Dividend Stocks: ConocoPhillips, Raytheon

BALTIMORE (Stockpickr) -- With the S&P 500 up double digits from early February lows, the biggest question on Wall Street's mind is whether or not the economy is rebounding enough to justify the premium in stock prices. But while big price swings have made many stocks difficult to value, it's been a different story for dividend-paying companies, which get a significant portion of their valuations from the income streams that they pay out to shareholders.

Historically, companies that pay higher dividends materially outperform those that don't, and when the market turns bearish, dividends could be the only semblance of return that investors see for a while. And when a company actually increases its dividend, investors would do well to take notice.

With that in mind, here's Stockpickr's latest roundup of recent dividend-increasers. These stocks represent some of the most interesting income investments on the market right now.

Integrated oil and gas giant ConocoPhillips(COP) spilled the details on its $10 billion divestiture plan last week, a move designed to increase value for shareholders of the $77 billion company. At its March 25 analyst meeting, the company also announced plans to begin increasing its quarterly dividend payouts, starting with a 55-cent-per-share dividend to be paid on June 1 -- a 10% increase. "

ConocoPhillips has been making significant strides toward presenting a more attractive package to investors, a move designed to compete with Wall Street's favor of its high-profile peers. Although ConocoPhillips' thinner margins might scare some investors away, its focus on the natural gas side of the business is playing out well for the company in 2010. With corporate actions under way to increase balance sheet liquidity in the next two years, investors should enjoy increasing yields on their investments.

One fund that's counting on increased income is the J.P. Morgan Intrepid Value Select Fund (JPIVX), which also owns stakes in Pfizer(PFE) and Bank of America(BAC).

While Raytheon's(RTN) competitors in the private jet business suffered under the decreased sales volumes of 2008 and 2009, this company soared thanks to lucrative government defense contracts and a sparkling balance sheet. And with last week's dividend hike to 37.5 cents per share -- a yield of 2.64% -- investors should be even more interested in Raytheon.

more at : http://www.thestreet.com/story/10717358/2/dividend-stocks-conocophillips-raytheon.html