August 2020 Dividend Income
Dividend Investing, Dividend Growth Investing, Long-Term Horizon
Seeking Alpha Analyst Since 2013
Hi, my name is Kody. I run Kody's Dividends. As you might guess, this is a blog primarily documenting my journey towards financial independence using dividend growth investing as the means to transform the dream of financial independence into a reality.
I am forever indebted to this community because it helped me transition from simply being an investor to being an analyst for The Motley Fool back in June 2021 under my real name of Kody Kester. As a display of my gratitude, I will still be writing one article a month for SA starting in July 2022.
Summary
- Despite a dividend cut and suspension taking effect in August 2020, my dividend income managed to grow compared to May 2020 and August 2019.
- The $91.19 in dividends collected in August 2020 represents 5.3% growth over the $86.62 received in May 2020, and 86.4% YoY growth compared to the $48.93 collected in August 2019.
- The $91.19 in dividends received in August 2020 marks yet another record month in terms of dividend income for the middle month of a quarter.
- Because I'm not expecting any more dividend cuts/suspensions in this group of companies, I anticipate that November 2020 will mark yet another record month of dividend income.
I'm surprised that another month has passed us by already, but pleased to announce that my portfolio recorded yet another record month in terms of dividend income for the middle month of a quarter.
Despite deploying limited capital over the past few months due to paying off debt, the capital that I did deploy that was used to deleverage my Robinhood margin helped tremendously in boosting my dividend income during the month.
Without further ado, I present my dividend income for August 2020:
Analysis:
During the month of August, I collected $91.19 in net dividends against the $86.62 in dividends collected in May 2020, which represents a 5.3% quarterly growth rate.
More striking, is the fact that the $91.19 in net dividends received during the month represents an 86.4% YoY growth rate compared to the $48.93 in dividends collected in August 2019!
Going into more detail, I received $78.96 in dividends from 15 companies within my Robinhood portfolio net of the $5.00 in Robinhood Gold fees and $3.03 in Robinhood Gold margin costs. I also collected $11.93 in dividends from 3 companies within my Webull portfolio. Finally, I collected $0.30 from 14 companies in my M1 Finance portfolio.
The $4.57 increase in my dividends from May 2020 to August 2020 was as a result of the following activity within my portfolios:
| May 2020 Webull/Robinhood Dividends & Robinhood Gold Expenses/M1 Finance | August 2020 Webull/Robinhood Dividends & Robinhood Gold Expenses/M1 Finance |
| BTI: $8.28 | BTI: $8.89 |
| ETRN: $1.55 | ETRN: $1.50 |
| SKT: $3.93 | SKT: $0.00 |
| Robinhood Gold/Interest: ($15.99) | Robinhood Gold/Interest: ($8.03) |
| M1 Finance: $0.32 | M1 Finance: $0.30 |
I received an additional $0.61 in dividends from my positions in British American Tobacco (BTI) within my Robinhood and Webull portfolios.
As a result of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (SKT) recent suspension of its dividend, my dividend income from my SKT position was reduced by $3.93.
I also received $0.07 less in dividends from Equitrans Midstream Corporation (ETRN) as a result of the recent merger (including the $0.02 reduction in my M1 Finance portfolio).
My Robinhood Gold/margin costs in August of $8.03 were $7.96 lower than the $15.99 in costs during May 2020.
Concluding Thoughts:
Despite an effective distribution cut via ETRN and a dividend suspension via SKT taking effect this month, my dividend income in August managed to advance by mid-single digits over May 2020.
This was primarily due to my deleveraging of over $1,900 of Robinhood margin over the past few months.
Given that I believe the worst is finally behind my portfolio and I'm not expecting any further dividend cuts from the companies that are scheduled to pay dividends in the middle month of the quarter, I am expecting a new record in November for a middle month of the quarter.
Discussion:
How was your dividend income during August?
Did your portfolio feel the impact of cuts/suspensions during August?
Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments in the comment section below!
Analyst's Disclosure: I am/we are long FAST, SBUX, PG, HRL, AAPL, VZ, WSM, BTI, ET, MMP, ABBV, O, OKE, MAIN, ETRN, EPD, GD, LOW, T, GIS, CVS, SKT.
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