As an investor who is driven by the notion of the companies returning more and more to their shareholders through various types of dividend-related events (such as increases and decreases of a company's annualized dividend and the announcement of special dividends) I wanted to highlight one specific company that have recently announced a 17.4% increase in its quarterly payout.

Thor Industries (THOR) – On Friday, October 3^rd, Thor Industries, which now possesses a forward yield of 2.06% ($1.08/share annualized), announced a 17.4% or $0.01/share increase from its prior payout of $0.05/share for the upcoming quarter.

Headquartered in Elkhart, Indiana, Thor Industries, Inc., through its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells a range of recreational vehicles, and related parts and accessories in the United States and Canada. It operates through two segments, Towable Recreational Vehicles and Motorized Recreational Vehicles.

As a result of Friday’s closing price of $52.18/share, Thor Industries now has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.46, and a forward yield of $2.06% ($1.08). Its trend behavior, although fairly flat in the near-term (given the fact shares are trading 1.81% below their 20-DSMA and 1.70% below their 50-DSMA), is actually quite negative over the long-term (considering the fact shares are trading 6.71% below their 200-DSMA).

If the company can continue to return value to its shareholders through increased dividend payouts, then there’s a very good chance we could see its trend behavior reverse course over the next year.

Conclusion

For those of you who may be considering a position in Thor Industries, I strongly recommend keeping a close eye on the company's dividend behavior over the next 18-24 months as it should directly impact both the company’s near-term trend behavior and the long-term value of its shares.