Each day, companies across the globe announce new upcoming dividend payouts. In our Dividend Payout Changes and Announcement tool, you’ll find all of the dividend increases, decreases, initiations, suspensions, updates and regular dividend announcements for a given day.
Below we present an analysis of the stocks that increased dividends last week. The latest payout is compared to the most recent payout before the dividend increase.
Following is a snapshot of the five major stocks that increased dividends last week. If an investor simply purchases the stock prior to the ex-dividend date and then sells it either on the ex-dividend date or at some point afterward, he will be able to receive the dividend in his account.
To apply this strategy, you need to know when stocks go ex-dividend. You can find the latest ex-dividend dates for the stocks that interest you in our Ex-Dividend Date Search tool.
Find out which companies increased their dividends two weeks back here.
| Ticker | Company | Previous Payout | New Payout | Change | Ex-Dividend Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (SE ) | Spectra Energy | $0.41 | $0.44 | 8.64% | 2/13/2017 |
| (OZRK) | Bank of the Ozarks | $0.17 | $0.17 | 3.03% | 1/18/2017 |
| (ALG ) | Alamo Group | $0.09 | $0.10 | 11.11% | 1/11/2017 |
Spectra Energy Increases Dividend by 8.6%
Spectra Energy (SE ) is a natural gas infrastructure company. The company works in gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. SE has four segments: U.S. Transmission, Distribution, Western Canada Transmission & Processing, and Field Services. The company was established in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.
Spectra Energy is a quarterly dividend payer that increased its dividend from $0.41 to $0.44, which is a 7% increase in dividend. Analysts expect a 13% increase in earnings from $1.20 to $1.36 from 2017 to 2018. The stock is off only 3.5% from its 52-week high, but is trading at a very high P/E of 35 which probably does not make it a good candidate for the dividend capture strategy.
Bank of the Ozarks Increases Dividend by 3%
Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK) conducts banking operations through 73 offices including 65 banking offices in 34 communities throughout northern, western and central Arkansas, six Texas banking offices, and loan production offices in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Charlotte, North Carolina. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Regional banking stocks have had a fantastic run in this rising interest rate environment.
OZRK has run up in share price from $35 to $52 in a short span of two months. Analysts expect an 18% rise in earnings from 2017 to 2018 ($2.53 EPS to $3.01).
OZRK increased its dividend from $0.165 to $0.17. OZRK is a quarterly dividend payer and is going ex-dividend on 1/18/2017.
Agricultural Machinery Company Increases Dividend by 11%
Alamo Group (ALG ) engages in the design, manufacture, distribution and service of equipment for right-of-way maintenance and agriculture in North America, Europe and Australia. The company was founded in 1955 and is based in Seguin, Texas.
Despite having a steady track record of paying dividends, Alamo Group has had only two consecutive years of dividend increases. Its latest dividend increase is 11.1%. Its previous payout was $0.09, while its latest payout is $0.10. Alamo is a quarterly dividend payer that is expected to increase its earnings by 8.58% in 2018 from 2017, according to analyst estimates.
Alamo trades at a P/E of 20.8 based on 2017 EPS estimate of $3.73. Its current share price is $77.41. Alamo group is going ex-dividend with its latest dividend payout on 1/11/2017.
Other major stocks to have increased their dividend last week:
| Ticker | Company | Previous Payout | New Payout | Change | Ex-Dividend Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (EPD ) | Enterprise Products Partners L.P. | $0.41 | $0.41 | 1.23% | 1/27/2017 |
| (CNP ) | CenterPoint Energy | $0.26 | $0.27 | 3.88% | 2/14/2017 |
Dividend Aristocrats
There were no dividend aristocrats that increased dividends last week. However, there are a couple of dividend aristocrats going ex-dividend this week.
Stay up to Date
Stay up to date with next week’s major corporate changes regarding dividends with our News section at Dividend.com.
