Dividend-News

Dividend Challengers (And Near-Challengers): 55 Increases Expected In The Next 11 Weeks

Published Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:35:28 -0400 on Seeking Alpha

In compiling the Dividend Champions list (found here) 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. I have separated the Champions (25 or more years of higher dividends), Contenders (10-24 years), and Challengers (5-9 years) into distinct groupings, so please look for the other articles, which I hope will be published about the same time. Note that "CCC" refers to the combination of Champions, Contenders, and Challengers.
Moderation Returns
The past six weeks featured a sharp pick-up in dividend-increase announcements with Ex-Dividend Dates beginning around Groundhog Day, when many companies announce their annual earnings and then schedule the annual shareholder meetings. The torrid pace has now eased considerably, as the number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has declined to 85 from 133 a month ago and 186 a month before that, as the busiest season concludes with the end of Winter.
The table below coincides with the usual "forward look" of about 11 weeks for this article. 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... Read more