This week's dividend screen surfaced five names showing assertive capital return behavior—each raising dividend payouts in a market still pricing earnings resilience unevenly across sectors. Rather than treating dividend hikes as routine housekeeping, these moves signal selective confidence worth tracking in real time through the FMP's Dividends Calendar API.

Dividend Signals in Focus: Five Names Under Review

Matador Resources (NYSE: MTDR)

Matador Resources declared a quarterly dividend of $0.375 per share ($1.50 annualized), a 20% increase from $0.3125. Payable December 5, 2025 to holders of record on November 10, 2025 (ex-dividend November 7, 2025). Annual yield: 3.5%.

Why it matters: A 20% step-up paired with a >3% yield suggests comfort with free cash flow durability into 2026 despite commodity volatility. Two supports stand out: (1) Matador's October board action confirming the new rate, and (2) capacity additions at its San Mateo Midstream affiliate that reduce flaring risk and improve realized prices via higher gas takeaway—both constructive for cash conversion.

What to watch next: Track the cash flow statement (sustained FCF after capex vs. dividend outlay), production/throughput updates tied to San Mateo expansions, and debt metrics post growth capex.

Minerals Technologies (NYSE: MTX)

Minerals Technologies declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share ($0.48 annualized), a 9.1% increase from $0.11. Payable December 4, 2025 to holders of record on October 30, 2025 (ex-dividend October 29, 2025). Annual yield: 0.8%.

Why it matters: While the yield is modest, the raise lands alongside guidance that points to steady Q3 revenue and operating income. The combination signals management's confidence in incremental margin capture from growth projects and price/mix actions in Consumer & Specialties.

What to watch next: The story hinges on execution and margin quality. Use segment-level income statement trends and gross/operating margin progression to verify that pricing and project ramps are flowing to EBIT. Given MTX's capital projects, tracking capex in the cash flow statement and upcoming Q3 release cadence will help validate coverage for the higher payout.

A.O. Smith (NYSE: AOS)

A.O. Smith declared a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share ($1.44 annualized), a 6% increase from $0.34. Payable November 17, 2025 to holders of record on October 31, 2025 (ex-dividend October 30, 2025). Annual yield: 1.98%.

Why it matters: AOS lifted the dividend after raising its 2025 sales and EPS outlook in July, despite mixed unit volumes in North America. The signal: price discipline and product mix (including high-efficiency water heaters/boilers) are carrying margins, supporting a measured step-up in cash returns without leaning on outsized demand.

What to watch next: Watch North America segment margins and any commentary on commercial efficiency retrofits; these drive visibility on sustained cash generation. Pair the income statement trajectory with working-capital and FCF trends in the cash flow statement; if inventory normalization continues, dividend coverage should improve even if volumes stay choppy. A prior beat on resilient heater demand underscores this setup.

Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ: LECO)

Lincoln Electric declared an annual dividend of $0.79 per share ($0.79 annualized), a 5.3% increase from $0.75. Payable January 15, 2026 to holders of record on December 31, 2025 (ex-dividend December 30, 2025). Annual yield: 1.34%.

Why it matters: The raise, which marks the 30th consecutive annual dividend increase, aligns with a multi-year record of strong execution—high-teens operating margins and consistent buybacks—suggesting management is comfortable compounding returns via a balanced capital allocation. Recent quarters showed solid profitability and cash generation, supporting incremental capital returns.

What to watch next: Given valuation debates, investors should triangulate operating margin durability and price/cost dynamics across the welding cycle. Monitor the income statement (mix and margin resilience), cash flow statement (cash conversion vs. buybacks/dividends), and any M&A-related disclosures.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE: PAG)

Penske Automotive Group declared a quarterly dividend of $1.38 per share ($5.52 annualized), a 4.5% increase from $1.32. Payable December 2, 2025 to holders of record on November 14, 2025 (ex-dividend November 13, 2025). Annual yield: 3.26%.

Why it matters: This marks the 20th consecutive quarterly increase, reinforcing PAG's disciplined cash return playbook through varied auto cycles. The cadence of raises tracks with steady parts & service profitability and a diversified mix (retail auto, commercial trucks), underpinned by resilient quarterly revenue and gross profit.

What to watch next: Track same-store sales, F&I/parts & service margins, and mix shifts between new, used, and commercial trucks—key levers for cash coverage. Pair the income statement with unit trends in management's quarterly materials and watch insider trades or repurchase activity for confirmation of confidence. If macro rates stabilize, upside could come from inventory normalization and throughput.

Reading Beyond the Payout: What the Pattern Suggests

Across five very different sectors, the common thread isn't just payout growth — it's managements using dividends as forward guidance through action, not words. These hikes function as credibility signals, especially heading into a 2025 landscape where earnings visibility is uneven and capital allocation discipline will be heavily scrutinized.

To separate symbolic increases from durable ones, the edge comes from combining datasets rather than looking at dividend calendars in isolation. Pairing Free Cash Flow trends from the Cash Flow Statement API with capex and margin data from the Income Statement API helps determine if hikes are funded by structural cash strength or short-term working capital relief.

And because the FMP platform provides multiple endpoints in a consistent structure, it becomes possible to link dividend actions with balance sheet discipline, forward estimates, and valuation context within a single screening logic rather than running disconnected pulls.

Building a Dividend Screen with the FMP API

Instead of waiting for press releases or scanning earnings transcripts manually, the faster approach is to use the Dividends Calendar API to surface new payout declarations as they hit the market.

Endpoint:

https://financialmodelingprep.com/stable/dividends-calendar?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY

Sample Response:

[

{

"symbol": "1D0.SI",

"date": "2025-02-04",

"recordDate": "",

"paymentDate": "",

"declarationDate": "",

"adjDividend": 0.01,

"dividend": 0.01,

"yield": 6.25,

"frequency": "Semi-Annual"

}

]

Step 1: Retrieve Latest Dividend Announcements

Start by pulling announcements for a defined window — two weeks is a practical range — to isolate fresh payout updates without loading unnecessary history.

Step 2: Compare Current Payouts with Previous Distributions

Once that list is in hand, move symbol by symbol and call the historical dividend endpoint to grab the previous distribution. With both values available, it becomes straightforward to calculate the percentage change and flag moves that cross a meaningful threshold.

Step 3: Apply Targeted Filters to Highlight Meaningful Changes

Apply filters that matter to your coverage style — for example, isolating names with 10%+ payout increases and a dividend yield of at least 2%. This step trims out nominal increases that don't carry signal value and keeps the focus on companies making a deliberate capital allocation statement.

Example Workflow: Detecting 10%+ Dividend Hikes

1. Pull dividend announcements from the past 14 days using the Dividends Calendar API.
2. For each ticker returned, query the historical dividend endpoint to get the previous payout.
3. Calculate the percentage change:
   (New Dividend - Old Dividend) / Old Dividend × 100
4. Keep only the names showing a 10%+ increase and a dividend yield of at least 2% to surface meaningful signals.

FMP's piece on how to select the best dividend stocks adds useful perspective here, focusing on payout quality relative to earnings durability and capital efficiency.

Expanding Your Dividend Tracking Setup

FMP's Basic and Starter plans are enough to run this screen on current events and get a feel for the workflow. When the process shifts from monitoring to backtesting or strategy building, stepping up to the Premium plan unlocks five years of dividend history — a useful span for stress-testing payout behavior or building income screens with historical context.

Scaling the Workflow Across Teams

Running the Dividends Calendar API at the analyst level is effective, but the real leverage comes when the workflow is embedded into shared research infrastructure. Once dividend event data feeds directly into portfolio dashboards or internal monitoring systems, portfolio managers, risk teams, and compliance all operate from the same signal set — reducing interpretation drift and improving auditability.

Adopting this kind of standardized feed positions analysts not just as data consumers, but as internal architects of repeatable process. With our Enterprise Plan, the same screen can be deployed at scale, with permissions, governance controls, and consistent assumptions applied across desks — eliminating fragmented spreadsheets and ad-hoc tracking.

Turning Dividends into a Standing Signal Input

Dividend hikes are more than payout adjustments — they're behavioral signals that reveal how management wants to be read. By wiring FMP's Dividends Calendar API into a standing workflow, analysts move from simply reacting to dividend events to incorporating them as structured signals within ongoing coverage.

Want more? Explore our earlier article: 5 Stocks with Large Analyst Price Target Gaps — Track Them Using the FMP API.