Dividend Increases, December 8-31, 2014

My last post for 2014 and it happens to the 100^th post of the year!

I wanted to finish out this year by reporting on recent dividend increase announcements for stocks in my watch list. Since my last post about dividend increases, only a handful of stocks announced increases. I own only one of these stocks, AT&T Inc (NYSE:T).

I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my watch because it is a convenient way to identify dividend growth candidates. Companies that increase their dividends regularly show confidence in future earnings growth. Another reason is that I track the yield on cost (YoC) of stocks in DivGro. When dividends increase, I make YoC adjustments and update DivGro's projected annual dividend income.

Below is a table summarizing the dividend increases, sorted by last column, %Increase. Dividends are annualized:

Dividend Increases: December 8-31, 2014

Company	Ticker	Yield	Price (31 Dec)	Yrs	5-yr DGR	PEG ratio	Prev Div.	New Div.	%Increase
Pentair plc. Ordinary Share	PNR	1.93%	$66.42	38	7.1%	1.46	1.20	1.28	+6.67
Rent-A-Center Inc	RCII	2.64%	$36.32	5	n/a	7.05	0.92	0.96	+4.35
AT&T	T	5.60%	$33.59	30	2.4%	2.34	1.84	1.88	+2.17
First of Long Island Corp	FLIC	2.68%	$28.37	19	9.9%	2.30	0.75	0.75	+1.79
Realty Income Corp	O	4.61%	$47.71	20	4.8%	9.40	2.20	2.20	+0.16

Previous post: Dividend Increases: December 1-5, 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.

I bought 75 shares of AT&T at $33.64 per share on 23 October at an initial YoC of 5.47%. AT&T is a dividend champion with an impressive 30-year streak of dividend increases. On 19 December, the company announced that is board of directors has approved a 2.17% increase in its quarterly dividend, from 46¢ per share to 47¢ per share. The modest increase raises my YoC to 5.59%. DivGro's projected annual dividend income is now $4,885.70.

• Pentair plc. (NYSE:PNR)
Based in Dublin, Ireland, PNR delivers industry-leading products, services and solutions for its customers' diverse needs in water and other fluids, thermal management and equipment protection. It serves a wide range of industries, including Energy, Food & Beverage, Industrial, Infrastructure and Residential & Commercial. The company employs approximately 30,000 people worldwide. The company announced a quarterly dividend increase of 6.67% to 32¢ per share, payable on 13 February to shareholders of record on 30 January.

• Rent-A-Center Inc (NASDAQ:RCII)
Headquartered in Plano, Texas, RCII is the largest rent-to-own operator in North America. The company offers high-quality, durable goods to consumers under flexible rental purchase arrangements that allow customers to obtain ownership at the conclusion of an agreed-upon rental period. On 11 December, the company declared a quarterly dividend of 24¢ per share, payable on 22 January to shareholders of record on 2 January. The new dividend represents an increase of 4.35%.

• First of Long Island Corp (NASDAQ:FLIC)
FLIC is a one bank holding company providing financial services through its wholly owned subsidiary, The First National Bank of Long Island. The bank currently has forty branches in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, Long Island and Manhattan and expects to open several more branches in 2015. On 17 December, the company announced an increase to its regular quarterly dividend from 18.6667¢ per share to 19¢ per share, an increase of 1.79%. The first payment will be on 16 January to shareholders of record on 7 January.

• Realty Income Corp (NYSE:O)
O is known as The Monthly Dividend Company^®. It is an equity real estate investment trust dedicated to providing shareholders with dependable monthly income. The company earns income from 4,200 properties owned under long-term lease agreements with regional and national retail chains and other commercial tenants. On 16 December, the board of directors approved an increase to O's monthly dividend from 18.31042¢ per share to 0.1834167¢ per share. The first payment will be on 15 January to stockholders of record on 2 January.

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

Happy New Year!