Dividend Increases At Record Low, Dividend Cuts Highest In Over 50 Years

July 1, 2009 3:51 PM EDT

According to data from Standard & Poor's, a record low 233 of the approximately 7,000 publicly owned companies increased their dividend payment during the second quarter of 2009. This is a 48.8% drop from the second quarter of 2008.

Dividend decreases in the second quarter were posted by 250 companies, the highest number since the second quarter of 1957.

Senior Index Analyst at Standard & Poor's Howard Silverblatt said, "The current trend to conserve cash and cut dividends has become defensive, with even relatively healthy companies choosing to reduce payouts. Until we see the economy better, and not just for one quarter, many companies will remain gun shy about parting with their cash."

Some companies that raised their dividend in Q2 included:

  • General Mills (NYSE: GIS)
  • PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM)
  • Darden (NYSE: DRI)
  • Del Monte Foods (NYSE: DLM)
  • Medtronic (NYSE: MDT)
  • Target (NYSE: TGT)
  • Clorox (NYSE: CLX)
  • Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH)
  • PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP)
  • IBM (NYSE: IBM)
  • Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)
Some companies that cut their dividend in Q2 included:
  • SL Green Realty (NYSE: SLG)
  • Boston Properties (NYSE: BXP)
  • BioMed Realty Trust (NYSE: BMR)
  • Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq: STLD)
  • SunTrust Banks (NYSE: STI)
  • Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE: CLF)
  • US Steel (NYSE: X)
  • Ethan Allen (NYSE: ETH)
  • Ingersoll Rand (NYSE: IR)
  • Goldman (NYSE: GS)

Real-Time Market Moving News Two-Weeks FREE http://www.streetinsider.com/premium_content.php


Related Categories

Dividends
Insiders' Blog

Stocks Mentioned

BMR 13.39

-0.34 -2.48%
Volume: 1,094,313
Track BMR

BXP 60.06

-2.09 -3.36%
Volume: 1,665,815
Track BXP

CAH 29.50

-0.13 -0.44%
Volume: 2,786,155
Track CAH

CLF 36.18

-0.49 -1.34%
Volume: 3,106,294
Track CLF

CLX 59.93

+0.46 +0.77%
Volume: 1,459,218
Track CLX

DLM 10.75

-0.01 -0.09%
Volume: 1,587,703
Track DLM

DRI 32.65

-0.13 -0.40%
Volume: 2,030,656
Track DRI

ETH 12.11

-0.06 -0.49%
Volume: 315,459
Track ETH

GIS 66.37

+0.12 +0.18%
Volume: 1,610,907
Track GIS

GS 171.78

-1.62 -0.93%
Volume: 6,275,642
Track GS

IBM 123.49

+0.39 +0.32%
Volume: 4,979,517
Track IBM

IR 33.84

+0.17 +0.50%
Volume: 3,289,584
Track IR

JNJ 60.30

+0.32 +0.53%
Volume: 8,518,646
Track JNJ

MDT 37.97

-0.45 -1.17%
Volume: 5,652,932
Track MDT

PEP 61.76

+0.53 +0.87%
Volume: 4,830,987
Track PEP

PETM 24.15

+0.14 +0.58%
Volume: 1,017,559
Track PETM

SLG 37.85

-0.68 -1.76%
Volume: 1,632,394
Track SLG

STI 19.93

-0.34 -1.68%
Volume: 5,909,741
Track STI

STLD 14.08

-0.34 -2.36%
Volume: 5,869,938
Track STLD

TGT 49.70

+0.00 +0.00%
Volume: 5,293,301
Track TGT

X 37.38

+0.57 +1.55%
Volume: 13,744,723
Track X


Related Entities


Add Your Comment