Locate Companies with Rising Dividends

Wall Street Journal

Companies that pay dividends outperform companiesthat don't. There are 3 types of dividend-payingcompanies: those that maintain a flat dividend,those whose dividends are declining, andthose that pay higher dividends—the optimalchoice. Through 2002, Comerica paid a higher cashdividend for 59 years in a row, the finest record Iknow of. American States Water is in second placewith 50, and a small bank in North Carolina, Bank ofGranite, occupies the third slot at 49. As a recent article notes, the 1 thing aboutdividends is that they "must be paid in real dollarsand, unlike earnings, can't be faked."