Dividend cuts may have dominated 2009, but more and more companies are now committed to sending more money out to their shareholders in 2010.
Readers of the Motley Fool 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 American Eagle Outfitters
Target
"Because we expect to continue to return excess cash to our shareholders through a combination of regular dividends and opportunistic share repurchase, we believe it is appropriate to increase the amount returned through the quarterly dividend," Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in justifying the significant upgrade.
I'll take it!
Caterpillar
Finally, we have FedEx
Companies are starting to return more of their money to their investors, and shareholders aren't likely to be complaining. Viacom
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 we're recommending these days? Go ahead and give the newsletter service a shot with a 30-day trial subscription. Who knows? Maybe the next thing to get hiked will be your interest.
Do higher dividends matter to you? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.