9 Companies Increasing Dividends This Week

Wall Street had one of its worst weeks in years, and the capitulation selling
that took root Thursday culminated with a 512-point plundering of the Dow.
Nearly every sector of the market was hit that day, including commodities like
oil and gold. On Friday, the July employment report showed better-than-expected
job growth, as nonfarm payrolls increased 117,000. That number easily surpassed
expectations for a gain of 85,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 9.1% from
9.2% in June, and that was one of the few positives in an otherwise dismal week
dominated by recession fears. Another, almost overlooked, positive this week was
the hefty number of companies increasing dividends. This week's payout
performers include one of the largest gold mining concerns, the premier
agricultural chemicals company, and the company that rakes in a little profit
for itself every time an options trade is executed. The following are nine
companies increasing dividends in this memorable week of tumultuous trading.
Boardwalk Pipeline Partners L.P. Natural gas limited partnership Boardwalk
Pipeline Partners (NYSE: BWP ) turned up the heat on its quarterly cash
distribution to 52.5 cents per unit. The new distribution, announced Aug. 1, is
payable on Aug. 18 to unitholders of record as of Aug. 11. The new dividend
yield, based on the Aug. 1 closing price of $28.55, is 7.36%. Boardwalk's
distribution increase came even as its second-quarter net income fell by
two-thirds. Although the loss was due largely to absorbed accounting charges and
other expenses, Boardwalk earned just $15.2 million, or 7 cents per common unit,
down from $54.4 million, or 28 cents per unit, during the same period last year.
Analysts had expected net income of 32 cents per unit.