A dividend raise is always a good thing. In essence, it's a vote of confidence on the part of management that cash flows going forward will be strong enough to cover investor obligations. It's a projection of growth, pure and simple. But when it's done in the midst of a market correction, amid talk of "double dip" recessions and 1929 and bear markets, it's especially comforting. (To learn more about the importance of dividend growth, see The Power Of Dividend Growth.)

Here are three companies whose management teams believe coming quarters will be amply robust to afford a more generous dividend.

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Old Time Dow Component
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is one outfit that needs no introduction. The conglomerate operates in the fields of technology, media and financial services and just last week raised its quarterly dividend by 20% to $0.12. The move comes a year and a half after the company slashed its dividend by nearly 70%, at a time when GE was experiencing great pressures from its finance division over potential losses. GE also ceased its share buyback program and issued new stock to the public in an all out effort to raise capital.

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GE stock reacted favorably to the news, jumping 3% on the day of the announcement. Since New Year's, GE has tacked on 6.7%, and since its lows back in March of 2009, the stock is up 128%. This compares favorably with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which it is a long time component, which gained only 58% over the same period, as measured by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA).

GE shares now yield 2.5% and trade with a P/E of 16. Over 50% of the company's float is institutionally held.

Financially Strong
Westfield Financial, Inc. (Nasdaq:WFD) is a community retail banking operation with branches in western Massachusetts. Last week, the company also upped its shareholder payout by 20% to $0.06, for an annual yield of 2.84%. This maintains the company's record of annual distribution hikes for the last seven years.

Westfield stock is up 5.9% over the last six months, a slightly better performance than the broad financial sector as represented by the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLF), which gained 5.3% in that time frame.

Vanguard Natural Resources LLC (NYSE:VNR) is a master limited partnership that just raised its annual payout to $0.55 for a yield of 8.8%. The company acquires and develops natural gas properties across the U.S. (Learn more about MLP, see Discover Master Limited Partnerships.)


The Bottom Line
Amid signs of economic weakness, investors should take heart when a company chooses to raise its dividend. Hardly a better sign exists that management is confident of increased earnings in the quarters ahead.

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