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 companies raise their payout about the same time every year, I can say with some confidence that they are likely to do so again.
New Opportunities
As mentioned in recent installments in this series, I've modified the schedule to aim for a three- to four-week frequency. Monthly articles allowed some increases to "slip through the cracks" and publishing the listings twice each month seems a tad too frequent, with too many companies carried over and not enough being "checked off," so I hope the current scheduling works better.
I have also modified the Expected Increase series to reflect a more SA-friendly format by separating the Champions, Contenders, and Challengers into distinct groupings, so please look for the other articles, which I hope will be published about the same time.
Based on last year's announcements, I'm expecting the following companies to announce dividend increases between now and the anniversary of the Ex-Dividend Date of their previous increase:
Dividend Challengers (5-9 years):
Company | Stock | No. | 1/31 | Div | Qtly | LY% | LY |
Name | Symbol | Yrs | Price | Yield | Rate | Inc. | Ex-Div |
National Presto Industries | (NPK) | 8 | 97.72 | 8.44 | 8.2500 | 1.23 | 3/2/11 |
Texas Pacific Land Trust | (TPL) | 6 | 44.00 | 0.48 | 0.2100 | 5.00 | 3/2/11 |
Tim Hortons Inc. | (THI) | 6 | 48.71 | 1.40 | 0.1705 | 36.67 | 3/3/11 |
National Interstate Corp. | (NATL) | 7 | 26.11 | 1.38 | 0.0900 | 12.50 | 3/7/11 |
Westar Energy | (WR) | 7 | 28.44 | 4.50 | 0.3200 | 3.23 | 3/7/11 |
Infinity Property & Cas. | (IPCC) | 9 | 58.25 | 1.24 | 0.1800 | 28.57 | 3/9/11 |
Cheviot Financial Corp. | (CHEV) | 8 | 8.15 | 5.89 | 0.1200 | 9.09 | 3/11/11 |
Rogers Communications | (RCI) | 6 | 38.45 | 3.63 | 0.3488 | 15.86 | 3/16/11 |
Sempra Energy | (SRE) | 8 | 56.90 | 3.37 | 0.4800 | 23.08 | 3/16/11 |
Flowserve Corp. | (FLS) | 5 | 110.17 | 1.16 | 0.3200 | 10.34 | 3/29/11 |
Gap Inc. | (GPS) | 7 | 18.98 | 2.37 | 0.1125 | 12.50 | 4/4/11 |
Raytheon Company | (RTN) | 7 | 47.99 | 3.58 | 0.4300 | 14.67 | 4/4/11 |
American Greetings | (AM) | 8 | 14.37 | 4.18 | 0.1500 | 7.14 | 4/7/11 |
Coca-Cola FEMSA | (KOF) | 8 | 98.00 | 2.01 | 1.9679 | 70.23 | 4/22/11 |
Donegal Group Inc. A | (DGICA) | 9 | 15.26 | 3.15 | 0.1200 | 4.35 | 4/28/11 |
Donegal Group Inc. B | (DGICB) | 9 | 17.24 | 2.49 | 0.1075 | 4.88 | 4/28/11 |
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.
Every Picture Tells a Story
As a bonus, I'm inserting one of Chuck Carnevale's F.A.S.T. Graphs below, highlighting one of the companies listed above. When the stock's price line has moved into the green area, it indicates that the stock is undervalued in relation to its earnings. The best looking chart belonged to Raytheon, but since I have used it recently, I opted for the one below. Also looking reasonably attractive were the charts of National Presto, Rogers, and Sempra.
Disclosure: I am long RTN.
