In compiling the Dividend Champions list, I get to see which companies are nearing the anniversaries of their previous dividend increases. Since most of these firms raise their payout about the same time every year, I can say with some confidence that they are likely to do so again.
Down the Stretch
With this article, the "expected increase" series returns to the usual format, showing companies expected to increase their dividends up to 10 weeks ahead of their Ex-Dividend Date. (I had extended the “forward look” to more than 11 weeks in order to cover the anticipated boost by McDonald's (MCD), which typically announces its dividend more than two months ahead of the Ex-Dividend date.
Notable increases since the previous update included year 35 by McDonald's, and the fifth year of increases by Covidien plc (COV), making it the latest Dividend Challenger.
Based on last year's announcements, I'm expecting the following companies to announce dividend increases between now and the ex-dividend dates of their previous increase:
Dividend Champions (25 Years Or Longer):
|
| No. | 8/31 |
|
| LY% | LY |
Company | Symbol | Years | Price | Yield | Rate | Inc. | Ex-Div |
Clarcor Inc. | (CLC) | 46 | 46.54 | 0.90 | 0.1050 | 7.69 | 10/6/10 |
RPM International Inc. | (RPM) | 37 | 20.84 | 4.03 | 0.2100 | 2.44 | 10/14/10 |
Eaton Vance Corp. | (EV) | 30 | 24.41 | 2.95 | 0.1800 | 12.50 | 10/27/10 |
Northwest Natural Gas | (NWN) | 55 | 45.22 | 3.85 | 0.4350 | 4.82 | 10/27/10 |
Cintas Corp. | (CTAS) | 28 | 31.98 | 1.53 | 0.4900 | 2.08 | 11/10/10 |
Emerson Electric | (EMR) | 54 | 46.55 | 2.96 | 0.3450 | 2.99 | 11/10/10 |
Middlesex Water Co. | (MSEX) | 38 | 18.19 | 4.01 | 0.1825 | 1.39 | 11/11/10 |
Vectren Corp. | (VVC) | 51 | 27.37 | 5.04 | 0.3450 | 1.47 | 11/11/10 |
AFLAC Inc. | (AFL) | 28 | 37.72 | 3.18 | 0.3000 | 7.14 | 11/15/10 |
Stepan Company | (SCL) | 43 | 75.65 | 1.37 | 0.2600 | 8.33 | 11/26/10 |
Tennant Company | (TNC) | 39 | 43.96 | 1.55 | 0.1700 | 21.43 | 11/26/10 |
Brown-Forman Class B | (BF.B) | 27 | 71.75 | 1.78 | 0.3200 | 6.67 | 12/3/10 |
Dividend Contenders (10 To 24 Years):
|
| No. | 8/31 |
|
| LY% | LY |
Company | Symbol | Yrs | Price | Yield | Rate | Inc. | Ex-Div |
Atlantic Tele Network Inc. | (ATNI) | 13 | 33.20 | 2.65 | 0.2200 | 10.00 | 10/4/10 |
Citizens Financial Services | (CZFS) | 12 | 37.00 | 2.81 | 0.2600 | 1.96 | 10/13/10 |
West Pharmaceutical Svc | (WST) | 18 | 40.12 | 1.69 | 0.1700 | 6.25 | 10/18/10 |
Matthews International | (MATW) | 16 | 33.41 | 0.96 | 0.0800 | 14.29 | 10/21/10 |
Brown & Brown Inc. | (BRO) | 17 | 21.01 | 1.52 | 0.0800 | 3.23 | 11/1/10 |
1st Source Corp. | (SRCE) | 21 | 22.75 | 2.81 | 0.1600 | 6.67 | 11/3/10 |
Shenandoah Telecomm. | (SHEN) | 14 | 13.73 | 2.40 | 0.3300 | 3.13 | 11/5/10 |
StanCorp Financial Group | (SFG) | 13 | 30.55 | 2.82 | 0.8600 | 7.50 | 11/17/10 |
Atmos Energy | (ATO) | 23 | 33.54 | 4.05 | 0.3400 | 1.49 | 11/23/10 |
Arrow Financial Corp. | (AROW) | 17 | 23.71 | 4.22 | 0.2500 | 3.00 | 12/1/10 |
Dividend Challengers (5 To 9 Years):
|
| No. | 8/31 |
|
| LY% | LY |
Company | Symbol | Yrs | Price | Yield | Rate | Inc. | Ex-Div |
American Financial Group | (AFG) | 5 | 33.28 | 1.95 | 0.1625 | 18.18 | 10/13/10 |
Senior Housing Prop. | (SNH) | 7 | 23.79 | 6.22 | 0.3700 | 2.78 | 10/13/10 |
Eagle Financial Services | (EFSI) | 7 | 16.95 | 4.25 | 0.1800 | 5.88 | 10/28/10 |
Bank of Marin Bancorp | (BMRC) | 6 | 35.61 | 1.80 | 0.1600 | 6.67 | 11/1/10 |
Noble Corp. | (NE) | 7 | 33.76 | 1.60 | 0.1347 | 2.51 | 11/4/10 |
Somerset Hills Bancorp | (SOMH) | 6 | 7.79 | 3.08 | 0.0600 | 20.00 | 11/12/10 |
Perrigo Company | (PRGO) | 8 | 94.74 | 0.30 | 0.0700 | 12.00 | 11/24/10 |
Strayer Education Inc. | (STRA) | 7 | 94.65 | 4.23 | 1.0000 | 33.33 | 11/24/10 |
Aaron's Inc. | (AAN) | 6 | 26.64 | 0.20 | 0.0130 | 8.33 | 11/29/10 |
TransAlta Corp. | (TAC) | 5 | 22.55 | 4.96 | 0.2795 | 8.12 | 11/29/10 |
Cass Information Sys. | (CASS) | 9 | 36.18 | 1.77 | 0.1600 | 14.29 | 12/1/10 |
Nike Inc. | (NKE) | 9 | 86.65 | 1.43 | 0.3100 | 14.81 | 12/2/10 |
In addition, I anticipate that several other companies will boost their dividends during this period, marking their fifth straight year of increases and promoting them to Challenger status:
Company | Symbol | Ex-Div |
CMS Energy Corp. | (CMS) | 11/3/10 |
National CineMedia Inc. | (NCMI) | 11/16/10 |
Evercore Partners Inc. | (EVR) | 11/23/10 |
NV Energy Inc. | (NVE) | 12/3/10 |
About two dozen Master Limited Partnerships are also likely to increase their payouts again, as they tend to do each quarter, in late October or early November.
Not all of the above companies will meet the strict standards of every investor, but some may be appropriate for portfolio diversification. Potential investors should do more research before committing funds.
Disclosure: I am long RPM, EMR, AFL, TNC.
