Dividend Stocks Are Something Special

Nowadays, income-hungry investors simply can't get enough of dividend stocks. But while some stocks are famous for their high dividend yields, others lurk beneath the radar of many investors -- yet their shareholders enjoy the same great income that more popular dividend stocks sport. Most dividend stocks pride themselves on having predictable, dependable payouts. Quarter after quarter, they'll pay the same amount in regular dividends -- with the occasional increase to spice up investor interest. Whenever you look up the dividend yield on these stocks, you'll see a number that reflects the full value of everything the stock paid to its shareholders.

Even rarer are companies that have made a habit of paying special dividends. They don't want to lock themselves into the pattern of making a particular dividend payment only to have to cut it later. So rather than characterizing their payouts solely as regular dividends, they make a relatively modest distribution to shareholders that they call a regular dividend, but then add a special dividend on top of that amount. And they'll keep doing it, time and time again.

Source: Motley Fool

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