6 Dividend Increases: September 11-15, 2017

Companies that regularly increase dividends show confidence in the potential growth of future earnings.

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch list helps me identify candidates for further analysis.

This week, six companies on my watch list announced dividend increases, including one of the stocks I hold in my portfolio.

4 Dividend Increases: August 28-September 8, 2017

Companies can only increase their dividends regularly if earnings grow sufficiently.

I like monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch list of dividend growth stocks because I consider such stocks to be candidates for further analysis.

In the past two weeks, four companies on my watch list decided to increase their dividends, including one of the stocks I hold in my portfolio.

Monthly Review: August 2017

Welcome to the August review of DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks! The goal of these monthly reviews is to share updates to my portfolio and to provide a summary of dividends collected.

DivGro's projected annual dividend income (PADI) increased to $15,353, which means I can expect to receive $1,279 in dividend income per month, on average, in perpetuity.

Of course, with a statement like that, I'm assuming that nothing will change! In actual fact, as a dividend growth investor, I expect the companies I've invested in to continue to pay and to increase dividends! Also, until I retire, I hope to continue to reinvest the dividends I collect... so DivGro's PADI should continue to grow through dividend growth and through compounding.

Options Update: August 2017

My goal with DivGro is to generate a reliable and growing dividend income stream. I invest mainly in quality dividend growth stocks with a track record of paying and regularly increasing dividends.

In June 2016, I started trading options to boost my income from dividends. I sell covered calls and secured puts on dividend stocks I own or would like to own. The options income I collect flows back into DivGro, just like dividends. It provides extra cash to buy more dividend growth stocks.

Through July 2017, I've collected options income totaling about $16,400. Of that total, about $8,800 is secured, meaning I no longer have any obligations to fulfill. My monthly options update serves as a status report on the open options and the obligations I have. I also report on new trades and I provide a running tally of DivGro's options income to date.

Yield Channel Charts: A Tool For Dividend Growth Investors

This article presents a tool for dividend growth investors (DGIs) called Yield Channel Charts. These charts provide a way to assess market valuation relative to a stock's historical yield patterns.

Yield channel charts are suitable for high-quality dividend growth stocks with long histories of paying higher dividends every year.

Yield channels can be seen as safety zones for stock prices. As long as the stock price remains within the yield channel, the stock can be considered fairly valued. Once the stock price moves outside the yield channel, the stock is either overvalued or undervalued relative to historical yields.

3 Dividend Increases: August 21-25, 2017

With earnings season over, only a few companies announced dividend increases this week.

This article reports on three dividend increases, including one from of my DivGro holdings.

I monitor dividend increases for stocks on my watch to identify candidates for further analysis.

Using Options To Boost Dividend Income

Last year I decided to add options trading to complement DivGro's strategy of investing in dividend growth stocks.

My options trading activity is focused on generating extra income. I sell covered calls on some of my DivGro positions and I sell put options on stocks I wouldn't mind adding to my DivGro portfolio.

I don't buy options and I consider myself a learner options trader.

In this article, I discuss my approach to using options to boost dividend income. After 15 months of executing this strategy, I'm happy to provide some insights and to share results.