The Top Dividend Stocks of the Week
In spite of the large dips in the stock market last week, there were signs that the economy was still strong for certain industries, as shown by the increases several companies made in their dividends.
A dividend increase usually shows that not only are a firm's revenue and earnings strong, but there is a significant reason for the financials to continue to increase in the future.
Stockpickr has reviewed the companies that raised dividends last week and come up with a list of the
Top 10 Dividend Raisers for the Week
.
At the top of the list is
Allegheny Technologies
(ATI) - Get Report
, which increased its quarterly dividend by 40% to 18 cents a share. This specialty metals company also announced a $500 million share-repurchase program. The stock has a
price-to-earnings (P/E)ratio of 13 and a P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio of just under 1.
Allegheny is a stock that's owned by
, a Texas-based activist hedge fun that manages $9.6 billion. Perry also owns
News Corp.
( NWS.A), which has a yield of 0.6%,
Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
(RIO) - Get Report
, which pays out 0.9%, and
Burlington Northern Santa Fe
( BNI), which offers a dividend rate of 1.5%.
Another dividend raiser last week was restaurant company
Brinker International
(EAT) - Get Report
, which boosted its quarterly dividend by 22% to 11 cents a share. Brinker owns Chili's Grill & Bar, Romano's Macaroni Grill, On The Border Mexican Grill & Cantina and Maggiano's Little Italy. The stock offers a P/E of 13, a PEG of 1.1 and a yield of 1.5%.
Brinker is part of
, a self-explanatory Stockpickr portfolio that includes
Darden Restaurants
(DRI) - Get Report
, a stock that yields 1.7%.
Dominion Resources
(D) - Get Report
is yet another company that raised its quarterly dividend, increasing it by 11% to 79 cents a share. This integrated gas and electric company also announced a 2-for-1 stock split. The stock has a P/E of 53, a PEG of 2.1 and a yield of 3.5%.
Dominion shows up in
Barron's Insider Purchases 9-15-2007
, a Stockpickr portfolio that lists the companies that have had major insider purchases noted by the weekly publication. Dominion insiders recently bought $850,000 worth of stock. Other stocks in the portfolio include
Jefferies Group
(JEF) - Get Report
, which yields 2%, and
Spectra Energy
(SE) - Get Report
, which yields 3.5%.
For the entire list, check out the
Top Dividend Raisers for the Week
at Stockpickr.com.
At the time of publication, Altucher and/or his fund had no positions in stocks mentioned, although positions may change at any time.
James Altucher is president of Stockpickr LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of TheStreet.com and part of its network of Web properties, and a managing partner at Formula Capital, an alternative asset management firm that runs a fund of hedge funds. He is also a weekly columnist for
The Financial Times
and the author of
Trade Like a Hedge Fund
,
Trade Like Warren Buffett
and
SuperCa$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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