m. EDT
While companies like
Aircastle
(AYR) - Get Report
and British firms Uniq PLC and Kingfisher PLC have chopped their dividends -- in the case of Aircastle by more than 60% -- it is encouraging to see that there are some companies that continue to increase their payout rates to shareholders.
Stockpickr has reviewed the companies that recently raised their dividend payments and compiled a list of the
Top Dividend-Increasers for the Week
.
One featured stock, defense and aerospace contractor
Raytheon
(RTN) - Get Report
, increased its annual dividend by 10% to $1.12, including a quarterly dividend of 28 cents a share. The company just announced that it was awarded a $60.2 million Army contract to supply battlefield surveillance systems to the Marines. The stock has a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 14.6, a P/E-to-growth ratio of 1.1 and offers a yield of 1.7%.
Raytheon stock appears in the portfolio
Blackrock Equity Dividend Fund
, a five-star Morningstar-rated fund managed by Robert Shearer. It also holds
Exxon Mobil
(XOM) - Get Report
, which yields 1.6%,
Bank of America
(BAC) - Get Report
, which currently yields 6.6%, and
Exelon
(EXC) - Get Report
, which yields 2.5%.
Pepsi Bottling Group
( PBG) is another company that boosted its dividend, increasing its quarterly payment by 21% to 17 cents a share.
This company, which is benefiting from the success of
PepsiCo
(PEP) - Get Report
, just announced a major stock-buyback plan and will repurchase up to $25 million shares. The stock has a forward P/E of 13, a PEG of 1.5 and a yield of 2%.
Pepsi Bottling shares are owned by the
, which is rated four stars and is managed by Lori Ensinger. The fund also owns shares of
Air Products and Chemicals
(APD) - Get Report
, which yields 1.9%,
PG&E
(PCG) - Get Report
, which yields 4.2%, and
PPL
(PPL) - Get Report
, which yields 2.9%.
American Greetings
(AM) - Get Report
, the greeting card company, just increased its quarterly dividend by 20% to 12 cents a share. The stock, which is trading close to its 52-week low, has a forward P/E of 11, a PEG of 1.2 and a yield of 2.2%.
is an American Greetings shareholder. Price, one of the top value investors with $1.6 billion under management, also owns shares of
Trane
( TT), which yields 1.4%,
American International Group
(AIG) - Get Report
, which yields 1.8%, and
ConocoPhillips
(COP) - Get Report
, which carries a 2.5% yield.
To see more newly higher-yielding plays, check out the
Top Dividend-Increasers for the Week
at Stockpickr.com.
At the time of publication, Altucher and/or his fund had no positions in stocks mentioned, although positions may change at any time.
James Altucher is president of
LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com and part of its network of Web properties, and a managing partner at Formula Capital, an alternative asset management firm that runs a fund of hedge funds. He is also a weekly columnist for the
Financial Times
and the author of
Trade Like a Hedge Fund
,
Trade Like Warren Buffett
and
SuperCa$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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