How Dividends Change the Game for E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (DD) Shareholders

On the other hand, when your operations lean toward manufacturing and infrastructure, as DuPont’s do, the increases are expected to arrive early and often. Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT) would be the most obvious example of this among the Dow 30. The construction machinery expert increased payouts by 84% in the last 12 months alone and by an average of 14% over a decade. That’s how you reward shareholders for their stakes in a cash machine of epic proportions.

This explains why DuPont’s policy isn’t growing faster. The company is stuck in reverse with minuscule revenue growth and shrinking profit. Its business is the very definition of a commodity play, where the costs of raw materials and finished products largely set the bar for your profit. DuPont itself doesn’t have much power over the bottom-line outcome, so management must settle for staying out of trouble and hoping for better price trends.

In other words, E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) doesn’t look all that likely to kick its dividend boosts into high gear anytime soon. Income investors are sure to find better bets in other Dow stocks.

The article How Dividends Change the Game for DuPont Shareholders originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Anders Bylund.

Fool contributor Anders Bylund holds no position in any company mentioned. Check out Anders’ bio and holdings or follow him on Twitter and Google+. The Motley Fool owns shares of Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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