'Tis the season for dividends. There is a stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends' that has generated a lot of interest from investors. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets.

When you buy dividends, there are many stocks in many different sectors to choose from. In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork has compiled a free downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. WSNN.com came up with many dividend paying companies companies all with market caps over $500 million. Here are a couple examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Brinker International, Inc. EAT ex div date: 12/1/2009 market cap: $1.4B yield: 3.2%

Chemical Financial Corporation CHFC ex div date: 12/2/2009 market cap: $556.2M yield: 5.1%

Kimberly-Clark Corporation KMB ex div date: 12/2/2009 market cap: $26.9B yield: 3.7%

The rest of the ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com. For more details on dividend definitions, check out definitions of dividend dates. Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Author doesn't own any of the above.

By Stockerblog.com - Stockerblog - The St...

BloggingStocks: Analyst upgrades: Pali Capital upgraded Lazard (LAZ) to buy from neutral, citing a healthy restructuring environment, improving M&A and strength in the asset management segment. The firm has a $46 target on shares. Baird upgraded Scansource ... Read more

California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (CPKI) recently reported third-quarter 2009 results with a mid-single digit fall in the top-line but a surprise double-digit rise in the bottom-line. Effective cost management and a lower tax rate have driven earnings growth. The quarterly earnings of 24 cents a share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, jumping 20% [...]

(CPKI) California Pizza Kitchen’s Profit Climbs

California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (CPKI) recently reported third-quarter 2009 results with a mid-single digit fall in the top-line but a surprise double-digit rise in the bottom-line. Effective cost management and a lower tax rate have driven earnings growth. 

The quarterly earnings of 24 cents a share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny, jumping 20% from 20 cents posted in the prior-year quarter. The casual dining operator now expects fourth-quarter 2009 earnings in the range of 16 cents to 18 cents a share. 

California Pizza Kitchen continues to experience fall in the top-line. After declining 2.2% and 3.2% year-on-year in the first and second quarters, respectively, total revenue dipped 5.3% to $164.8 million in the quarter under review. 

Restaurant sales slipped 5.7% to $161.2 million, royalties from the Kraft licensing agreement soared 35.2% to $2.5 million, domestic franchise revenue fell marginally by 1% to $714,000, and international franchise revenue plunged 18% to $468,000. 

Casual dining restaurant operators are facing the brunt of the global meltdown with sagging comparable-store sales and declining traffic, as cash-strapped consumers are dining out less and looking for cheaper alternatives such as fast food centers. Other operators in the casual dining segment are Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI), Brinker International Inc. (EAT), Cosi Inc. (COSI) and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (RRGB). 

California Pizza Kitchen’s comparable restaurant sales for the quarter dipped 8%, after declining 6.5% and 5.9% in the second and first quarters of 2009. The restaurant chain expects fourth-quarter 2009 comps to fall within the range of 5.5% to 6.5%. 

Restaurant operating cash flow margin shrank 40 basis points (bps) to 17%, hurt by a 120 bps rise in labor costs to 37.8% and a 100 bps increase in operating and occupancy costs to 22.2%, partially offset by a 180 bps fall in food and beverage costs to 23%. 

During the quarter, California Pizza Kitchen opened one company-owned full service domestic restaurant and one franchised domestic restaurant, closing one company-owned full service domestic restaurant and one franchised domestic restaurant. Management expects to open one international full service franchise restaurant in fourth-quarter 2009. 

In fiscal year 2010, the company plans to open eight full service restaurants, while franchisees plan to open eight international and two domestic locations. Currently, the company operates 256 locations, of which 208 are company-owned and 48 are operated under franchise or license agreements. 

California Pizza Kitchen ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $14.3 million, total debt of $37 million and shareholders’ equity of $197.5 million.
Read the full analyst report on "CPKI"
Read the full analyst report on "DRI"
Read the full analyst report on "EAT"
Read the full analyst report on "COSI"
Read the full analyst report on "RRGB"
Zacks Investment Research

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 9, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (RRGB), Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI), Brinker International Inc. (EAT), Cosi Inc. (COSI) and Tower Group Inc. (TWGP).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Friday’s Analyst Blog:

Red Robin Fails to Lure Diners

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. (RRGB), the casual dining restaurant operator, recently reported dismal third-quarter 2009 results. The quarterly earnings of 37 cents per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny and fell 17.8% from 45 cents posted in the prior-year quarter.

Total revenue tumbled 10.4% year-over-year to $187 million, as cash-strapped consumers are either trading down to quick-service restaurants or preferring to eat at home, leading to fall in traffic and same-store sales.

Same-store sales fell 14.9% for company-operated restaurants, driven by a 13.8% decline in guest counts and a 1.1% fall in the average guest check. Management expects guest count to decline in fiscal year 2009. Same-store sales for franchised restaurants in the U.S. dropped 14.4% and franchised restaurants in Canada fell 0.2%.

Other operators in the casual dining segment are Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI), Brinker International Inc. (EAT) and Cosi Inc. (COSI).

Tower Group Falls in Line

Tower Group Inc.’s (TWGP) third-quarter earnings of 74 cents were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Results were affected favorably by an increase in premiums written due to the acquisitions of CastlePoint and Hermitage. Last year, the company had reported earnings of 79 cents per share.

Gross premiums written and produced increased 39.4% year-over-year to $283 million. Total revenues increased 96.1% year-over-year to $256.3 million. Net premiums earned of $223.9 million represented 87.3% of total revenues in the reported quarter, compared to 67.5% for the same period in 2008.

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