Uncovering
the best dividend stocks is a difficult process. It requires constant screening of the
dividend achievers and
dividend aristocrat indexes, in order to identify companies which are worth your time to further research. Research entails reading analysts reports, annual company reports, staying up to date on news in the industry and competitors in general and constantly evaluating whether the stock is worth your investment or not. If you find the
right dividend stocks however, the rewards could be tremendous. Sometimes however certain stocks would not be widely followed by dividend investors, because of their small size. Another reason could be that they are very close to getting on the dividend achievers list, but are not there yet.
Several companies increased distributions over the past week. The companies include:
National Bankshares, Inc. (NKSH) operates as the bank holding company for The National Bank of Blacksburg (NBB), which provides various retail and commercial banking services to individuals, businesses, non profits, and local governments in Virginia. The company increased its semi-annual dividend by 7.3% to 44 cents/share. This was the tenth consecutive annual dividend increase for the company. The stock yields 3.10% and has a dividend payout ratio of less than 50%.
Mine Safety Appliances Company (MSA) develops, manufactures, and supplies health and safety products used by workers in the fire service, homeland security, construction, and other industries, as well as the military. The company increased its quarterly dividend to 25 cents per share, an increase of about 4% over its prior dividend in February of 24 cents. This was the thirty-eight consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend champion. The stock yields 3.40%.
FactSet Research Systems Inc.