A Look At The Historic Performance Of Dividend Champions (Part 3)

Summary

• There are 30 companies that have increased dividends, annually, for 50 years or more.
• These are Dividend Champions and in order to qualify as a Dividend Champions, a company must have a history of increasing dividends, annually, for 25 years or more.
• We are looking at the performance of the 50 year Dividend Champions from 2000-current.  This means that in 2000, these companies had already achieved the status of Dividend Champion.

Introduction:

We are looking at the Dividend Champion companies that have been increasing dividends for 50 years or more.  These companies are some of the type of companies that your Dividend Growth Investor will be interested in, because the dividend growth history is just incredible.

Now, there is nothing in these stocks that make them companies that you should own.  You can own whatever you like in your own portfolio, but as I've pointed out in the previous blogs, here and here, there are a number of these 50 year dividend growers that I have in my own portfolio.

Today's list of 10 is a bit more esoteric in nature, but interesting for a number of reasons.

Again, we are not making any value judgments, relative to any of the stocks on this list. Simply reporting the companies, their performance relative to SPY over the last 20 years, and their own performance during that same time period.

This is apparently confusing to some people, but let me try for the last time, to clarify.  The list of stocks that have been increasing dividends for 50 years is something that is just a reality of the fact that they've been increasing the dividend for 50+ years.

We are looking at the performance of these stocks, based on a 20 year time frame, as DGI tends to be a long term strategy and 20 years is a good time period to measure.  Especially in light of how the markets performed over that 20 year period.  

If a stock has not increased their dividend for 50+ years, they will not be on this list.  (This is confusing to one commentor as he keeps pointing out that other stocks of like categories have outperformed these stocks).  And he is correct in that assumption.

But  that assumption is irrelevant, since we are not trying to find stocks that performed better than say, Cincinnati Financial (CINF) or Genuine Parts Company (GPC), but are strictly looking at the universe of 50+ years of dividend increases.

So, you either are on the list or you're not and there's not a lot I can do about companies that are not on the list.  It is what it is.

Our Next Group of 10:

I own 4 of the 10 companies on today's list. 

Tootsie Roll (TR) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 52 years.

Stepan (SCL) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 52 years.

SJW (SJW) has been increasing dividends annually for 52 years.

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 52 years,

Target (TGT) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 52 years.

Commerce Bancshares (CBSH) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 51 years,

Connecticut Water Service (CTWS) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 50 years.

H.B. Fuller (FUL) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 50 years.

Altria Group (MO) has been increasing dividends, annually, for 50 years.

Sysco (SYY) has been increasing dividends annually, for 50 years.

What You Should Know:

Stanley Black and Decker (SWK) is one of my favorite holdings and I like adding to my position when the dividend yield is 2.5% or greater.  During the Corona Correction, the company dropped to a price that gave me a yield of 3.5% and it has bounced back nicely, since then.

Target (TGT) is a company that I've been in and out of, over the years.  I still have a portion in my IRA that is not a real significant number, but this is one to consider when the yield point hits 3% or greater.  Added to our holdings at a yield of 4% a while back, but took profits on those shares.

Altria (MO): If you are a long term holder of Altria, there isn't much I can add to the success of the company, relative to consistency of the dividend and the performance of the stock over the last 20 years.  While the company has been facing headwinds, lately, the growth from the company is outstanding.  With our sale of Reynolds Tobacco, before their merger, we trimmed a lot of our holdings in tobacco to more of a token amount.  Not looking to adding to (MO) or (PM) at this time.

Sysco (SYY) is a company that I learned about from a friend who works there.  I like this company when yields are 3.25% or greater.  The last purchase was made during the Corona Correction and we bought shares with a yield of 4.5%.

Summary:

We have looked at the companies that have a 50 year dividend growth history and while these are the winners, relative to annual dividend increases, it does not always mean that they are a buy at the current prices or that they are stocks that you "must own" in your portfolio.

I think the interesting thing about these companies is the length of the dividend increases and the secondary interesting thing is that some have had significant total return with dividends reinvested.

I for one am a habitual dividend re-investor.  I don't agonize over that plan of attack and try to overthink it.  The brokerage house does it for me, automatically, and it's a "set it and forget it" approach for me.

What you choose to do is really up to you.  But, one of the cornerstones of DGI is dividend reinvestment.

That has become something of a more flexible nature, lately, but not for me.

Here are the links to the previous two blog posts for your review:

https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/874941-david-crosetti/5471915-look-historic-performance-of-dividend-champions-part-1 

https://seekingalpha.com/instablog/874941-david-crosetti/5472286-look-historic-performance-of-dividend-champions-part-2