6 Dividend Increases, June 15-26, 2015

Includes: DIS • DTE • JW.A • O • USB • WPC

Summary

• I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my portfolio to make yield on cost adjustments for stocks I own and to identify dividend growth candidates for further analysis. 
• Companies that regularly increase their dividends show confidence in future earnings growth. 
• In the past 2 weeks, 6 companies on my watch list of dividend growth stocks announced dividend increases.

Recent Sell: South32 Ltd

Jun 23, 2015: Sold 40 shares of SOUHY at $7.10 per share.

Today I sold all 40 shares of South32 Ltd ADR (OTCMKTS:SOUHY) that I received when the company spun-off from BHP Billiton plc (NYSE:BBL). The 40 shares represented a small portion (only about 11%) of my regular position size. Regular readers will know that I prefer to buy shares in lots of about $2,500, so dealing with an outlier like SOUHY would have been bothersome.

I bought 100 shares of BBL in two lots, on 4 June 2013 (43 shares at $58.39 per share) and on 20 November 2014 (57 shares at $50.20 per share). Currently, BBL is trading at about $43 per share. The company announced its demerger plans on 19 August 2014. The spin-off was completed in May, although I received my 40 spin-off shares of SOUHY on 9 June.

Harley-Davidson: Dividend Stock Analysis

Harley-Davidson Inc (NYSE:HOG) is an American manufacturer of cruiser and touring motorcycles. Founded in 1903 and headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, HOG designs, manufactures, and sells heavyweight touring, custom and performance motorcycles as well as a complete line of motorcycle parts, accessories and general merchandise.

HOG is ranked 3^rd in the June 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has a 5-year streak of consecutive dividend increases and pays quarterly dividends of 31¢ per share in the months of March, June, September and December.

9 Dividend Increases, June 1-12, 2015

Includes: AWH • CAT • CB • CBRL • CL • FLO • GRMN • NFG • TGT

Summary

• In the past 2 weeks, 9 companies on my watch list of dividend growth stocks announced dividend increases.
• I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my portfolio to make yield on cost adjustments and to track projected annual dividend income. 
• Regular dividend increases indicate an expectation of future earnings growth. I use this process to identify candidates for further analysis.

Recent Buy: Reliance Steel & Aluminum

Jun 12, 2015: Bought 40 shares of RS at $63.98 per share.

Founded in 1939 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Reliance Steel & Aluminum (NYSE:RS) is one of the largest metals service center companies in the United States. The company provides metals processing services and distributes a line of approximately 100,000 metal products, including alloy, aluminum, brass, copper, carbon steel, stainless steel, titanium and specialty steel products, to customers in a broad range of industries. 

RS is the Materials sector winner and is ranked 2^nd in the June 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has a 5-year streak of consecutive dividend increases and pays quarterly dividends of 40¢ per share in the months of March, June, September and December. What impresses me most is the company's 5-yr dividend growth rate of 28.5%!

10 Dividend Growth Stocks for June 2015

Includes: ADM • CAH • GLW • GPS • HCI • HOG • NEE • NOV • MIC • QCOM • RS • TESS • UNP • VZ

Once a month, I rank a selection of David Fish's CCC stocks to identify top candidates for further analysis. The list of CCC stocks is updated monthly and contains all U.S.-listed stocks that have paid increasing dividends for at least 5 consecutive years.

The CCC list is divided into three categories based on the number of consecutive years of increases: Dividend Champions (25 or more years), Dividend Contenders (10-24 years), and Dividend Challengers (5-9 years). The latest list (dated 5/29/15) contains 722, with 105 Champions, 251 Contenders, and 366 Challengers.

I apply a series of filters to reduce the number of stocks to a more manageable number. The filters are designed to remove unlikely candidates from consideration. They are based on things like yield, growth rate, P/E and PEG ratio, and dividend increase history. I'm careful to retain a minimum number of stocks for each of the 10 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) sectors.

Monthly Review: May 2015

Time again to review the past month's activities relating to DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. With work becoming more demanding, I'm finding less time to explore new ideas with DivGro.

I've been studying REITs (real estate investment trusts) in order to develop more appropriate selection criteria – and I just haven't found the time to conclude that research. In the next few months, I'm hoping to fine-tune my selection criteria and the way I evaluate stocks. I feel this is necessary, as DivGro now contains 45 stocks and my focus will soon shift to adding more to existing holdings, rather than adding more holdings.

11 Dividend Increases, May 18-29, 2015

Includes: ACE • BG • DCI • EXR • HPQ • JPM • LOW • NOC • STAG • TIF • WMB

Summary

• I monitor dividend increases for stocks on my watch list to make yield on cost adjustments for stocks I own and to identify dividend growth candidates for further analysis.
• Companies that regularly increase their dividends show confidence in future earnings growth potential.
• In the past 2 weeks, 11 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases.

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.

Recent Buy: Omega Healthcare Investors Inc

Apr 22, 2015: Bought 65 shares of OHI at $38.46 per share.

Omega Healthcare Investors Inc (NYSE:OHI) is a self-administered REIT (real estate investment trust) that invests in income-producing healthcare facilities located throughout the United States. The company provides lease or mortgage financing to healthcare operating companies, funding investments through loans under revolving credit facilities, from private or public offerings of debt or equity securities, or through secured indebtedness.

OHI is a Dividend Contender with a 13-year streak of consecutive dividend increases. It pays quarterly dividends of 54¢ per share in the months of February, May, August, and November.

18 Dividend Increases, April 13-24, 2015

Includes: CSX • ENLC • GLP • HEP • HFWA • JNJ • KMI • LAZ • LHO • MWE • NGLS • PFG • PG • SO • SPG • SSW • TRGP • TRV

I monitor dividend increases for stocks on my watch list to identify candidates for further analysis and for possible inclusion in DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. Companies that regularly increase their dividends show confidence in future earnings growth potential.

Another reason I monitor dividend increases is that I track the yield on cost (YoC) of stocks in my portfolio. When dividends increase, I make YoC adjustments and update DivGro's projected annual dividend income, a measure of the incom e potential of the portfolio over the next 12 months.

In the past two weeks, 18 of the companies on my watch list announced dividend increases. Increases vary from 20% to as low as 1%.

Recent Buy: Qualcomm Inc

Apr 17, 2015: Bought 37 shares of QCOM at $68.01 per share.

Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) designs, manufactures and markets digital communication products and services based on the company's CDMA digital technology. The company's products consist of integrated circuits and system software used in voice and data communications, networking, application processing, multimedia, and global positioning system products. QCOM was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

QCOM is the Information Technology sector winner and 2^nd ranked stock in the April 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has a 13-year streak of consecutive dividend increases and pays quarterly dividends of 48¢ per share in the months of March, June, September and December.

Recent Buy: Cummins Inc

Apr 17, 2015: Bought 19 shares of CMI at $134.62 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 4^th in the April 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. It also is the Industrials sector winner. The company has a 9-year streak of consecutive dividend increases. It pays quarterly dividends of 78¢ per share in the months of March, June, September and December.

10 Dividend Growth Stocks For April 2015

Includes: ADM • CAH • CMI • CMP • CNP • CNQ • GPS • HOG • IBM • LAZ • MGA • MSFT • QCOM • VZ 

Every month, I use David Fish's CCC list and the accompanying spreadsheet to rank a selection of dividend growth stocks with the goal of identifying a small number of stocks for further analysis. The CCC list, which is updated monthly, contains all U.S.-listed stocks that have raised their dividends for at least 5 consecutive years. The latest list (dated 3/31/15) contains 690 stocks.

I apply a series of filters to trim the CCC list to a more manageable number. Because I have an ongoing goal to balance my DivGro portfolio across all 10 GICS (Global Industry Classification Standard) sectors, I'm careful to retain a minimum number of stocks per sector.

After ranking 66 stocks last month, I'm back to ranking 'only' 50 stocks. For each sector, I find 5 stocks with the lowest PEG ratio and 5 stocks with the lowest TTM P/E. To select the final 5 sector candidates, I use another heuristic, such as dividend yield.

Dividend Increases, March 23-April 10, 2015

Includes: ARG • FUL • GEL • HPQ • PAA • PNC • QCOM • SCS • WASH 

I monitor dividend increases for stocks in my watch list to identify candidates for further analysis and for possible inclusion in DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. Companies that regularly announce dividend increases show confidence about future earnings growth potential.

As a dividend growth investor, I'm interested in companies that not only pay dividends, but those that pay growing dividends. The dividend growth rate is important. If the annualized dividend growth rate fails to match (or exceed) the rate of inflation, your investment would effectively shrink.

I find it interesting to consider the percentage increase of each dividend increase. In the past 3 weeks, 9 of the companies on my watch list announced dividend increases. Please see this Seeking Alpha article for details.

Quarterly Review, Q1-2015

Given a list of fairly challenging goals for 2015, I started the year at quite a pace! In this post I'll give an overview of activities in Q1-2015, the 9^th quarterly review I've done for DivGro.

Recently, I reported on reaching several milestones, including crossing 200,000 page views on DivGro and 150,000 page views on Seeking Alpha. Since joining Seeking Alpha in September 2014, I've published 11 original articles. And, on April Fools Day, my first article for The DIV-Net was published. (No joke!)

Updated Blogroll Page

Last year, I did an extensive overhaul of my blogroll page. In addition to adding links to many new blogs, I created a section in which I highlighted active blogs that were at least one year old at the time, providing a short description to tell readers what each highlighted blog is about.

The blogs on my blogroll page focus on dividend growth investing (DGI) and other forms of passive income generation, and many are about pursuing financial independence. I find it fascinating to scan the many blogs out there from time-to-time to see what others think about these topics. Sometimes, someone else's unique way of thinking spawns new ideas in my mind...

Because I find blogs with public portfolios particularly useful, I include a separate link to public portfolios on my blogroll page, marked with a ¶.

Monthly Review, March 2015

Every month, I review the past month's activities relating to DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. At the same time, I update my blog's Performance page, which provides a central place for reviewing DivGro's status and performance relative to the markets and to prior months.

In March 2015, dividend income totaled $648, which is a new all-time record for monthly dividend income! In comparison, dividend income last March was $359. That represents an 81% year-over-year increase!

At the end of March, DivGro's market value was $144,151 and the portfolio is delivering an average yield on cost (YoC) of 4.35%. Projected monthly dividend income increased to $467 from $447 last month.

Recent Buy: Gap Inc.

This article originally appeared on The DIV-Net on 1 April 2015.

Mar 16, 2015: Bought 60 shares of GPS at $41.42 per share.

Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) is a global apparel retail company that offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products under the Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy brands, among others. The company operates in the specialty, outlet, online, and franchise channels. It has 375 franchise stores in 41 countries. GPS was founded in 1969, and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

GPS is the Consumer Discretionary sector winner and top ranked stock in the March 2015 edition of my 10 Dividend Growth Stocks article series. The company has an 11-year streak of consecutive dividend increases. It pays quarterly dividends of 23¢ per share in the months of January, April, July and October.