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 these past few days.
We can start with Wendy's (WEN 2.96%).
Despite the recent setback at the Golden Arches, this smaller burger-flipper is doing just fine. Wendy's is coming off its sixth consecutive quarter of positive comparable-store sales. Improving fundamentals are giving Wendy's the freedom to double its quarterly dividend to $0.04 a share.
Whole Foods Market (WFM +0.00%) is another company that's been rattling off a string of quarters with positive store-level sales. With sales soaring 24% in its latest quarter on a sharp 8.5% spike in comps, why not share the wealth?
The leading organic grocer is enhancing its all-natural quarterly payout by 43% to $0.20 a share.
Emerson Electric (EMR 0.69%) is also electrifying its disbursements. The increase isn't much -- a mere 3% advance to $0.41 a share every three months -- but the act itself is significant. Emerson Electric has now come through with higher declarations for 56 consecutive years.
Finally, we have DeVry (DV 1.94%). For-profit post-secondary educators have been pounded over the past year, but DeVry still has enough left over to return a little extra to its stakeholders. DeVery's new semiannual rate of $0.17 a share is a 13% improvement.
Checks and balances
Subscribers to the Income Investor newsletter can appreciate 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. A 30-day trial subscription will help you see if it's right for you.
The Dow is another place where yield chasers come for meaty payouts, but you don't want to buy all 30 stocks that make up the index. A new report singles out the three Dow companies that dividend investors need to own. It's a free report, so click here to check it out now.
