On Friday, June 28, I deposited $10,000 cash into my DivGro portfolio. This bonus deposit is in addition to my regularly scheduled deposits of $1,000 per month. I decided to transfer this money from one of my other portfolios, where I've had some cash available for a while. In this post, I'll try to explain my thinking.
In addition to DivGro, my dividend growth portfolio, I manage three other portfolios in which I use different strategies: an income portfolio, an aggressive growth portfolio, and an options trading portfolio.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Dividend Increases, May/Jun 2013
Since May 15, the market has cooled down a bit with the S&P 500 decreasing 1.93% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreasing 1.35%. While updating my watch list of dividend growth stocks to reflect current yields, I noticed that several stocks moved into higher yield ranges. Current yield rises when a stock's dividend increases or when the stock's price decreases (or both).
In this month's update, I've removed several stocks from my watch list. Some stocks are not dividend growth stocks (although they are dividend payers), while a others have recently decreased their dividend payments. And one company, H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ), has been acquired by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital and so is no longer traded on the stock exchange.
In this month's update, I've removed several stocks from my watch list. Some stocks are not dividend growth stocks (although they are dividend payers), while a others have recently decreased their dividend payments. And one company, H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ), has been acquired by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital and so is no longer traded on the stock exchange.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Stock Analysis: CHL
CHL has a streak of 7 consecutive years of dividend increases. It pays dividends semi-annually in the months of May and September. CHL's annual dividend is listed at $2.18, which represents a dividend yield of 4.25% with CHL priced at $51.28 per share.
Over the past 10 years, CHL has outperformed the S&P 500 handily, returning about 469% compared to about 63% for the S&P 500 and 65% for the Dow Jones. Performance for the past 5 years is not so impressive. CHL actually lost about 17% over this period, though EPS growth topped 8% and dividend growth topped 14%.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Recent Buy: BBL
Jun 3, 2013: Bought 43 shares of BBL at $58.39 per share.BHP Billiton is a diversified natural resources company and one of the world's largest producers of major commodities, including aluminium, coal, copper, iron ore, manganese, nickel, silver and uranium. BHP Billiton is a dual listed company comprising of BHP Billiton Limited (BHP) and BHP Billiton Plc (BBL). I've acquired shares in BBL, an American Depository Receipt (ADR) listing of BHP Billiton Plc available on the NYSE.
Yesterday I shared the seven DivGro candidates that are at the top of my June dashboard. BBL is one of my favorites: it trades at a deep discount and has been growing its dividends aggressively. I also like BBL because it increases my sector diversification. So, today I decided to buy BBL, the 10th stock to be added to DivGro!
Monday, June 3, 2013
7 Dividend Growth Candidates for June, 2013
One of the most useful resources for dividend growth investors is Dave Fish's list of US Dividend Champions, which provides financial data of companies with 25 or more straight years of dividend increases in spreadsheet form. Also provided are data of companies that have increased their dividends for 10-24 straight years (Contenders) and companies that have increased their dividends for 5-9 straight years (Challengers).
I use Dave Fish's spreadsheet and my watch list of dividend growth stocks to identify candidates for DivGro. I use my selection criteria to score each candidate and to assign an overall star rating for each candidate, out of a maximum of 7 stars. I then compile a dashboard of all the candidates, sorted by star rating.
I use Dave Fish's spreadsheet and my watch list of dividend growth stocks to identify candidates for DivGro. I use my selection criteria to score each candidate and to assign an overall star rating for each candidate, out of a maximum of 7 stars. I then compile a dashboard of all the candidates, sorted by star rating.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Monthly Review, May 2013
In May, I purchased shares in three new dividend growth stocks. These purchases bring the total number of stocks in DivGro to nine, just one short from my goal of ten different dividend growth stocks by year's end. I purchased shares in PartnerRe Ltd (PRE), The Travelers Companies, Inc (TRV), and ConocoPhillips (COP), adding $227.44 in annual dividend income or $170.58 for the 2013 calendar year.
At the end of May, DivGro had a market value of $29,683.39, for an overall gain of $1,683.39 or 6.01% since January.
At the end of May, DivGro had a market value of $29,683.39, for an overall gain of $1,683.39 or 6.01% since January.