A dividend raise is usually a welcomed event for investors for a few reasons. Probably the most obvious one is that the stock will likely be paying them extra money that they’ll either pocket or reinvest within the stock. The second reason is that it is commonly an indication of an organization that’s performing well, because it normally implies that earnings are up and money flows are higher.

Nevertheless, that isn’t all the time the case, as sometimes corporations will boost the dividend to appease investors once they really don’t have the surplus money flow to accomplish that. That isn’t the case with these three stocks, all of which just raised their dividends and seem like solid buys for income investors.

JPMorgan Chase

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) is the most important and most well-run large bank within the country. It has consistently outperformed its competitors over time and is built on the muse of its so-called fortress balance sheet, a term CEO Jamie Dimon uses to explain the corporate’s deal with liquidity and financial stability.

An outgrowth of that strategy is its consistent dividend, which it just raised for the thirteenth consecutive 12 months dating back to 2011. On March 19, JPMorgan Chase announced that it was bumping its quarterly dividend as much as $1.15 per share, from $1.05 the previous quarter, or $4.60 per share annually. That dividend increase comes at a yield of two.36%, which is higher than the common yield on the S&P 500, and its payout ratio – or the quantity of earnings paid out in dividends – is just 25%, which implies JPMorgan Chase can easily afford the raise.

JPMorgan Chase’s stock price is up 13% year-to-date and in all fairness valued with a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12. With its fortress balance sheet it should proceed to outperform and feed its dividend.

Dick’s Sporting Goods

Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) just had a blowout quarter where it set a record with $3.9 billion in sales, up 8% year-over-year. Its stock price hit an all-time high, climbing over $224 per share in March, and its stock price is up about 52% YTD. The strong quarter capped off an awesome fiscal 12 months when the sporting goods company was capable of lower its debt and increase its operating money flow to $1.5 billion, or 12% of sales, from $1.3 billion, or 10% of sales the previous 12 months.

Its capital strength and high performance allowed it to lift its quarterly dividend, payable April 12, to $1.10 per share – a ten% increase over the previous quarter. This will likely be the tenth straight 12 months that the retailer has boosted its dividend. Dick’s could have an annual pay out of $4.40 per share at a yield of about 2.00%. It also has a really manageable payout ratio of 31%, so it should have the opportunity to sustain it, given its history, capital strength, and its outlook for sales and earnings growth in 2024.

Dick’s looks like a solid buy for its dividend, reasonable valuation, and growth potential.

Colgate-Palmolive

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL), the maker of consumer staples like soap, toothpaste, and other household and healthcare products, has been around for a very long time. And since 1895, it has consistently paid out a quarterly dividend. Much more impressive is the incontrovertible fact that for the last 61 straight years, it has increased its annual dividend, making it a Dividend King – an elite group of stocks which have increased their dividend for not less than 50 years. Only six U.S. stocks have longer streaks of raising their annual dividend than Colgate-Palmolive.

On March 14, the corporate boosted its quarterly dividend to 50 cents per share, up from 48 cents per share the previous quarter. The brand new dividend will likely be paid to investors on May 15 at a yield of about 2.26%. Its payout ratio is slightly high at 59%, which might normally be a little bit of a red flag for investors. However it doesn’t appear to be much of a priority for Colgate-Palmolive for a couple of reasons. One, it has consistently been within the 50% range for the past several years, so the ratio isn’t out of the extraordinary.

Also, the corporate has been growing its earnings and expects profit margin expansion and double-digit earnings per share growth in 2024, which should lower the payout ratio. As well as, it has improved its balance sheet by increasing its money flow from operations by 48% to $3.7 billion and raised its free money flow before dividend to $3 billion, from $1.86 billion the previous 12 months.

Colgate-Palmolive, like the opposite two stocks, should not have any problem extending its impressive streak of dividend raises. The stock price is up 10% YTD and has a fairly reasonable forward P/E of 25. The reliable income this stock generates makes it one to contemplate for income investors.