Summary Of Dividend Increases In Q3-2019

In this article, I summarize the dividend increases announced in the third quarter of 2019 (Q3-2019), as summarized in my weekly Dividend Increases article series. These articles cover dividend increases for a selection of dividend growth stocks in the CCC list. The following screens determine the selection:

     • Dividend Yield ≥ 1.0%
     • Market cap ≥ $1 billion
     • No stocks that are being acquired
     • No Over-The-Counter or Pink Sheet stocks

Recent Sell: Gap

I bought shares of Gap (GPS) in June 2019 due to an options assignment.

When I first looked at GPS, the company seemed to have good prospects on top of a generous dividend. Now, unfortunately, the prospects seem less favorable and, while the dividend is very generous, it is deemed Borderline Safe by Simply Safe Dividends. 

I've been using a new quality scoring system to assess the quality of my DivGro stocks. The system is simple and does a great job identifying high-quality stocks, and also lower quality positions that may be candidates for the chopping block. GPS has a quality score of only 9, which puts it in the Low-Quality category.

Dividend Increases: October 14-25, 2019 (Part 2: Remaining Sectors)

In the past two weeks, 23 companies in the CCC List announced dividend increases. When so many companies increasing their dividends, I  break up my summary articles into two or more parts. That way, the articles aren't too long and I can include more FASTgraphs charts of stocks with compelling earnings growth.

Part 1 of this three-part article dividend increases announced for stocks in the Utilities and Financials sectors. This is Part 2, which covers dividend increase announcements for the remaining sectors.

Dividend Increases: October 14-25, 2019 (Part 1: Utilities And Financials)

In the past two weeks, 23 of the companies I track announced dividend increases. This two-part article provides a summary of these increases and provides several FASTGraph charts of stocks that exhibit impressive earnings growth.

I like monitoring dividend increases because I consider companies that regularly increase their dividends to be candidates for further analysis and possible investment.

Part 1 of this article covers dividend increases announced for stocks in the Utilities and Financials sectors. Part 2 will cover dividend increases of stocks in the remaining sectors.

Recent Sell: Ford Motor

I first bought shares of Ford Motor (F) in November 2014 and increased my position occasionally to a maximum of 2,000 shares.

One of the reasons I've held my F position for so many years (despite its poor performance) is that I managed to boost my yield through options income.

But I'm no longer interested in holding F. The stock has a Borderline Safe dividend according to Simply Safe Dividends and a quality score of only 11. For reference, only stocks with quality scores of 15 and above are considered to be high-quality stocks.

In this article, I'll share my thoughts on F and provide a transaction summary.

Expired Options (October 2019)

In my September Options Update article, I listed no fewer than sixteen options with October expiration dates.

Four of these options were trading at or in the money, meaning they were in danger of being assigned. Furthermore, a few options were trading out of the money with small margins of safety.

Before expiration, I took some defensive actions to avoid options assignment. Specifically, I rolled forward several options and in some cases moved the strike price out of the money.

But most of the options expired and I no longer have associated obligations. For puts, there no longer is a chance that I would have to buy shares and the margin that was set aside as collateral gets released. For covered calls, there no longer is a chance that my shares will be called away. The options premium I collected by selling these options become free and clear or secured.

Quarterly Review of DivGro: Q3-2019

This is the 27^th quarterly review of DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks.

My quarterly reviews summarize the transactions executed in the past quarter and provide a summary of dividend income and dividend changes. Additionally, I include charts showing various portfolio statistics. The reviews are mostly informational and help me to track progress over time.

Now in its seventh year of existence, my portfolio generated more than $6,290 of dividend income this quarter and I'm projecting dividend income of at least $6,680 per quarter going forward.

Dividend Increases: October 7-11, 2019

This article series provides a weekly summary of dividend increase announcements. Monitoring dividend increases helps me to identify candidate stocks for further analysis.

As a bonus, I include ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.

Only one of this week's dividend increases is a double-digit percentage increase.

Monthly Review Of DivGro: September 2019

Welcome to the September review of DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. The goal of these monthly reviews is to share updates I've made to the portfolio and to provide a summary of dividends collected. Additionally, I look at how the month's activities have impacted DivGro's projected annual dividend income (PADI).

In September, I added shares to one existing position. Eight DivGro stocks announced dividend increases in September. The net result of these changes is that PADI increased by about 0.8% in September. Year over year, PADI increased by 19.5%.

As for dividend income, in September I received dividends totaling $3,355 from 46 stocks in my portfolio, a year over year increase of 24%. So far in 2019, I've collected $19,594 in dividends or about 78% of my 2019 goal of $25,200.

Dividend Increases: September 30-October 4, 2019

This article series provides a weekly summary of dividend increase announcements. Monitoring dividend increases helps me to identify candidate stocks for further analysis.

As a bonus, I include ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.

Two of this week's dividend increases are double-digit percentage increases.

Options Update: September 2019

Welcome to another options update article!

I write monthly update articles to summarize options trades and to keep track of options income. Each update also serves as a status report on open options and the obligations I potentially have.

My monthly target for options income in 2019 is $1,750. September's options income was below average at $1,382. After I made some fantastic progress in August, I'm still on pace to collect $21,000 in options income this year!

This month I'm reporting on one assignment and a multitude of income-generating trades.

10 Dividend Growth Stocks For September 2019

The CCC list is a wonderful resource for dividend growth investors. It contains nearly 900 stocks trading on U.S. exchanges that have paid higher dividends for at least five consecutive calendar years. An accompanying spreadsheet provides valuable data and is updated monthly, courtesy of Justin Law.

In this article, I rank a subset of the CCC stocks and present the 10 top-ranked stocks for consideration. I use a ranking system that assigns letter grades to stocks relative to their performance among sector peers. Using a sector-oriented ranking system avoids the problems associated with ranking dissimilar stocks.

This month I decided to rank CCC stocks in the Energy sector.