Monthly Review Of DivGro: December 2020

Every month, I write a review of my portfolio of dividend growth stocks, DivGro. I provide a summary of transactions and dividends received in the past month. Additionally, I look at how the month's activities have impacted DivGro's projected annual dividend income (PADI).

In December, I executed a tax-loss harvesting strategy, closing five positions, and reducing another three positions. I use some of those proceeds to increase my holdings in eleven existing positions. Additionally, twelve DivGro stocks announced dividend increases in December. The net result of these changes is that PADI decreased by about 0.1% in December. Year over year, PADI increased by 24.3%.

Home Run Number 29

On Tuesday, I reported DivGro's 28^th home run, a designation I give to any stock when its total returns exceed my initial capital outlay. 

The stock that achieved home run status is NextEra Energy, Inc (NEE), an electric power company with operations in the United States and Canada.

Today's home run stock took only two years and one month to achieve home run status! I first opened a position in December 2018, and added more shares in February 2019 at a higher cost basis. 

Home Run Number 28

Last week, I recorded my 28^th home run in my DivGro portfolio. A stock gets home run status when its total returns exceed my initial capital outlay. For dividend growth or dividend-paying stocks, total returns include both unrealized gains and dividends received. 

I announced my previous home run, Cummins Inc (CMI), on 13 November 2020, after I'd owned the stock for 5 years and 6 months. 

Today's home run stock took only 2 years and 7 months to achieve that feat! 

Options Update: December 2020 (Part 3)

In Part 2 of my final Options Update article of 2020, I'm presenting two assignments, fifteen expired options, and my usual list of upcoming expiring options. Part 1 covered 23 trades in which I rolled forward options and Part 2 presented some closing trades as well as new covered calls and put contracts. 

December was a very busy month for options trading. After having failed to achieve my 2020 goal of collecting at least $24,000 in options income, I decided to reposition my options portfolio for the upcoming year. The net effect is that my options income decreased by about $889 and I ended with options income totaling $14,120 for 2020. 

Options Update: December 2020 (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of my final Options Update article of 2020. In these updates, I keep track of options trades and provide a running tally of DivGro's options income to date.

After failing to achieve my 2020 goal of collecting at least $24,000 in options income, in December, I executed several trades to improve my options portfolio for the coming year. I'm setting the same options income goal for 2021.

Part 1 covered 23 trades in which I rolled forward options. In Part 2, I'm presenting some closing trades as well as new covered calls and put contracts. Finally, Part 3 will present assignments, expired options,  and a list of upcoming expiring options. 

Options Update: December 2020 (Part 1)

Welcome to my final Options Update article of 2020. With these updates, I keep track of my options income, summarize trades, and provide a running tally of DivGro's options income to date.

I failed to achieve my 2020 goal of collecting at least $24,000 in options income. This year turned out to be a much more challenging year for options trading than 2019! 

In December, I executed many trades, many of them defensive trades to avoid assignments and to improve my options portfolio for the coming year. In Part 1, I'll cover trades in which I rolled forward options. Part 2 will present new covered calls and put contracts, as well as closing trades. Finally, Part 3 will present assignments, expired options,  and a list of upcoming expiring options. 

DivGro's Best and Worst Performers in 2020

Now that 2020 is in the rearview mirror, I wanted to review the best and worst performers in my DivGro portfolio in 2020. 

In this review, I considered only positions I owned throughout 2020. These include dividend growth stocks, dividend-paying stocks, growth stocks, and one closed-end fund. 

Of the 72 positions I've owned throughout the year, 18 stocks had negative returns for the year. On average, these positions are up 15.6% for the year, though if I use a weighted average instead of an arithmetic average, the return is a more impressive 20.4%! These returns exclude dividends. 

My worst performer was Valero Energy Corporation (VLO), down 40% since 1 January 2020. This year's best performer is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM), whose stock price increased by 85% in 2020!

2020 Tax-Loss Harvesting (Part 3)

Part 3 of my article on harvesting tax losses covers three more recent sells. Two of these were closing trades, while the other involved trimming a position split across two different accounts. 

I'm unsure if I'll be reinvesting in any of these stocks once the blackout period required by the IRS wash-sale rule expires. These are struggling stocks with strong headwinds and, besides, I already own similar stocks in my portfolio that are performing better. 

Part 1 explained the ins-and-outs of tax-loss harvesting and I reported one closing trade to offset some 2020 capital gains. Part 2 covered three sells of Energy sector stocks, which realized losses totaling $8,671. In the conclusion of this article, I'll provide a summary of all the trades I executed to harvest tax losses for the 2020 tax year.

2020 Tax-Loss Harvesting (Part 2)

In Part 2 of a three-part article, I'm presenting three more sales to harvest tax losses. All three stocks happen to be from the Energy sector, by far the worst-performing sector this year (and for several years running!). 

I'm trimming one of my Energy stocks and closing two additional Energy stocks. I'm hoping to reinvest in at least one of these positions, but it would depend on what happens in January. 

Part 1 explained the ins-and-outs of tax-loss harvesting and I reported on a recent sell to offset some 2020 capital gains, closing my Gilead Sciences, Inc (GILD) position and recording a loss of about $2,725. I'm hoping to reinstate the position before GILD goes ex-dividend again in March 2021.

2020 Tax-Loss Harvesting (Part 1)

In previous years, I've sold stocks in late November and December to offset capital gains and to limit my tax liability. Given the stock market crash in late February and early March, it is remarkable that I'm facing a similar challenge in 2020. 

So far in 2020, I've recorded capital gains of about $14,383, and another $14,494 from options income. Additionally, I'm expecting to have dividend income totaling about $30,000 in 2020. 

To lighten my 2020 tax burden as much as possible, I decided to realize some offsetting losses by trimming and even closing several losing positions. This strategy of tax-loss harvesting is not without problems, but I like having an excuse to clean house.

Part 1 of this article explains the ins-and-outs of tax-loss harvesting and reports a recent sell I made to offset 2020 capital gains. Part 2 and Part 3 will cover additional sells. In all, I closed seven positions to harvest tax losses.

Dividend Changes: December 19-25, 2020

This weekly article series covers dividend changes. A summary table provides relevant data and key statistics of dividend increases.

We include a table of ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks, providing readers with a list of stock to consider in order to secure the next dividend payment. 

I co-produce this article series with James Marino Sr of Portfolio Insight, who helps with compiling the ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.

10 Dividend Growth Stocks For December 2020

In my monthly series of 10 Dividend Growth Stocks, I rank a selection of dividend growth stocks in Dividend Radar and present the 10 top-ranked stocks for consideration. 

To rank stocks, I use DVK Quality Snapshots to get quality scores and sort them in descending order, breaking ties with additional metrics.

This month, I screened for high-quality stocks whose current dividend yields are higher than their 5-year average dividend yields and are trading below my own fair value estimates. 

Goals for 2021

In this article, I'm presenting my goals for 2021. 

I like setting goals that challenge me. Such goals demand extra effort and focus. They require commitment, patience, and constant monitoring. Sometimes, when progress is not sufficient, they require a course correction.

It is not beneficial to set goals that are easily achievable. Such goals are uninspiring and won't deliver a special sense of accomplishment. On the other hand, it doesn't make sense to set goals that are impossible. 

Dividend Changes: December 12-18, 2020

This weekly article series covers dividend changes. A summary table provides relevant data and key statistics of dividend increases.

We include a table of ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks, providing readers with a list of stock to consider in order to secure the next dividend payment. 

I co-produce this article series with James Marino Sr of Portfolio Insight, who helps with compiling the ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.

Monthly Review Of DivGro: November 2020

Every month, I write a review of my portfolio of dividend growth stocks, DivGro. I provide a summary of transactions and dividends received in the past month. I also consider the impact on DivGro's projected annual dividend income (PADI).

In November, I opened a new position, added shares to an existing position, and closed a position. Eight DivGro stocks announced dividend increases in November. The net result of these changes is that PADI increased by about 0.2% in November. Year over year, PADI increased by 26.8%.

As for dividend income, in November I received dividends totaling $2,538 from 25 stocks in my portfolio, a year over year increase of 48%. So far in 2020, I've collected $25,908 in dividends, or about 96% of my 2020 goal of $27,000. My 2020 dividend income now tops the total I received in 2019.