Oracle
OK, so I cheated on this one by 24 hours, since Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) doubled its dividend on June 20 instead of the official start of summer on the 21st… but ask anyone on the East Coast, or in the South, and they’ll tell you summer started long before June! While shareholders have to be loving Oracle CEO Larry Ellison’s renewed interest on improving shareholder returns, they have to be a bit concerned that this could be a sign that Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s high-growth days are long gone. The future of cloud-computing will represent a big opportunity for Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), as it recognized 50% growth in software-as-a-service revenue; however, its legacy hardware products, and Europe, continue to be sticking points for pessimists. Thankfully, with a record $13.6 billion in free cash flow generated last year, I doubt there’s too much to be concerned about over the long run, and shareholders will certainly enjoy their new 1.5% yield in the meantime.
Anadarko Petroleum
While not exactly knocking the socks off shareholders by boosting its yield from 0.4% to 0.8%, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC)’s management team decisively demonstrated in early August that shareholder interests are becoming a priority. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) has a rather large position in the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale, and this dividend increase should be a boost of confidence to shareholders that increased nat-gas production from this region shouldn’t harm its cash flow potential, despite the risks associated with excess demand weighing down nat-gas prices. With Anadarko paying out only 16% of projected 2013 EPS in the form of a dividend, it leaves a lot of room for future growth, and makes Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) a name worth watching.
Harman International
Audio equipment specialist Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR) shocked investors in August when it not only doubled its quarterly payout to $0.30, from $0.15 (thus boosting its yield to nearly 2%), but also provided rather bullish guidance through 2016. According to Harman’s estimates, it projects revenue could grow from $4.3 billion in 2013, to $6.05 billion in 2016, with EBITDA margins improving from 10.5%, to 13%. Specifically, as higher-end car models become more attainable, and Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR)’s technologies more innovative, Harman International Industries Inc./DE/ (NYSE:HAR) will be able to retain significant pricing power and pass it along to automakers in the form of higher prices — the perfect recipe for bigger profits and a fatter dividend for shareholders.
Cabot Oil & Gas
If there were a dividend dud to this bunch, it’d have to be Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG), which has me harking back to the days of Dr. Evil asking his henchmen to “throw him a bone.” Even with Cabot’s newly doubled dividend, the E&P company, which is primarily weighted toward its natural gas assets, is still only paying out a pitiful 0.2% yield. While better than nothing, Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG) should be willing to part with more following its stellar second-quarter results that saw production increase by 52%, and discretionary cash flow rise by a whopping 109%! Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) has quite a bit at stake with its nat-gas Marcellus Shale assets, yet it’s pumping out close to a 1% yield. Get with it Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation (NYSE:COG)!
The article 5 Companies Doubling Their Dividends This Summer originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.
Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool owns shares of Oracle.
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