Dividend checks continue to get fatter in corporate America as more companies jack up their distribution rates.

Readers of the Income Investor newsletter can certainly appreciate that kind of thinking. Let's take a closer look at some of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.

Let's start with Oxford Industries (NYSE: OXM). The company behind the tropical Tommy Bahama shirts is dressing up its dividend. Its new quarterly rate of $0.13 a share is an 18% improvement. It's good for the money after posting a blowout quarter.

Stronger earnings are leading to meatier payouts at Anworth Mortgage (NYSE: ANH). The mortgage-based REIT will be paying its investors $0.25 a share this month, ahead of the $0.22 a share it shelled out in its previous quarter.

Don't get too comfortable with Anworth's hike. Its disbursements are based entirely on how much money the company makes, and its quarterly distributions had actually fallen in each of the four previous quarters.

Kayne Anderson Energy (NYSE: KED) is also energizing its rate. The midstream energy investor's quarterly dividend is climbing 3% to $0.31 a share. It's a small bump, but Kayne shares are now packing a healthy 6.3% yield.

Finally, we have International Paper (NYSE: IP) printing fatter dividend checks. The paper giant's rolling these days. The new quarterly rate of $0.2625 is a big 40% increase from its previous payouts. International Paper has also now boosted its distributions three times over the past year.

These companies join air-conditioning specialist Watsco (NYSE: WSO) in propping up their yields.

Subscribers to the Income Investor newsletter can appreciate the companies sending more and more money to their investors. The newsletter singles 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 30-day trial subscription. Who knows? Maybe the next thing that will get hiked will be your interest.

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