Dividend Champions For May 2020

Summary

• Monthly update of the Dividend Champions list.
• 29 companies declared higher dividends in the past month, with an average increase of 4.23% over their previous payouts.
• One new Champion and 2 new Contenders.
• I do much more than just articles at The Dividend Kings: Members get access to model portfolios, regular updates, a chat room, and more. Get started today »

About the Dividend Champions List

The Dividend Champions list is a monthly publication tracking companies with a history of consistently increasing their dividends. Wider in scope than the well-known S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats and Nasdaq Dividend Achievers, the Dividend Champions covers all companies listed on exchanges in the United States. In order to be included in the list, the annual split-adjusted dividend payout of a company (based on calendar year) must be consistently increasing. The Dividend Champions list is separated into three categories based on how long companies have maintained the streak of annually increasing dividends: Champions (25 or more years), Contenders (10 to 24 years), and Challengers (5 to 9 years). The Dividend Champions list was created by David Fish in 2007 and is currently maintained by Justin Law. The Dividend Champions list may be obtained for free for personal, non-commercial use from the DRIP Investing Resource Center. Data in the Dividend Champions list is provided “as is” with no guarantees of accuracy, completeness, or timeliness.

Coronavirus Culling, Part II

29 companies declared higher dividends in the past month, with an average increase of 4.23% over their previous payouts. The latest version of the Dividends Champions list will be available at the DRIP Investing website and is also attached below:

U.S.DividendChampions_2020-04-30.xlsx

The Dividend Champions universe has decreased to 810 companies. The average dividend streak jumps to 15.1 years. The average yield has decreased to 3.61% from 4.39% the previous month.

Additions to Challengers: None

Promotions:

First Financial Bankshares Inc. (FFIN) and Pool Corp. (POOL) have been promoted to Contender.

International Business Machines (IBM) has been promoted to Champion.

Deletions:

American Assets Trust Inc. (AAT), Autoliv Inc. (ALV), Bassett Furniture Industries Inc. (BSET), Carnival Corporation & Plc (CCL), CenterPoint Energy (CNP), Columbia Sportswear Co. (COLM), Community West Bancshares (CWBC), Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. (DNKN), Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (EL), Cedar Fair LP (FUN), Group 1 Automotive Inc. (GPI), Green Plains Partners LP (GPP), Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GT), Great Western Bancorp Inc. (GWB), Holly Energy Partners LP (HEP), Harley-Davidson Inc. (HOG), Helmerich & Payne Inc. (HP), Hexcel Corporation (HXL), Invesco Limited (IVZ), Kohl's Corp. (KSS), Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS), Moelis & Company (MC), Marcus Corp. (MCS), Meredith Corp. (MDP), Methanex Corp. (MEOH), Herman Miller Inc. (MLHR), Marine Products Corp. (MPX), Vail Resorts Inc. (MTN), Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. (ROIC), Rollins Inc. (ROL), Ruth's Hospitality Group Inc. (RUTH), Terex Corp. (TEX), USD Partners LP (USDP), Western Midstream Partners LP (WES), and Winmark Corp. (WINA) have cut or suspended their dividends.

Due to the extenuating circumstances, I will continue tracking these companies and they may be reinstated if dividends are resumed.

Raytheon Company (RTN) has merged with United Technologies (UTX) to form Raytheon Technologies (RTX). RTX will inherit UTX’s dividend history.

MutualFirst Financial Inc. (MFSF) has been acquired by Northwest Bancshares Inc. (NWBI).

Tallgrass Energy LP (TGE) has been acquired by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners.

Aircastle Limited (AYR) has been acquired by Marubeni and Mizuho Leasing.

Southwest Georgia Financial Corp. (SGB) has been acquired by First Bancshares Inc. (FBMS).

Other:

Resources Connection (RECN) has changed tickers to RGP

1^st Source Corp. (SRCE) has decreased its quarterly dividend from 0.29 to 0.28, but this is still above the previous year rate of 0.27. Given its long history of dividend growth (32 years), it will remain part of the Dividend Champions list for now.

Warnings:

It has been more than one year since the following companies last increased their dividend: Aon plc (AON), AptarGroup Inc. (ATR), Banner Corp. (BANR), Bank of South Carolina Corp. (BKSC), Celanese Corp. (CE), CVB Financial Corp. (CVBF), Hasbro Inc. (HAS), Lakeland Financial Corp. (LKFN), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), The Children's Place Inc. (PLCE), Quaint Oak Bancorp Inc. (OTCQB:QNTO), Williams-Sonoma Inc. (WSM).

Chart of the Month

This graph is a courtesy of Chuck Carnevale and FAST Graphs. As always, it is not intended as a recommendation, but is just one I found interesting. Do your own due diligence.

Recession? What recession? Is perceived safety worth the high valuation?

How you can help

Errors? Let me know! I don’t have time to manually verify every piece of data presented in this list. If you run across something that is clearly wrong, let me know in the comments or send me a message and I will do my best to get it fixed.

Suggestions? I am always open to your ideas on how the list can be improved.

Spread the word. There may still be people who used to follow David Fish and are unaware that this list is still being produced. Let them know!

Analyst’s Disclosure: I am/we are long IBM. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.