Bexley Public Radio Dividend Note No. 11, October 17, 2009.
An occasional note on dividends. This is an informal collection of some information on dividend increases for U.S. stocks.
Bexley Public Radio hopes this is a positive note amidst the dreadful reports from Wall Street in recent months.
No commentary, analysis or recommendation is offered in this informal journal.
Accenture Plc (NYSE:ACN) October 3, 2009 raised its annual divided to 75 cents a share and said it would move from an annual to a semi-annual schedule for the payment of dividends starting in the third quarter.
Accenture's decision is to increase its dividend by 50 percent, shift to a semi-annual dividend payout. It also authorized a $4 billion additional share repurchase program.
Revenue declines are expected to lend in the first half of fiscal 2010, followed by growth in the second half.
The company also approved a $4 billion additional share repurchase, bringing its total outstanding authority to about $4.9 billion.
Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) October 12, 2009 declared a quarterly dividend of $0.68 cents per share,
The amount represents a 4.6 percent increase in the company's quarterly dividend and marks the 22nd consecutive year Chevron has increased its annual dividend payment. Chevron Corp. expects its third-quarter earnings to be significantly higher than the second quarter on higher crude oil prices and gains from asset sales and tax items.
The second-largest U.S. oil company said that it expects about $400 million in gains related to asset sales and tax items.
The San Ramon, Calif.-based company said results from its downstream such as refining and marketing are expected to be relatively flat. Chevron's third-quarter profit last year more than doubled on record crude prices during the summer. It earned $7.89 billion, or $3.85 a share, in the three months ended Sept. 30 — its largest quarterly profit in its 129-year corporate history. Chevron said that its interim report for this year's third-quarter results was based on production volumes, margins and other items during a portion of the quarter and are "not necessarily indicative" of quarterly results.
Chevron cautioned that no one should "place undue reliance on this data." $350 million. But it cautioned that actual results may "significantly differ" from the guidance range due to foreign currency effects and other factors.
Chevron said that compared with the average for the second quarter, net U.S. oil-equivalent production during the first two months of the third quarter increased 41,000 barrels per day mainly due to increased production in the Gulf of Mexico.
Chevron also said its U.S. and international refining indicator margins for the third quarter were mixed.
Citizens Financial Services, Inc. (OTCBB: CZFS) the bank holding company for First Citizens National Bank, recently declared a cash dividend
for Citizens Financial Services shareholders.
A cash dividend of $.25 per share will be paid on October 30, 2009 to shareholders of record on October 16, 2009. This quarterly cash dividend is an increase of 4.2% over the dividend declared one year ago. CEO and President Randall E. Black stated, "Our financial strength and continued profitability gives us the affordability to continue to provide a very attractive dividend yield to our shareholders and reflects the Board of Directors desire to provide total shareholder return to our shareholder base."
Inquiries regarding the purchase of the company's stock may be made through the following brokers: Boenning & Scattergood, Inc., 800-883-1212; Domestic Securities, Inc., 201-782-0888; E*Trade Capital Markets, LLC, 866-551-8300;
Hudson Securities, Inc., 201-216-0100; Knight Equity Markets, LP, 212-336-8924; Monroe Securities Inc., 800-766-5560; Pershing Trading Company, 201-413-3531; RBC Capital Markets Corp., 212-858-7000; Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.,
Inc., 800-223-7922; UBS Securities, LLC, 203-719-7100.
Citizens Financial Services, Inc., has over 1,500 shareholders, the majority of whom reside in Potter, Tioga, and Bradford Counties. First Citizens National Bank has community offices in Wellsville, NY and Pennsylvania offices in Genesee, Ulysses, Wellsboro, Mansfield, Blossburg, Canton, Troy, Gillett, Towanda, LeRaysville, Stateline, Sayre and in-store offices at Weis Market in Wellsboro and WalMart in Mansfield.
Clarcor Inc., (NYSE: CLC) October 1, 2009 which makes filters and filter systems, said that its board declared an increase in the regular quarterly dividend to 9.75 cents per share from 9 cents.
The increase raises the annual rate to 39 cents per share from 36 cents, marking an 8.3 percent increase and the company's 26th consecutive annual increase.
The dividend is payable Oct. 23 to shareholders of record Oct. 9.
ConAgra Foods (NYSE: CAG ) October 5, 2009 announced 5% dividend increase. Reflecting the company’s strong earnings outlook and healthy annual cash flows, the board of directors of ConAgra Foods, Inc., approved a dividend increase by raising the quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share from $0.19 per share currently. On an annualized basis, the dividend increases to $0.80 per share from $0.76 per share. The first payment of the new quarterly rate of $0.20 per common share will be paid on Dec. 1, 2009, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Oct. 30, 2009.
ConAgra Foods, Inc., is one of North America’s leading food companies, with brands in 97 percent of America’s households. Consumers find Banquet, Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt’s, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip and many ConAgra Foods brands in grocery, convenience, mass merchandise and club stores. ConAgra Foods also has a strong business-to-business presence, supplying potato, other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of well-known restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) October 7, 2009 said it will increase its quarterly dividend 6 percent, sell $10 billion of assets and lower capital spending in 2010 in an effort to strengthen its financial position.
The third-largest U.S. oil company announced a quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share, up from last quarter's dividend of 47 cents per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 1 to stockholders of record at the close of business Oct. 30.
The Houston-based company also said it plans to spend less on capital projects in 2010 compared with 2009 levels. Next year's capital budget is set around $11 billion, down from $12.5 billion in 2009. At this level of funding, ConocoPhillips said it will support exploration, production and reserve replacement, while preserving its project portfolio for future development.
ConocoPhillips said that over the next two years, it intends to sell about $10 billion of assets, primarily from its exploration & production and refining & marketing portfolio.
Proceeds from the sales would be used to pay off debt and to accelerate the company's return to its stated target debt-to capital ratio of 20 percent to 25 percent.
In a statement, the company said these moves are in line with its plan to "improve its financial position and increase returns on capital through a combination of enhanced capital discipline and portfolio rationalization."
Shares of the company rose $1.29, or 2.7 percent, to close at $49.70 Wednesday.
Covidien plc (NYSE: COV) September 25, 2009 announced that its Board of Directors has declared a 12.5% increase in the quarterly dividend rate, from $0.16 per ordinary share to $0.18 per ordinary share.
“Given our good operational performance thus far in 2009, our strong cash flow, and the further growth we expect in 2010, the Board has voted to increase the dividend,” said Richard J. Meelia, Chairman, President and CEO.
At the new rate, the annual dividend is $0.72 per ordinary share compared to the previous rate of $0.64 per ordinary share.
The next quarterly dividend is payable on November 6, 2009, to shareholders of record on October 6, 2009.
Covidien is a leading global healthcare products company that creates innovative medical solutions for better patient outcomes and delivers value through clinical leadership and excellence. Covidien manufactures, distributes and services a diverse range of industry-leading product lines in three segments: Medical Devices, Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies.
With 2008 revenue of $10 billion, Covidien has more than 41,000 employees worldwide in 59 countries, and its products are sold in over 140 countries.
Duncan Energy Partners L.P. (NYSE: DEP) October 15, 2009 announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared an increase in its quarterly cash distribution rate paid to partners to $0.44 per common unit, or $1.76 per unit on an annualized basis.
This distribution represents a 4.8 percent increase from the $0.42 per unit distribution declared for the third quarter of 2008 and is the fourth consecutive quarterly distribution increase.
The cash distribution will be paid Thursday, November 5, 2009, to unitholders of record at the close of business on Friday, October 30, 2009. The ex-dividend date is October 28, 2009.
The dividend yield is 8.3%.
Duncan Energy Partners L.P. engages in gathering, transporting, marketing, and storing natural gas, as well as in transporting and storing natural gas liquids (NGLs) and petro chemicals in the US
Enterprise Bancorp, Inc. (EBTC.OB), October 16, 2009 parent of Enterprise Bank, reported net income for the third quarter of $2.3 million, or $0.28 per share, compared to $1.7 million or $0.21 per share for the year-ago quarter.
Net interest income for the third quarter increased 15% to $12.5 million from $10.9 million in the prior year quarter. The provision for loan losses amounted to $1.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2009, compared to $1.2 million for the same period in 2008.
Non-interest income for the third quarter declined to $2.4 million from $2.6 million a year ago.
Enterprise GP Holdings L.P., (NYSE: EPD) October 15, 2009 announced today an increase in the quarterly cash distribution rate paid to partners to $0.515 per unit, or $2.06 per unit on an annualized basis.
This distribution represents a 13.2 percent increase from the $0.455 per unit distribution declared with respect to the third quarter of 2008.
The cash distribution will be paid on Friday, November 6, 2009, to unitholders of record as of the close of business on Friday, October 30, 2009.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P., a midstream energy company, provides services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL), crude oil, and petrochemicals in the continental United States, Canada, and Gulf of Mexico.
MV Oil Trust (MVO) October 8, 2009 declared its quarterly dividend of 59.5 cents per share. This amounts to an increase of twenty nine percent over the July dividend of 46.1 cents and based on the current dividend, investors can expect a yield of about thirteen percent.
In afternoon trading, shares of MVO were trading higher on the news, up more than two and a half percent.
Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) October 13, 2009 has approved an eight percent increase in the company's quarterly dividend to 27 cents a share from the current level of 25 cents a share on its common stock. The dividend is payable January 4, 2010 to shareholders of record as of December 1, 2009.
Commenting on the dividend increase, Marshall Larsen, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "This dividend increase of eight percent reflects the continued financial strength of our company and our excellent long-term growth prospects. Those prospects are supported by our presence on the newer aircraft platforms in service, which should generate substantial aftermarket sales, and our significant positions on new commercial and military aircraft currently in development."
Goodrich Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a global supplier of systems and services to aerospace, defense and homeland security markets. With one of the most strategically diversified portfolios of products in the industry, Goodrich serves a global customer base with significant worldwide manufacturing and service facilities.
Morgan Stanley Income Securities Inc. (NYSE: ICB) October 13, 2009 declared a monthly income dividend of $.08 per share. This represents an increase of $.0075 per share. Record date is October 23, 2009 and payable date is Otober 30, 2009.
Morgan Stanley Income Securities Inc. is a closed-end diversified management investment company which intends to invest all of its assets in fixed income securities.
The Trust's investment objective is to provide as high a level of current income as is consistent with prudent investment.
National Retail Properties, Inc. a real estate investment trust, (NYSE: NNN) October 15, 2009 declared a quarterly dividend of 37.5 cents per share payable November 16, 2009 to common shareholders of record on October 30, 2009.
The dividend represents an annualized rate of $1.50 per share. This dividend payment marks the twentieth consecutive annual dividend increase for National Retail Properties. Only 156 publicly traded companies in America have increased annual dividends paid to shareholders for 20 or more consecutive years. This quarterly dividend payment brings the total dividend paid for 2009 to $1.50 per share, representing a 1.4% increase over $1.48 per share paid in 2008.
"We're proud to reach our twentieth consecutive year of increased annual dividend payments," said Craig Macnab, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Less than 2% of all public companies in America have achieved this milestone.
In an environment when many companies have cut or suspended dividend payments, a consistent and increasing dividend is extremely important to our shareholders."
National Retail Properties invests primarily in high-quality retail properties subject generally to long-term, net leases. As of June 30, 2009, the company owned 999 Investment properties in 44 states with a gross leasable area of approximately 11.4 million square feet.
Northwest Natural Gas Co. (NYSE: NWN) October 1, 2009 said 2009 will mark the 54th straight year that the company has increased its annual dividend payments to shareholders.
The Portland-based natural gas utility said its board increased its quarterly dividend on common stock to 41.5 cents from 39.5 cents — a 5 percent increase. The dividends will be paid Nov. 13 to shareholders of record on Oct. 30.
The company said it will have paid $1.60 per share in dividends this year, it’s 54th straight year of increased payments.
Northwest Natural shares fell less than 1 percent in afternoon trading Thursday to $41.35 per share. They have traded between $36.61 and $53.71.
ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS) October 8, 2009 has increased the partnership's quarterly cash distribution to $1.09 per unit from $1.08 per unit, effective for the third quarter 2009, resulting in an annualized cash distribution of $4.36 per unit. The distribution is payable Nov. 13, 2009, to unitholders of record as of Oct. 30, 2009.
"The distribution increase reflects the benefit of our recently completed growth projects, which have increased our fee-based earnings, as well as an improved capital market environment," said John W. Gibson, chairman and chief executive officer of the general partner of ONEOK Partners. "As volumes behind these projects continue to ramp up, we anticipate additional opportunities to increase our distributions in the future."
ONEOK Partners has increased its distribution by more than 36 percent since April 2006, when a wholly owned subsidiary of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) became general partner.
Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE: PKE) October 17, 2009 announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in Park’s quarterly cash dividend from the current rate of $0.08 per share to $0.10 per share.
The Board of Directors also declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share payable November 5, 2009 to stockholders of record at the close of business on October 7, 2009, consistent with the Company’s historic schedule of regular quarterly dividends. The Company has paid regular quarterly cash dividends since 1985, and, although there is no assurance regarding future cash dividends, the Company has never reduced the amount of its
PPG Industries (NYSE:PPG) October 16, 2009 yesterday approved the company`s 38th consecutive annual dividend increase, declaring a regular quarterly dividend of 54 cents per share, payable Dec. 11 to shareholders of record Nov. 10.
"We are proud to continue PPG's tradition of annual dividend increases, especially given this year's difficult economic environment," said Charles E. Bunch, PPG chairman of the board and chief executive officer. "This increase not only demonstrates the confidence we have in PPG`s business portfolio to generate cash consistently, but it also underscores the value we place on returning cash to our shareholders."
PPG`s prior quarterly dividend was 53 cents a share.
This marks the company`s 445th consecutive dividend payment. PPG has paid
uninterrupted annual dividends since 1899.
Pittsburgh-based PPG is a global supplier of paints, coatings, optical products,
specialty materials, chemicals, glass and fiber glass. The company has more than 140 manufacturing facilities and equity affiliates and operates in more than 60
countries. Sales in 2008 were $15.8 billion.
Realty Income Corporation (NYSE: O) October 3, 2009 increased its monthly dividend to $0.1426875 per share from $0.142375 per share. Realty Income Corporation is has increased its quarterly dividend in each of the past fifteen years. The stock currently yields 6.20%.
Realty Income Corp. has a market cap of $2.49 billion; its shares were traded at around $24.09 with a P/E ratio of 13 and P/S ratio of 7.6. The dividend yield of Realty Income Corp. stocks is 7.1%. Realty Income Corp. had an annual average earning growth of 5.9% over the past 10 years. GuruFocus rated Realty Income Corp. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.
Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) October 6, 2009 declared today a 5-cent increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend.
The dividend was raised to 90 cents a share. The dividend is payable Jan. 4 to shareholders registered on Dec. 10.
"I am very pleased to announce this dividend increase, which reflects the continued strength of our business," Susan Ivey, the chairwoman, president and chief executive of Reynolds, said in a statement.
"The increase reaffirms our commitment to shareholders and maintains our policy of returning about 75 percent of the company's net income to our shareholders in the form of dividends."
RPM International Inc. (NYSE: RPM) October 8, 2009 announced at its annual meeting of stockholders that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.205 per share, payable on October 30, 2009, to stockholders of record as of October 19, 2009. This payment represents a 2.5% increase over the $0.20 quarterly cash dividend paid at this time last year.
This action marks RPM's 36th consecutive year of increased cash dividends paid to its stockholders, which places RPM in an elite category of less than half of one percent of all 19,000 publicly-traded U.S. companies. Only 56 other companies, besides RPM, have consecutively paid an increasing annual dividend for this period of time or longer, according to the 2010 edition of America's Finest Companies. At a share price of $18.25, RPM's dividend yield would be 4.5%.
"Annually increasing our dividend is a long-standing RPM trademark of which we're very proud. Given current uncertain economic conditions, we're pleased that our strong cash flow has allowed us to continue this practice and deliver stockholders a positive cash return on their investment," stated chairman and chief executive officer Frank C. Sullivan. "As highlighted in our 2009 annual report, for the five-year and ten-year periods ended May 31, 2009, RPM's return to shareholders has outperformed the S&P 500 Index by 38% and 94%, respectively, including the assumed reinvestment of dividends for both RPM and the S&P 500 Index. Our annual dividend growth has been a critical element of our ability to significantly outperform this broad market index and deliver value to RPM shareholders."
RPM International Inc., a holding company, owns subsidiaries that are world leaders in specialty coatings and sealants serving both industrial and consumer markets. RPM's industrial products include roofing systems, sealants, corrosion control coatings, flooring coatings and specialty chemicals. Industrial brands include Stonhard, Tremco, illbruck, Carboline, Day-Glo, Euco and Dryvit. RPM's consumer products are used by professionals and do-it-yourselfers for home maintenance and improvement, boat repair and maintenance, and by hobbyists. Consumer brands include Zinsser, Rust-Oleum, DAP, Varathane and Testors.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) October 1, 2009 declared a quarterly dividend of 47.5 cents per outstanding share, an increase of 1.5 cents per share, or 3.3 percent, from the previous quarter. The quarterly dividend is payable on Nov. 2, 2009, to Verizon Communications shareowners of record at the close of business on Oct. 9, 2009.
This is the third consecutive year that Verizon's Board of Directors has approved a quarterly dividend increase in September.
Verizon Communications Inc. provides communication services in the United States and internationally.
Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) (NASDAQ: WAG) October 16, 2009 announced it has authorized a new $2 billion share repurchase program. The program, which expires at the end of 2013, replaces the previous $1 billion plan announced in
January 2007 which had approximately $655 million remaining. Since 2004, Walgreens has repurchased more than $1.3 billion of common stock.
The board also declared a regularly quarterly dividend of 13.75 cents per share, a 22.2 percent increase over the year-ago dividend, and set a long-term dividend payout target of 30 to 35 percent of net earnings.
Walgreens generated a record $4.1 billion in cash flow from operations in fiscal 2009 as a result of its stronger operating performance and improved working capital. "We remain confident in our growth strategy and ability to drive earnings growth, increase return on invested capital and generate strong cash flow," said Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson. "With that, we have outlined a capital policy to provide further clarity on our future uses of
cash."
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. (NYSE: WST) October 2, 2009 today announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase of one cent per share in the Company's quarterly cash dividend, to $0.16 per share, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2009. The 6.7% increase is the seventeenth consecutive annual increase in the Company's quarterly dividend. The fourth quarter dividend will be paid on November 4, 2009 to shareholders of record on October 21, 2009.
West is a global manufacturer of components and systems for injectable drug delivery, including stoppers and seals for vials, and closures and disposable components used in syringe, IV and blood collection systems. The Company also provides products with application to the personal care, food and beverage markets. Headquartered in Lionville, Pennsylvania, West supports its partners and customers from 50 locations throughout North America, South America, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Asia and Australia.
Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM:NYSE) September 30, 2009 the world's largest restaurant company in terms of system restaurants, on Wednesday raised its quarterly dividend by 11% and said its board has authorized the repurchase of $300 million worth of shares.
The parent of the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC chains said its quarterly cash dividend will increase from $0.19 to $0.21 per share and that the increased dividend will be paid on November 6 to shareholders of record on October 16.
David Novak, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Yum's global growth potential, consistent performance and track record of generating strong free cash flow give us the confidence and ability to return significant cash to our shareholders even in these challenging economic times."
