4 Stocks That Took a Hike

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I love to kick off the new trading week by taking a quick peek at companies that have just hiked their dividends. It's not just about the money. A company that is easing up on its pocketbook probably has improving fundamentals to back up that generosity.

Readers of the Motley Fool Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at four of the companies that nudged their payouts higher over the past week.

Let's start with DeVry (NYSE: DV). The for-profit educator that is helping retool the workforce with its niche-specific higher learning universities is moving its dividend to the head of the class. The semi-annual rate is now $0.08 a share, a 33% boost.

Bob Evans (Nasdaq: BOBE) is also serving up chunkier distributions. The country-cooking eatery is bumping its quarterly dividend 14% higher to $0.16 a share. It's a bold move in the difficult casual dining space, especially since the announcement was accompanied by the company lowering its earnings outlook. Then again, when your revised guidance still calls for profits to clock in between $1.75 a share and $1.85 a share this year, returning $0.16 a share to your shareholders every three months is an easy move.

BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) is another hiker. The maker of highly engineered car components is revving up its quarterly dividend by 9% to $0.12 a share. The move comes just as General Motors (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) are getting crushed, so I guess it sometimes pays to buy into the more diversified makers of engine and drivetrain parts than any specific automaker.

Finally, we have Automatic Data Processing (NYSE: ADP) punching in with a little more pocket change. The human resources outsourcing giant is giving its quarterly rate a 14% boost. Despite the cyclical nature of providing corporate services, ADP rarely calls in sick. The company has now increased its dividend for 34 years in a row.

The Foolish analysts at Income Investor single out companies that are committed to growing their distributions with market-thumping results. Want to see what is being recommended these days? Go ahead and give the newsletter service a shot with a free 30-day trial subscription. Who knows? Maybe the next thing that will get hiked will be your interest.