Dividend Increases For Thursday, May 24, 2012 – Fashion Rules The Day

Dividend Increases For Thursday, May 24, 2012 – Fashion Rules The Day

After a quiet day with no dividend increases on Wednesday, investors were rewarded today with four companies announcing that they would increase the amount of their cash payouts.

Included in today’s mix were two fashion and clothing related names, DSW (ticker: DSW) Designer Show Warehouse and Ralph Lauren (ticker: RL) along with two insurance related names: W.R. Berkley (ticker: WRB) and Independence Holding Co. (ticker: IHC).

Doing The Research

As I’ve mentioned before, I take a few minutes to do a quick background check and look over a few key financial facts for each company that makes a daily dividend increase announcement. As I was looking at DSW the shoe retailer, I was actually surprised to learn that the company has been in business since 1917, almost 100 years.

When I find a company in a niche field, like selling shoes that has also been in business for over 50 years that is often a good sign that there may be a trend in long term dividend payments to shareholders, possibly even increasing dividends. Looking back to 2008 at DSW’s dividend history, I found that the company has only paid one small dividend until reviving the payout at the beginning of 2012.

I’ll add DSW to my watch list for potential investments, however, they’ll have to establish a longer term series of dividend payments before becoming a member of the DDI portfolio.

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Company	Ticker	Yield	New	Old	Frequency
DSW Class A	DSW	1.2%	.18	.15	Quarterly
Independence Holdings	IHC	0.8%	.035	.025	Semi-Annual
Ralph Lauren Class A	RL	1.1	.40	.20	Quarterly
WR Berkley	WRB	0.9%	.09	.08	Quarterly

Investment Considerations- Read Before Investing

As always when evaluating investment opportunities it’s important to keep in mind not only the fundamentals of the stock itself, but also how the holding entity (Limited Partnership,Royalty Trust, Master Limited Partnership, Business Development Company, Preferred Stock) may affect the way you report income on your annual tax return as well as the amount or percentage of tax  you will be required to pay. Adding shares of any of these special entities to tax deferred / retirement accounts may also present additional issues.

Remember to review all of the fundamentals of any company BEFORE investing – do not simply buy a stock based on the dividend payout. If you have further questions about any stock mentioned her you should first consult with your CPA or tax planner / advisor before making any investments.