Another reason to monitor dividend increase announcements it to identify new candidates for purchase. When companies announce dividend increases, they show confidence in being able to pay increased dividends. Companies that make aggressive increases pique my interest and I usually take some time to research them.
Below is the table of dividend increases announced in the first two weeks of July, sorted by the last column, %Increase. Dividend amounts are annualized.
Dividend Increases: July 1 - July 15, 2014
Company |
Ticker |
Price (Jun 13) |
Previous Dividend |
New Dividend |
Current Yield |
%Increase |
| Cummins Inc. | CMI | 151.89 | 2.50 | 3.12 | 2.05% | +24.80 |
| Unum Group | UNM | 35.09 | 0.58 | 0.66 | 1.88% | +13.79 |
| ConocoPhillips | COP | 84.71 | 2.76 | 2.92 | 3.45% | +5.80 |
| Duke Energy Corp | DUK | 72.03 | 3.12 | 3.18 | 4.41% | +1.92 |
| Healthcare Services Group, Inc. | HCSG | 27.77 | 0.69 | 0.70 | 2.50% | +0.72 |
I own shares in COP:
• ConocoPhillips (COP) | growth 19 yrs | yield 3.45% @ $84.71 | 5-yr CAGR 13.25%
COP is an American multinational energy corporation with headquarters in Houston. Created in 2002 through a merger of Conoco Inc and Phillips Petrolium Company, COP became the 5th largest integrated oil company in the world. Recently, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 5.8% to 73¢ per share, payable on September 2 to shareholders on record on July 17. The increase adds $6.08 to DivGro's projected annual dividend income.
Two stocks I don't own are raising their dividend by more than 7%:
• Cummins Inc. (CMI) | growth 8 yrs | yield 2.05% @ $151.89 | 5-yr CAGR 30.26%
CMI designs, manufactures, distributes and services diesel and natural gas engines. CMI's board of directors approved an increase in its quarterly dividend to 78¢ per share, an increase of nearly 25%. The dividend is payable on September 2, to shareholders of record on August 20.
• Unum Group (UNM) | growth 6 yrs | yield 1.88% @ $35.09 | 5-yr CAGR 12.89%
UNM is a provider of disability insurance products in the United States and the United Kingdom. The company also provides a portfolio of other insurance products, including employer- and employee-paid group benefits, life insurance and other related services. Recently, UNM increased its quarterly dividend to 16.5¢ per share, an increase of 13.79% over the previous dividend of 14.5¢ per share. The dividend is payable on August 15, to shareholders of record on July 24.
Please note that I'm not recommending any of these stocks. Readers should do their own research before buying shares.
I was a lucky recipient of the CMI increase. I'll gladly take a 25% raise. Sadly the position is pretty small but a raise is always welcomed. I want to add more COP but it seems expensive currently. It wasn't a gangbusters raise but nearly 6% is still well ahead of inflation.
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent dividend raise even if you have a small position! I'm not in the adding mode yet -- still diversifying on the number of holdings. Nevertheless, I agree COP is a little expensive right now. You have to go back to July 2008 to see higher prices for COP!
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