In this article, we will review five stocks that are going ex-dividend this week to see how they hold up with long-term investment goals.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (DPS) – The Plano, Texas-based non-alcoholic beverage manufacturer reported a forward annual dividend yield of 3.4 percent, or $1.28. It goes ex-dividend on Thursday, September 15. Founded in 2007, DPS has paid dividends consecutively for the past seven quarters, not including this one. Its earnings per share is $2.35, and its price to earnings ratio is 15.66. Its market capitalization is $$7.99 billion.

DPS’s competitors include Hansen Natural Corporation (HANS), with a market capitalization of $7.66 billion, and PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), with market capitalization of $94.94 billion. HANS does not pay a dividend. PEP also offers a dividend yield of 3.4 percent, or $2.06. It has a consistent track record of paying dividends for decades. A Wall Street Journal article notes that PEP offers something that DPS does not – slow steady growth and a decades-long track record of dividends. PEP appears on S&P’s list of “Dividends Aristocrats.”

On September 1, DPS announced that negotiations are underway to increase its equity in Hydrive Energy LLC, an energy drink maker co-founded by one of DPS’s directors, according to this Dallas Business Journal article.

DPS’s quarterly revenue growth is 4.1 percent, and its trailing 12-month gross margin is 59.13 percent. Its return on equity is 21.01 percent, but its debt to equity ratio is excessive at 110.66. DPS lacks the dividend track record of its large-cap peer. To continue reading, click here.