Boeing is the second of the mega-stocks in the Dow 30 to raise its dividend significantly in the past few days. On Friday, General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) raised its quarterly dividend from $0.19 to $0.22, a penny more than some were expecting. GE’s 16% dividend boost was nearly three times its 2014 consensus estimated earnings growth.
Boeing has done something similar. Consensus earnings growth for next year is about 11.7%, and Boeing wants to be sure that investors get the message that the wind is at its back by boosting its dividend by more than 4-times expected earnings growth.
Compare what Boeing and GE have done with their dividend increases and what another Dow 30 stock, The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) did with theirs. Yes, the increase was 15%, but the dividend yield is still a paltry 1.2% and Disney doesn’t even pay its dividend quarterly. Investors have to wait a whole year to get paid.
One more company we’d like to hear from before the end of the year is 3M Co. (NYSE: MMM), which currently pays an annual dividend of $2.54 for a dividend yield of 2%. That amounts to just 38% of expected 2013 operating earnings and about 34% of expected 2014 operating earnings. 3M has to do something dramatic because its stock is essentially fully valued at today’s closing price of $127.66. Boeing’s upside potential is about 10.5%, GE’s is about 6.3%, and Disney’s is about 7%. 3M needs to shake it up.
Boeing’s shares were up about 1.3% in after-hours trading on Monday at $136.50 after closing at $134.72 in a 52-week range of $72.68 to $142.00.
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks