Last year may have been a year of dividend slashing, but there are now more and more companies 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 Best Buy
I'm typically weary of companies with flat or declining profitability jacking up their yields, but Best Buy is good for the money. The $0.60 a share that it expects to shell out during the year ahead is a mere 17% of the $3.47 a share that analysts see the superstore earning this fiscal year.
Medtronic
Freeport McMoran
Finally, we have PetSmart
Companies are starting to return more of their money to their investors, and shareholders aren't likely to be complaining. Charlotte-based utility Duke Energy
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.
Do higher dividends matter to you? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.