Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now

You might not have noticed, but small cap stocks are actually leading the market higher. In fact, the Russell 2000 is within striking distance of its all-time high, while large cap benchmarks still have a bit more to go before they take out old highs.

The trend towards small caps has become particularly pronounced in the past three months with the capitalization level clearly beating out large caps in this time frame. Current performances show small cap ETFs like iShares Russell 2000 Index (IWM) gaining about 13.5% in the time period, with SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) putting up gains of just 8.4% in comparison.

Behind the Surge

There are a couple of reasons for why investors might prefer small caps at this time including the following:

Higher growth potential- With the lack of a taper by the Fed, some are taking a more risk-on stance in the markets, boosting the appeal of pint-sized securities that have more robust growth opportunities. Domestic Focus- Although many international markets are coming back, there is still a broad perception that the U.S. is the place to be for equities. Since small caps tend to have less foreign exposure, many investors have looked to this segment instead of their large cap counterparts. Less of a yield play- Dividend plays have certainly come back a bit in light of the ��o taper��announcement, but the outlook for these plays is still quite uncertain. Small caps aren�� exactly known for their income potential, so undoubtedly this ��rowth over income��play has been some of the reason for the trend towards the space as of late.

However, some investors are starting to grow concerned by this run in small caps, thinking that this level of outperformance cannot continue. PEs are starting to get a little high for the segment (22.21 forward PE for the S&P 600), while some volatility thanks to D.C. could result in serious profit taking for small caps.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Resource Capital Corp.(RSO)

Resource Capital Corp. operates as a specialty finance company that focuses primarily on commercial real estate and commercial finance in the United States. The company?s commercial real estate-related investments include first mortgage loans, first priority interests in first mortgage real estate loans, subordinate interests in first mortgage real estate loans, mezzanine loans, and commercial mortgage-backed securities. It also invests in commercial finance assets, including senior secured corporate loans, other asset-backed securities, equipment leases and notes, trust preferred securities, and debt tranches of collateralized debt and loan obligations. The company qualifies as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it is not subject to federal corporate income tax to the extent that it distributes 90% of its REIT taxable income. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Eric Volkman]

  Resource Capital (NYSE: RSO  ) is dipping into its coffers for another shareholder payout. The company has declared a dividend for its current quarter of $0.20 per share, which is to be paid on July 26 to shareholders of record as of June 28. That amount matches each of the company's previous five distributions, the most recent of which was paid in late April. Before that, Resource Capital was more generous, dispensing $0.25 per share.

• [By Wallace Witkowski]

  Shares of Resource Capital Corp. (RSO) �declined 3.8% to $5.82 in moderate volume after the real-estate investment trust said it would launch a $100 million offering in notes due 2018.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: CPFL Energia S.A.(CPL)

CPFL Energia S.A., through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, distribution, and sale of electricity in Brazil. It generates electricity through hydroelectric, thermal, biomass, and wind power plants. The company also involves in the provision of energy commercialization, consultancy, and advisory services to agents in the energy sector; manufacture, commercialization, rental, and maintenance of electromechanical equipment; and provision of administrative services, as well as telephone answering services. It has an installed generating capacity of 2,309 MW. The company was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Selena Maranjian]

  Brazilian electricity giant CPFL Energia S.A. (NYSE: CPL  ) sank 20%, and recently yielded 5.9%. Its long-term debt has been rising, largely due to acquisitions, and its free cash flow has been shrinking (and even turning negative�recently). But it has been investing heavily in alternative energies, and it serves a massive and growing market in Brazil. The country's growth has been slower than many would like, but that won't last forever.

5 Best Tech Stocks To Watch Right Now: Littelfuse Inc.(LFUS)

Littelfuse, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells circuit protection devices for use in the automotive, electronic, and electrical markets in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company offers electronic circuit protection products, such as fuses and protectors, positive temperature coefficient resettable fuses, varistors, polymer electrostatic discharge suppressors, discrete transient voltage suppression diodes, TVS diode arrays and protection thyristors, gas discharge tubes, and power switching components, as well as fuseholders, blocks, and related accessories under PICO II, and NANO2 SMF, TECCOR, SIDACtor, and Battrax brand names. It offers its electronic circuit protection products for use in wireless telephones, consumer electronics, computers, modems, telecommunications equipment, telephones, data transmission lines, and alarm systems. The company also provides automotive fuses that are used in automobiles, trucks, buses, and off-road equipment to protec t electrical circuits and the wires that supply electrical power to operate lights, heating, air conditioning, radios, windows, and other controls, as well as offers fuses for the protection of electric and hybrid vehicles. It markets its automotive fuse products under ATO, MINI, MAXI, MIDI, MEGA, MasterFuse, JCASE, and CablePro brand names. In addition, Littelfuse manufactures various low-voltage and medium-voltage circuit protection products, such as power fuses that are used in the protection from over-load and short-circuit currents in motor branch circuits, heating and cooling systems, control systems, lighting circuits, and electrical distribution networks to electrical distributors and their customers in the construction, original equipment manufacturers, and industrial maintenance and repair and operating supplies markets. Littelfuse sells its products through direct sales force and manufacturers? representatives. The company was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Rich Smith]

  Littelfuse (NASDAQ: LFUS  ) has signed an agreement to acquire Key Safety Systems' Hamlin subsidiary for $145 million in cash, Littelfuse announced Monday.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Leggett & Platt Incorporated(LEG)

Leggett & Platt, Incorporated designs and produces various engineered components and products worldwide. Its Residential Furnishings segment offers bedding components, such as innersprings and wire forms; furniture components, including steel mechanisms, springs, seat suspensions, steel tubular seat frames, bed frames, ornamental beds, and power foundations; and structural fabrics, carpet underlay materials, and geo components. This segment serves manufacturers of finished bedding products or upholstered furniture. The company?s Commercial Fixturing & Components segment provides shelving, counters, showcases, and garment racks; standardized shelvings; point-of-purchase displays; and bases, columns, back rests, casters, and frames. This segment offers its products to retail chains and specialty shops; brand name marketers; distributors of consumer products; and office, institutional, and commercial furniture manufacturers. Its Industrial Materials segment provides steel rod s, drawn wires, steel billets, fabricated wire products, welded steel tubing, and fabricated tube components to bedding and furniture, and mechanical spring makers; automotive seating, and lawn and garden equipment manufacturers; and waste recyclers, waste removal businesses, and medical supply businesses. The company?s Specialized Products segment offers manual and power lumbar support and massage systems; seat suspension systems; automotive control cables; low voltage motors; actuation assemblies; formed metal and wire components; quilting machines; machines for shaping wire into springs; industrial sewing/finishing machines; van interiors; and docking stations, as well as specialty trailers for telephone, cable, and utility companies. It serves bedding and automobile seating manufacturers. The company sells its products through its sales representatives and distributors. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated was founded in 1883 and is based in Carthage, Missouri.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dividends4Life]

  Leggett & Platt Inc. (LEG) makes a broad line of bedding and furniture components and other home, office and commercial furnishings, as well as products for non-furnishings markets. The company has paid a cash dividend to shareholders every year since 1939 and has increased its dividend payments for 41 consecutive years. Yield: 3.6%

• [By Dividends4Life]

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• [By Holly LaFon]

  Leggett & Platt (LEG) is a leading manufacturer of engineered products and components. As the pioneer of steel coil springs found in mattresses and furniture, the company continues to supply a variety of components to bedding and furniture manufacturers. Additionally, Leggett & Platt's broader product line includes retail store fixtures, office furniture components, automotive seating components and industrial steel wire and tubing. Customers choose Leggett & Platt as a supplier because the company's manufacturing scale and processes result in lower costs than customers can produce themselves. We believe earnings should grow based on the contribution of new products, cost reduction efforts and the improving housing market. Moreover, future dividend growth appears likely based on a 42-year record of dividend increases. We believe Leggett & Platt is an attractive investment based on its 3.8% dividend yield and positive growth outlook.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: TECO Energy Inc.(TE)

TECO Energy, Inc., an electric and gas utility company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy. It provides retail electric service to approximately 672,000 customers in West Central Florida with a net winter system generating capability of 4,684 megawatts. The company also engages in the purchase, distribution, and marketing of natural gas. It serves approximately 336,000 residential, commercial, industrial, and electric power generation customers in Florida. In addition, the company owns mineral rights, owns or operates surface and underground mines, and owns interests in coal processing and loading facilities. TECO Energy, Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  TECO Energy (NYSE: TE  ) reported earnings this week, making up at the bottom what it missed on its top line. With a 4.8% dividend yield and an increasingly cost-competitive, coal-centric portfolio, TECO shares are up 13% for 2013. Let's take a look at the company's latest report to see if there's still upside for this dividend stock.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  Who's missing?
  Utilities aren't obligated to make Earth Day announcements ��and they shouldn't be. But investors shouldn't expect TECO Energy (NYSE: TE  ) to be talking green anytime soon. The company's more coal-centric than any other utility. Not only does 61% of its generation capacity come from coal, but the utility also owns and operates coal mines capable of producing 9 million tons annually. While coal might boost this dividend stock in the short term as rising natural gas prices make coal more cost effective, TECO will need major improvements in clean coal technology or a massive modernization project to keep it competitive in the years to come.

• [By Justin Loiseau]

  TECO Energy (NYSE: TE  ) reported Q1 earnings (link opens a PDF) today, missing on sales but topping analysts' earnings estimates. First-quarter revenue clocked in at $661 million, just shy of Mr. Market's $668 million prediction. But what the company cut off the top line, it made up for on bottom-line numbers. EPS came in at $0.19, two cents above analyst expectations. Compared with Q1 2012, sales are down 5.2% and net income dropped 18%.�

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Grupo Radio Centro S.A. de C.V.(RC)

Grupo Radio Centro, S.A.B. de C.V., a radio broadcasting company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the production and broadcasting of music, entertainment, news, and special event programs in Mexico. The company owns and operates 15 radio stations, which comprise 5 AM and 6 FM stations in Mexico City, 2 AM stations in Guadalajara and Monterrey, and 1 FM station in Los Angeles, as well as 1 AM radio station in Mexico City that is operated and managed by a third party. It also operates Organizaci

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Pepsico Inc.(PEP)

PepsiCo, Inc. engages in the manufacture, marketing, and sale of foods, snacks, and carbonated and non-carbonated beverages worldwide. The company operates in four divisions: PepsiCo Americas Foods (PAF); PepsiCo Americas Beverages (PAB); PepsiCo Europe; and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East, and Africa (AMEA). The PAF division offers Lay?s and Ruffles potato chips, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips and dips, Cheetos cheese flavored snacks, Fritos corn chips, Quaker Chewy granola bars, and SunChips multigrain snacks in North America; Quaker oatmeal, Aunt Jemima mixes and syrups, Cap?n Crunch cereal, Quaker grits, and Life cereal, as well as Rice-A-Roni, Pasta Roni, and Near East side dishes in North America; and various snack foods under Doritos, Marias Gamesa, Cheetos, Ruffles, Emperador, Saladitas, Sabritas, and Lay?s brands in Latin America. The PAB division provides carbonated soft drinks, beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Gatorade, 7UP, Tropicana Pure Premium, Electropura, Sierra Mist, Epura, and Mirinda brands; ready-to-drink tea, coffee, and water products through joint ventures with Unilever and Starbucks; and sells concentrate to authorized bottlers, and branded finished goods directly to independent distributors and retailers. This division also manufactures third-party brands, such as Dr Pepper, Crush, Rock Star, and Muscle Milk. The PepsiCo Europe division offers Frito Lay Snacks, Pepsi-Cola beverages, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana juices, and Quaker foods in Europe. The AMEA division provides snack food under the Lay?s, Kurkure, Chipsy, Doritos, Smith?s, Cheetos, Red Rock Deli, and Ruffles brands; Quaker-brand cereals and snacks; and beverage concentrates, fountain syrups, and finished goods under the Pepsi, Mirinda, 7UP, and Mountain Dew brands. PepsiCo, Inc. was founded in 1898 and is headquartered in Purchase, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Alex Planes]

  Coke was losing ground in the 1980s. By 1983, its flagship fizzy brown drink was outsold in supermarkets by the upstart Pepsi (NYSE: PEP  ) and its brilliant "Pepsi Challenge" campaign. Coke CEO Roberto Goizueta was ready to take a chainsaw to the company's core business if it meant winning over the youthful Boomer generation, and he had come into the corner office with experience tweaking Coke's iconic formula for regional tastes. A massive but highly secretive project began under the name "Project Kansas," with initially positive results. However, a small but highly vocal minority of Coke's top-secret taste-testers remained adamantly opposed to the notion of a different Coke. These complaints would come back to haunt Coke when it went ahead with the launch despite objections.

• [By Associated Press]

  NEW YORK (AP) -- PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) says it plans to start testing a new fountain machine at restaurants that lets people create a variety of flavor combinations, such as strawberry Mountain Dew.

• [By Alex Planes]

  Mmm, snacktacular
  In another universe, the Dow might have chosen to replace General Motors with the world's largest diversified food processor: PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP  ) , which took on its modern form (or at least the better part of it) on June 8, 1965, when Pepsi-Cola merged with Frito-Lay. Pepsi was already a successful multinational at the time, with operations in 107 countries, and comments from CEO Donald Kendall revealed a pseudo-Machiavellian drive to create a whole world of snackers through the export of Frito-Lay brands. "Just as we exported soft drinks after World War II," he boasted, "we can export the snack habit. The snack food field is wide open, and our big opportunities are in the international field."

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Qualstar Corporation(QBAK)

Qualstar Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, and sells automated magnetic tape libraries used to store, retrieve, and manage electronic data primarily in network computing environments worldwide. Its tape libraries consists of cartridge tape drives, tape cartridges, and robotics to move the cartridges from their storage locations to the tape drives under software control. The tape libraries also provide data storage solutions for organizations requiring backup, recovery, and archival storage of critical electronic information. The company also offers ancillary products related to its tape libraries, such as tape media, tape magazines, cables, bar code labels, and fiber channel adapters. In addition, it designs, develops, and sells switching power supplies that are used to convert alternate current line voltage to direct current voltages for use in electronic equipment, such as telecommunications equipment, servers, routers, switches, lighting, and gaming devices. Qualstar Corporation sells its tape drive products primarily to value added resellers and original equipment manufacturers, as well as switching power supplies primarily to original equipment manufacturers, contract manufacturers, and distributors. The company was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Simi Valley, California.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Oneida Financial Corp.(ONFC)

Oneida Financial Corp. operates as the bank holding company for The Oneida Savings Bank that provides community banking services primarily in Madison and Oneida Counties in New York, and surrounding counties. Its deposit products include savings accounts, interest-bearing demand accounts, non interest-bearing checking accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. The company?s loan products portfolio comprises one-to-four family residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer loans, and commercial business loans. It also offers trust and investment services, including fiduciary services for trusts and estates, money management, and custodial services. In addition, the company sells insurance; provides employee benefits consulting services; and offers risk management services to help mitigate and prevent work related injuries. It operates through 10 full service branch offices in Madison and Oneida Counties; and 1 full service branch office in Onondaga County in New York. The company was founded in 1866 and is based in Oneida, New York. Oneida Financial Corp. is a subsidiary of Oneida Financial MHC.

Top 10 Dividend Companies To Watch In Right Now: Paychex Inc.(PAYX)

Paychex Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides payroll, human resource, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small-to medium-sized businesses in the United States and Germany. It offers payroll processing services, including calculation, preparation, and delivery of employee payroll checks; production of internal accounting records and management reports; preparation of federal, state, and local payroll tax returns; and collection and remittance of clients? payroll obligations. The company also provides payroll tax administration services; employee payment services; and regulatory compliance services, such as new-hire reporting and garnishment processing. Its human resource outsourcing services include payroll, employer compliance, human resource and employee benefits administration, risk management outsourcing, and the on-site availability of a professionally trained human resource representative, as well as provides employee handbooks, management manuals, and r equired regulatory forms. In addition, the company offers retirement services administration; workers? compensation; business-owner policies; commercial auto; and health and benefits coverage, including health, dental, vision, and life. Further, it provides online human resource administration software products for employee benefits management and administration, and time and attendance solutions. As of May 31, 2010, the company served approximately 536,000 clients in the United States; and 1,700 clients in Germany. Paychex, Inc. was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Rochester, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jonathan Yates]

  When looking at small cap stocks, it is useful to compare the company with others that have expanded in both share price and size. For those considering investing in the $100 billion staffing industry, the growth of TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI) shows what could be the potential path for Labor SMART (OTCBB: LTNC), as both operate in the $29 billion demand labor sector. Other firms have done well in the staffing industry include Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) and ManPower Group (NYSE: MAN).

• [By Rich Smith]

  ADP stock is worse than average
  ADP shares have been on a bit of a tear these past 12 months, outperforming not just the S&P 500 in general, but also rivals Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX  ) and Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU  ) in particular. It's a bit of a mystery, however, understanding why investors like ADP stock so much.

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Paychex (NASDAQ: PAYX) reported its FQ1 earnings of $0.44 per share on revenue of $607.9 million. However, analysts projected earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $605.1 million. Paychex shares fell 0.74% to $40.34 in the after-hours trading session.