Recent Buy: Cummins Inc

17 Feb 2016: Bought 25 shares of CMI at $100.07 per share. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, CMI (NYSE:CMI) is one of the leading designers and manufacturers of diesel engines. The company also produces natural gas engines and engine components and subsystems. CMI sells its products to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and other customers worldwide.  CMI is ranked 2nd in the January 2016 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has a 10-year streak of consecutive dividend increases and pays quarterly dividends of 97.5¢ per share in the months of March, June, September and December. I already own 19 shares of CMI, which I bought in April 2015 at $134.62 per share and at an initial yield on cost (YoC) of 2.32%.

Recent Buy: HCP Inc.

17 Feb 2016: Bought 90 shares of HCP at $27.58 per share. Formed in 1985 and based in Irvine, California, HCP, Inc (NYSE:HCP) is an independent hybrid REIT (real estate investment trust). The company invests primarily in properties serving the healthcare industry in the United States, including sectors such as senior housing, life science, medical office, hospital and skilled nursing. HCP acquires, develops, leases, manages and disposes of healthcare real estate and provides financing to healthcare providers.

HCP is a Dividend Champion with an impressive track record of 31 consecutive years of dividend increases. The company pays quarterly dividends of 57.5¢ per share in the months of February, May, August and November.

At my buy price of $27.58, the stock yields 8.34%. Adding 75 shares of HCP to DivGro increases projected annual dividend income by $207.

19 Dividend Increases, February 22-February 26, 2016

Includes: ALB • BBY • BGS • CB • CHS • CNS • ETN • IPCC • KSS • KW • MGA • MGRC • MIC • SWX • TD • WM • WYN

Summary

• This past week, 19 companies on my watch list of dividend growth stocks announced dividend increases, including 3 of the stocks I own. 
• I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my watch list to identify candidates for further analysis and to make yield on cost adjustments for stocks I own.
• Companies that regularly increase dividends show confidence in the potential growth of future earnings.

10 Dividend Growth Stocks for February 2016

Includes: CMI • EMR • HRL • LAZ • LOW • MGA • NKE • NOV • PII • VLO 

Summary

• Every month, I rank a selection of the CCC stocks to identify top candidates worthy of further analysis.
• Using several screens, my selection process trims the CCC list of more than 750 dividend growth stocks to a more manageable number of candidates.
• I rank the remaining stocks based on fundamental analysis and a multi-stage dividend discount model and assign a 7-star rating to each of the top ranked stocks.
• This article reveals February's top 10 ranked stocks.

Monthly Review, January 2016

January was a tough month for investors. The new year started with lots of volatility and a wave of selling, which pushed the market to its worst weekly performance since 2011. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones are down by more than 5% for the month. For dividend growth investors, the declining market should offer some great buying opportunities.

In the next few months, I'll continue to transfer holdings from my Scottrade account to DivGro. In the process, I'm adding some solid dividend paying stocks and increasing DivGro's projected annual dividend income. I'm also planning to transfer stocks from a couple of IRA accounts in a similar fashion. As with my Scottrade transfers, I'm not actually moving the holdings from one account to the other. (I'm not allowed to do that with IRA holdings anyway!). Instead, I'll just be managing these accounts using my DivGro investment strategies.

In this post, I'd like to review DivGro's performance in the month of January 2016. As always, I'm updating DivGro's Performance page at the same time.

14 Dividend Increases, February 15-February 19, 2016

Includes: ADI • CCE • DLR • GPC • KO • NHI • SCG • SHW • STR • TROW • WMT • WRI • WSBC • XEL 

Summary

• Companies that regularly increase dividends show confidence in the potential growth of future earnings.
• I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my watch list to identify candidates for further analysis and to make yield on cost adjustments for stocks I own.
• In the past week, 14 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases, including 4 of the stocks I own.

Recent Sell: ConocoPhillips

2015-02-05: Sold 85 shares of COP at $32.55 per share.

On Thursday, February 4, oil major ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) slashed its quarterly dividend by 66%, from 74¢ per share to 25¢ per share. This is the first dividend reduction by COP in about 25 years. With this cut, COP will be removed from the CCC list and, specifically, from the list of Dividend Contenders (10-24 consecutive years of dividend increases).

Global crude oil prices have plummeted from the 2014 high price of over $100 a barrel, making it hard for energy companies to maintain profitability. For COP, which split from refiner Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) in 2012, the challenge is even greater. As an independent upstream company, COP is primarily engaged in the discovery, exploration and production business. It relies heavily on the crude oil price to generate cash flow and earnings.

Annual Review, 2015

This is my 3^rd annual review of DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. I created DivGro in January 2013 to generate a reliable and growing dividend income stream.

Keeping track of DivGro in a public forum has helped me to become a better dividend growth investor. Much of my learning has come from the research I do while writing articles, but I've also learned a lot from interacting with like-minded investors. So, a big Thank You! to all my readers for their support, encouragement and comments. Please keep it coming!

In this article, I'll be reviewing DivGro's 2015 performance by looking at the portfolio's overall performance as measured by rate of return, dividend income, dividend growth, and yield on cost (YoC). I'll also review some of DivGro's 2015 highlights.

17 Dividend Increases, February 8-February 12, 2016

Includes: BPL • CHD • CMP • CSCO • DPS • HAS • KMB • LLL • NEE • NUS • NWE • OMI • RAI • RHI • TRI • UPS • WGL

Summary

• I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my watch list of dividend growth stocks to identify candidates for further analysis and to make yield on cost adjustments for stocks I own.
• Companies that regularly increase dividends show confidence in future earnings growth potential. 
• Last week, 17 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases, including 3 of the stocks I hold in my DivGro portfolio.

Recent Buy: The Walt Disney Company

2016-02-03: Bought 27 shares of DIS at $95.43 per share. The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), more commonly known as Disney, is a diversified international family entertainment company based in Burbank, California.

Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney, the company established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. Today, Disney operates in five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media.

DIS currently pays a dividend of 71¢ per share semi-annually. At the current price of $92.11, the stock yields 1.54%. The company has a 6-year streak of dividend increases.

Another Home Run With DivGro

It has been a while since I celebrated my first home run with DivGro.

I call it a home run when an investment crosses the 100% profit mark. When that happens, you could sell half your shares and play with the house's money. Of course, that kind of thinking is a remnant of my days as a speculator. Selling half of a doubler ensures that you'll likely end up in the black. It also lets your winners ride.

Dividend growth investing is a bit different. The strategy is to invest in companies that pay and regularly increase dividends and trade at or below fair value. In theory, a company that increases its dividend every year can do so sustainably only if it grows earnings sufficiently. If that happens, the market should reward the company by bidding up the share price.

12 Dividend Increases, February 1-February 5, 2016

Includes: ADM • AVA • BIP • ES • GLW • HOG • IR • LB • MDP • MMM • PPL • SEP 

Summary

• This past week, 12 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases, including 3 of the stocks I hold in my DivGro portfolio. 
• I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my watch list to identify candidates for further analysis and to make yield on cost adjustments for stocks I own.
• Companies that regularly increase dividends show confidence in the potential growth of future earnings.

Recent Transfer: Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund 2, Inc.

Nuveen Premium Income Municipal Fund 2, Inc. (NYSE:NPM) is a diversified closed-end investment company. The fund's objective is to seek current income exempt from regular federal income tax. A secondary investment objective is the enhancement of portfolio value.

Since November 2015, I have been transferring stocks from my portfolio at Scottrade to DivGro. Altogether, I've transferred 16 stocks and added $1,934.02 to DivGro's projected annual dividend income.

I have 3 more transfers to go, but these will be closed-end funds rather than stocks.

Recent Transfer: Main Street Capital Corporation

Main Street Capital Corporation (NYSE:MAIN) is a principal investment firm that provides customized debt and equity financing to lower middle market companies and debt capital to middle market companies. The company invest primarily in secured debt investments, equity investments, warrants, and other securities of companies based in the United States. MAIN was founded in 1997 and is based in Houston, Texas.

MAIN pays dividends monthly and has a 5-year streak of dividend increases. The current annual dividend of yield is $2.18, which means the stock yields 7.48% (at a price of $28.89).