Next year will be a good one for investors in bank stocks that pay dividends, says Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Frederick Cannon.

Rising profits will spark an increase in those dividends, he says, according to TheStreet.com. Banks reported $37.6 billion in profits for the third quarter, the sector’s best results since 2006, according to the FDIC.

Credit quality is rising, capital levels are strong for the country’s biggest banks, and they will likely be able to keep releasing reserves for another one to two years, lifting profits and easing the pain of decreased profit margins.

Editor's Note: An $87,500 Tax Loophole Discovered by Cherry Hill Accountant

Citigroup will offer the biggest dividend increase of the big banks next year, Cannon predicts. He sees a move to 25 cents a share in the first quarter, up from just 1 cent currently.

JPMorgan Chase will lift its total 2013 dividend 39 percent to $1.60 from $1.15 this year, Cannon says.

And PNC Financial Services will boost its payout 29 percent to $2 next year from $1.55 this year, he adds.

Another bank analyst, David Trone of JMP Securities, is bearish on big bank stocks, thanks to the debt crises in the United States and Europe.

“I don't like the bulge bracket [big] banks at all, and it's basically because I think the market is really highly underestimating these macro risks," Trone tells CNBC.

Editor's Note: An $87,500 Tax Loophole Discovered by Cherry Hill Accountant