There's something special about a company increasing its dividend. It's not just more money in the pockets of its shareowners. It's also a sign that a company feels upbeat enough to go easy on those purse strings. If a dividend hike signals an improvement in a company's fundamentals, it may very well send the shares higher.
Let's take a closer look at four of the companies that inched their payouts higher this past week.
Eaton Vance (NYSE:EV) managed to increase its payout. The Boston-based mutual fund specialist will now be paying its shareholders $0.10 per share every three months. That's 25% higher than its previous $0.08 dividend. Then again, the quarterly checks haven't been the biggest reward for Eaton Vance investors. The stock has been one of the top-performing equities over the past few decades. In fact, if you had bought the stock 15 years ago, you would be sitting on a 44-bagger today.
Cryptologic (NASDAQ:CRYP) is another company betting on higher payouts to win back investors. The online gambling software company gave its quarterly payout a 40% boost to $0.07 per share. Yes, seven can be a lucky number in the gambling world, but the dividend increase is just part of Cryptologic's strategy to give investors their cut of the company's healthy free cash flow and asset-rich balance sheet. Back in September, Cryptologic announced its intent to repurchase 10% of its outstanding shares. The stock has been singled out twice this year as part of the Motley Fool Hidden Gems newsletter service.
Wendy's International (NYSE:WEN) made its dividend hotter and juicier. The world's third-largest burger chain's per-share distribution will go from $0.135 to $0.17 every quarter. Wendy's? Yes, Wendy's. The company had a notorious skid earlier this year with that pesky finger-in-the-chili episode. Even after its vindication, the victimized company didn't get back on its feet right away. That's why the higher dividend helps. With a dozen straight interest rate hikes, income-producing stocks need to pay attention to the buoyant rates being offered on money market funds these days. Wendy's isn't the only one with plumper payouts in the fast-food industry. Arby's parent Triarc (NYSE:TRY) also boosted its yield over the summer.
Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE:CCE) is the fourth company that we'll be taking a closer look at this week. No, this isn't Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) -- it's the soft-drink giant's largest bottler, accounting for about a fifth of Coke's worldwide production. Turning sweet syrup into popular pop has served Coca-Cola Enterprises well. It's fizzing up its quarterly dividend by 50% to $0.06 per share, starting with January's payout.
Subscribers to our Motley Fool Income Investor newsletter can appreciate companies that send more and more money to their investors. Analyst Mathew Emmert has often singled out companies that combine market-thumping results with a commitment to grow their distributions.
Want to see what Mathew's liking these days? Go ahead and give his newsletter service a shot with a 30-day trial subscription. Who knows? Maybe the next thing that will get hiked will be your interest.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz pays attention to yield signs. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
