Stock Analysis: Lowe's Companies

Dividend Champion Lowes Companies (NYSE:LOW) is a home improvement retailer. The company offers a complete line of products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, and home decorating. LOW also offers installation services through independent contractors in various product categories; extended protection plans; and in-warranty and out-of-warranty repair services. The company was founded in 1946 and is based in Mooresville, North Carolina.

LOW is ranked 7^th in the May 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has an impressive 52-year streak of consecutive dividend increases and pays quarterly dividends of 23¢ per share in the months of February, May, August and November.

Recent Buy: Macquarie Infrastructure Company

May 19, 2015: Bought 30 shares of MIC at $85.97 per share.

Macquarie Infrastructure Company LLC (NYSE:MIC) owns, operates and invests in a diversified portfolio of infrastructure businesses that provides basic services, facilities and technology to businesses and individuals in the United States. The Company's businesses consist of bulk liquid terminals, an airport services business, a gas processing and distribution business, and a portfolio of contracted power and energy investments.

MIC is the Industrials sector winner and is ranked 14^th in the May 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has a 5-year streak of consecutive dividend increases. It pays quarterly dividends of $1.07 per share in the months of March, June, September and December.

10 Dividend Increases, May 4-15, 2015

Includes: AIX • CAH • CLX • CPK • KEY • MIC • PEP • POR • TU • VTR

Summary

• I track dividend increases for stocks in my watch list to identify candidates for further analysis and possible investment. 
• For dividend growth investors, regular dividend increases are important. Dividend increases that match or exceed the rate of inflation are preferred.
• In the past 2 weeks, 10 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases. All increases exceed the current rate of inflation.

10 Dividend Growth Stocks for May 2015

Includes: ADM • AMP • BDX • CMP • CNQ • GPS • LOW • MGA • MIC • NJR • QCOM • TRV • VLO • WMT • TU 

David Fish's CCC list is a great resource for dividend growth investors. The list is updated every month and contains all U.S.-listed stocks that have raised their dividends for at least 5 consecutive years. The latest list (dated 4/30/15) contains 707 stocks.

Ranking so many stocks would be a daunting task. To simplify things, I apply a series of filters to reduce the list to a more manageable number of stocks. Because I have an ongoing goal of balancing my DivGro portfolio across all 10 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) sectors, I'm careful to retain a minimum number of stocks per sector.

Ranking involves using a proprietary system based on the dividend discount model and fundamental analysis. I assign a star-rating to each stock out of a maximum of 7 stars.

Stock Analysis: Archer Daniels Midland

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net on 6 May 2015.

Founded in 1898 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Dividend Champion Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) is engaged in the processing of oilseeds, corn, wheat, cocoa, and other agricultural commodities. The company manufactures protein meal, vegetable oil, corn sweeteners, flour, and other value-added food and feed ingredients, as well as biodiesel and ethanol.

ADM is the Consumer Staples sector winner and 7^th ranked stock in the April 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has an impressive 40-year streak of consecutive dividend increases and pays quarterly dividends of 28¢ per share in the months of March, June, September and December.

Monthly Review, April 2015

At the end of every month, I review my portfolio of dividend growth stocks and update my blog's Performance page.

In April 2015, I received dividend income totaling $412, an increase of 147% over last April's total dividend income of $167.

DivGro's market value increased to $149,697 and the portfolio is delivering an average yield on cost (YoC) of 4.32%. Projected monthly dividend income increased to $496 from $467 last month.

15 Dividend Increases, April 27-May 1, 2015

Includes: AHGP • APU • ARLP • AWK • BPL • ETP • GMLP • GWW • IBM • IVZ • PSA • STI • UGI • WFC • XOM

Dividend growth investors like to invest in companies that regularly increase their dividends and show confidence in their ability to grow earnings over time.

I monitor dividend increases for stocks on my watch list because I track the yield on cost (YoC) of holdings in DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. Another reason to monitor dividend increases is to identify candidates for further analysis and for possible inclusion in DivGro.

In the past two weeks, 15 of the companies on my watch list announced dividend increases.