Dividend Increases: December 23-27, 2019

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch is one way to identify candidates for further analysis. Companies can only increase their dividends regularly and sustainably if earnings grow sufficiently.

I monitor dividend increases in the Dividend Champions List [CCC list].

In the past week, one company in the CCC list decided to increase its dividend. The dividend increase happens to be a double-digit percentage increases!

The 57 Dividend Aristocrats Ranked By Quality Score

The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index is a list of companies in the S&P 500 that have increased their dividends for at least 25 consecutive years. The list is maintained by Standards & Poors and updated each January.

I use the DVK quality scoring system to rank the Dividend Aristocrats. There are 39 Dividend Kings in the highest-quality category with quality scores in the 20-25 range.

The article includes tables listing key metrics, quality indicators, the so-called Chowder number, as well as fair value estimates. High-quality Dividend Aristocrats trading at or below fair value are suitable for further research and possible investment.

Expired Options (December 2019)

Two options I'd sold were slotted to expire on Friday, 20 December.

When options expire, the obligations I have related to those options seize to exist. 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.

Expiration creates an opportunity to replace some of the expired options with new ones in the coming weeks. In this article, I provide a summary of expired options and discuss potential replacement trades.

Additionally, I discuss what happened with in the money options that would have expired this month. Sometimes, I decide to roll forward such options to avoid assignment. The alternative is doing nothing and waiting for an assignment.

7 High-Quality Dividend Growth Stocks Trading At Or Below Fair Value

This article presents 7 high-quality and discounted dividend growth [DG] stocks with a high likelihood of delivering annualized returns of at least 8%.

For each stock, I present key metrics, quality indicators, a fair value estimate, and the so-called Chowder number.

In my view, the stocks are good candidates for further research and possible investment.

DVK Quality Snapshots

David Van Knapp [DVK] presented an elegant and effective system to assess the quality of dividend growth [DG] stocks in this article on high-quality, high-yield DG stocks. The system employs five widely used quality indicators from independent sources and assigns 0-5 points to each quality indicator, for a maximum of 25 points.

I've adopted the system (called Quality Snapshots) as the primary way I assess the quality of dividend stocks. While there are other factors I consider when selecting stocks for possible investment, I love the simplicity of Quality Snapshots. It does a remarkable job identifying high-quality stocks!

10 Dividend Growth Stocks For December 2019

The Dividend Champions [CCC] list is a wonderful resource for dividend growth [DG] investors. It contains more than 800 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 SA author Justin Law.

In this article, I rank a subset of the CCC stocks and present the 10 top-ranked stocks for consideration. I now use a ranking system derived from David Van Knapp's quality scoring system, which employs five widely used quality indicators from independent sources and assigns 0-5 points to each quality indicator, for a maximum of 25 points.

This month I decided to rank CCC stocks that have high 5-year dividend growth rates [DGRs] and strong 5-year performances.

Dividend Increases: December 16-20, 2019

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch is one way to identify candidates for further analysis. Companies that regularly raise their dividend payments show confidence in future earnings growth potential.

I look for dividend increase announcements for stocks in the Dividend Champions List [CCC list]. This week, 8 companies in the CCC list announced dividend increases, including two of the stocks I own.

Three of this week's dividend increases are double-digit percentage increases!

The 28 Dividend Kings Ranked By Quality Score

Dividend Kings are companies that have increased their dividend payouts for at least 50 consecutive years. These are remarkable companies that have maintained regular dividend increases even in periods of economic recessions, market crashes, technology revolutions, and shifting consumer tastes.

David Van Knapp presented an elegant quality scoring system in this article on high-quality, high yield dividend growth [DG] stocks. The system employs five widely used quality indicators from independent sources and assigns 0-5 points to each quality indicator, for a maximum of 25 points.

I introduced slight modifications to the quality scoring system and presented a way to break ties to allow stocks to be ranked. In this article, I use a slightly modified version of David Van Knapp's quality scoring system to rank the 28 Dividend Kings.

Goals for 2020

I like setting challenging but achievable goals. Challenging goals demand extra effort and focus. They require commitment, patience, and constant monitoring. Sometimes, when progress is not sufficient, they require a course correction.

It is not beneficial to set goals that are too easy to achieve. Such goals don't require special effort and are uninspiring! Furthermore, achieving easy goals won't give you a special sense of accomplishment.

In this article, I'm presenting my goals for 2020.

Top Holdings Of Dividend ETFs (Part 3: Hidden Gems In November 2019)

Part 1 of this article presented the top 50 holdings of 50 Dividend ETFs, while Part 2 showcased the seven top-ranked stocks by GICS sector. My ranking system uses a proportional scoring system that favors larger investments and larger ETFs.

The top-ranked stock in November 2019 is Apple (AAPL), followed by Microsoft (MSFT), AT&T (T), and Verizon Communications (VZ).

In Part 3, I'm showcasing high-quality stocks not covered in Part 1 and Part 2 of this article. These are hidden gems that may be of interest to contrarian investors, who seek investment opportunities outside the prevailing sentiment of the time. And, certainly, highlighting the top holdings of dividend-paying ETFs is an attempt to capture the prevailing sentiment of the time (at least for dividend investing).

Dividend Increases: December 9-13, 2019

One way to identify dividend growth stocks for further analysis is to monitor dividend increases. Companies that regularly increase their dividends show confidence in the potential growth of future earnings.

I look for dividend increase announcements for stocks in the Dividend Champions List [CCC list]. This week, 18 companies in the CCC list announced dividend increases, including three of the stocks I own.

Five of this week's dividend increases are double-digit percentage increases and two of the stocks in my portfolio happen to in the list!

Dividend Increases: December 2-6, 2019

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

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

Four of this week's 19 dividend increases are double-digit percentage increases and two of the stocks in my portfolio happen to in this list!

Top Holdings Of Dividend ETFs (Part 2: The Top 7 By Sector In November 2019)

In Part 1 of this article, I presented the top 50 holdings of 50 Dividend ETFs, ranked by using a proportional scoring system that favors larger investments and larger ETFs.

The top-ranked stock in November 2019 is Apple (AAPL), which appeared in the top 25 holdings of 26 of the 50 ETFs. The runner-up is Microsoft (MSFT) with 25 appearances, followed by AT&T (T) and Verizon Communications (VZ), each with 19 appearances.

In the May 2019 edition, I noted there were no Real Estate sector stocks in the top 50 holdings. The reason is that the Dividend ETFs I analyzed in May focus on equity investment. For the November edition, I decided to add five dividend-paying ETFs that invest in real estate equities.

In this article, I'm showcasing the top 7 stocks in each GICS sector.

Recent Sell: Intel

In September 2014, I decided to stick with Intel (INTC) notwithstanding the company's decision to freeze its dividend. Not long thereafter, INTC resumed its dividend increase!

INTC was my second purchase for DivGro after Chevron Corporation (CVX). I bought 120 shares on 8 January 2013, paying $21.21 per share with an initial yield on cost of 4.09%.

In time, I increased my INTC to one of the largest positions in my portfolio, topping out at 500 shares trading well above $50 per share.

Options Update: November 2019 (Part 2)

November was another thrilling month for DivGro's options trading! I added options income totaling $7,524 and secured options income of $11,296!

Recall that secured means I no longer have obligations related to the options that produced that income. When options expire or are closed early, my obligations as an option seller fall away.

Part 1 of this article covered an options assignment and several expired, closed, and rolled options. In Part 2, I'm presenting covered calls and put options trades, as well as a spread trade that I closed early. Additionally, I'll provide a summary of year to date options income.

Monthly Review Of DivGro: November 2019

Welcome to the November review of DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. I provide a summary of transactions and dividends received in the past month. I also consider the impact on DivGro's projected annual dividend income (PADI).

In November, I opened one new position and added shares to five existing positions. Additionally, I reduced my holdings in one position. Ten DivGro stocks announced dividend increases in November. The net result of these changes is that PADI increased by about 3.2% in November. Year over year, PADI increased by 15.6%.

Dividend Increases: November 25-29, 2019

This weekly article series covers dividend increase announcements. I monitor dividend increases to identify candidate stocks for further analysis.

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

Nine of this week's 15 dividend increases are double-digit percentage increases.

Options Update: November 2019 (Part 1)

Welcome to my November article summarizing my options activity!

Each monthly update summarizes options trades and I keep track of my options income. It also serves as a status report on open options and the obligations I have.

My goal in 2019 is to collect $21,000 in options income. Happily, I've already achieved that goal and I'm now seeing if my options income might exceed my dividend income in 2019.

Top Holdings Of Dividend ETFs (Part 1: The Top 50 In November 2019)

From time to time, I compile a list of the top 50 holdings of Dividend ETFs. I find the exercise insightful and worthwhile. Comparing my portfolio to the top holdings of Dividend ETFs is informative, as it helps me to identify candidate stocks for analysis and possible investment.

Dividend growth investors can compare their own portfolios to the top 50 and identify candidates for analysis and investment.

For the November edition, I analyzed 50 dividend ETFs. Of the 1,245 tickers found in the top 25 holdings of these ETFs, 427 are unique. The top-ranked stock is AAPL (AAPL), which appears in 26 of the 50 dividend ETFs—the most of any stocks.