Dividend Increases, December 1-5, 2014

My watch list contains a subset of David Fish's CCC list. I use a series of filters to trim down the CCC list to a more manageable number of stocks (currently 288 stocks). I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my watch list to help identify dividend growth candidates worthy of consideration. Companies that increase dividends regularly show confidence in their future earnings growth potential.

In the first week of December, the following stocks in my watch list announced dividend increases. The table is sorted by last column, %Increase, and dividends are annualized:

Dividend Increases: December 1-5, 2014

Company	Ticker	Yield	Price (8 Dec)	Yrs	5-yr DGR	PEG ratio	Prev Div.	New Div.	%Increase
Enbridge Inc	ENB	3.80%	$48.99	19	14.6%	4.54	1.40	1.86	+32.86
DuPont Fabros Technology Inc	DFT	5.00%	$33.62	5	4.8%	1.98	1.40	1.68	+20.00
Hanover Insurance Group (The)	THG	2.24%	$73.3	9	24.8%	n/a	1.48	1.64	+10.81
CH Robinson Worldwide	CHRW	2.05%	$74.07	16	9.7%	2.16	1.40	1.52	+8.57
Wisconsin Energy	WEC	3.32%	$50.87	11	21.8%	3.21	1.56	1.69	+8.33
Axis Capital Holdings Ltd	AXS	2.26%	$51.33	12	6.2%	n/a	1.08	1.16	+7.41
Erie Indemnity Company	ERIE	2.92%	$93.35	24	6.1%	2.57	2.54	2.72	+7.24
South Jersey Industries	SJI	3.46%	$58.13	15	10.8%	3.33	1.89	2.01	+6.35
Vector Group Ltd	VGR	7.35%	$21.78	16	5.0%	2.18	1.52	1.60	+4.99
Hillenbrand Inc	HI	2.49%	$32.09	7	7.3%	1.53	0.79	0.80	+1.27

Previous post: Dividend Increases: November, 2014

In the table, Yield indicates the new dividend yield for the market close Price on 12/8/2014. 5-yr DGR is the compound annual growth rate of the dividend over a five year period. PEG ratio is the Price/Earnings to Growth ratio, or P/E divided by the 5-year future growth rate.

• Enbridge Inc (NYSE:ENB)
ENB is a Canadian Company and a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates the world's longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. The Company also has a significant and growing involvement in natural gas gathering, transmission and midstream businesses, and an increasing involvement in power transmission. The company announced a quarterly dividend increase of 32.86% to 46.5¢ per share, payable on 1 March to shareholders of record on 16 February.

• DuPont Fabros Technology Inc (NYSE:DFT)
DFT is a real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in Washington, D.C., and a leading owner, developer, operator and manager of wholesale data centers. The Company's facilities are designed to offer highly specialized, efficient and safe computing environments in a low-cost operating model. On 2 December, the company declared a quarterly dividend of 42¢ per share, payable on 15 January to shareholders of record on 30 December. The new dividend represents an increase of 20.00%.

• Hanover Insurance Group (The) (NYSE:THG)
Based in Worcester, Massachusetts, THG is the holding company for a group of insurance companies, which together constitute one of the largest insurance businesses in the United States. The company offers a wide range of property and casualty products and services to businesses, individuals, and families. On 5 December, the board of directors approved an increase to its regular quarterly dividend from 37¢ per share to 41¢ per share, an increase of 10.81%. The first payment will be on 26 December to stockholders of record on 15 December.

• CH Robinson Worldwide (NASDAQ:CHRW)
Founded in 1905, CHRW is one of the largest third-party logistics companies in North America and a global provider of multimodal transportation services and logistics solutions, operating through a network of offices in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. On 4 December, the board of directors approved an increase to its regular quarterly dividend from 35¢ per share to 38¢ per share, an increase of 8.57%. The first payment will be on 31 December to stockholders of record on 15 December.

• Wisconsin Energy (NYSE:WEC)
Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, WEC is one of the nation's premier energy companies, serving more than 1.1 million electric customers in Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula and 1.1 million natural gas customers in Wisconsin. The company's principal utility is We Energies. The company's other major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants. On 4 December, the company declared a quarterly dividend of 42.25¢ per share, payable on 1 March to shareholders of record on 13 February. The new dividend represents an increase of 8.33%.

• Axis Capital Holdings Ltd (NYSE:AXS)
AXS is a Bermuda-based global provider of specialty lines insurance and treaty reinsurance with shareholder equity of $5.8 billion and locations in Bermuda, the United States, Europe, Singapore, Canada, Australia and Latin America. On 5 December, the company declared a quarterly dividend of 29¢ per share, payable on 15 January to shareholders of record on 31 December. The new dividend represents an increase of 7.41%.

• Erie Indemnity Company (NASDAQ:ERIE)
Headquartered in Erie, Pennsylvania, ERIE offers a range of services to meet family insurance needs, including home, renters, and boat insurance. The company also offers business insurance and life insurance products. The company declared a quarterly dividend of 68.1¢ per share, an increase of 7.24% over the prior quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable 21 January.

• South Jersey Industries (NYSE:SJI)
SJI is an energy services holding company based in Folsom, NJ. It operates through two primary subsidiaries, South Jersey Gas and South Jersey Energy Solutions, delivering clean and efficient natural gas and propoming energy efficiency to approximate 365,000 customers in sourthern New Jersey. Recently, the board of directors of SJI declared a quarterly dividend of 50.25¢ per share. The dividend is payable on 30 December, to shareholders of record on 22 December.

• Vector Group Ltd (NYSE:VGR)
Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VGR is a holding company that owns Liggett Group, Vector Tobacco, Zoom E-Cigs and New Valley, which owns a controlling interest in Douglas Elliman Realty. Recently, VGR increased its quarterly dividend from 38.1¢ per share to 40¢ per share, an increase of 4.99%. The dividend is payable on 31 December, to shareholders of record on 12 December.

• Hillenbrand Inc (NYSE:HI)
Headquartered in Batesville, Indiana, HI is is a global diversified industrial company that makes and sells premium business-to-business products and services for a wide variety of industries. The company pursues profitable growth and meaningful dividends for shareholders by leveraging their leading brands and robust cash generation capabilities. HI will pay a quarterly dividend of 20¢ per share on 31 December to shareholders of record on 17 December.

Please note that I'm not recommending these stocks. Readers should do their own research on these companies before buying shares.