Monthly Review of DivGro: February 2018

Welcome to the February review of DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks. I present details of any buys or sells, and I 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 February, I opened two new positions and added shares to five existing positions. Nine DivGro stocks announced dividend increases in February. The net result of these changes is that PADI increased by about 6.7% in February. Year over year, PADI increased by 40.1%.

As for dividend income, in February I received dividends totaling $1,127 from 16 stocks in my portfolio, a year over year decrease of 23%. So far in 2018, I've collected $2,055 in dividends or about 11% of my 2018 goal of $18,000.

Options Update: February 2018

I write monthly options update articles to keep track of options trades in my DivGro portfolio. I mostly sell covered calls on dividend growth stocks I own or secured puts on stocks I would like to own. Sometimes, I execute more speculative options trades, too.

Each update serves as a status report on the open options and obligations I have. I also report new trades and provide a running tally of DivGro's options income to date.

While DivGro remains focused on dividend growth investing, I added options trading in June 2016 to leverage the equity in my portfolio and to generate more income. In turn, this allows me to buy more dividend growth stocks and boost my dividend income.

20 Dividend Increases: February 26-March 2, 2018 (Part 2: Remaining Sectors)

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch is one way to identify candidates for further analysis. I look for announcements from stocks in the CCC list, but I use several screens to limit the number of stocks to monitor.

For example, I require a dividend yield of at least 1.5% for Dividend Challengers and a dividend yield of at least 1.0% for Dividend Contenders and Dividend Champions.

In the past week, 20 companies on my watch list decided to increase their dividends, including one of the stocks I hold in my portfolio. Part 1 presented dividend increases of stocks in the Consumer Discretionary and Financials sectors. This is Part 2, which covers dividend increase announcements from the remaining sectors.

20 Dividend Increases: February 26-March 2, 2018 (Part 1: Consumer Discretionary And Financials Sectors)

I monitor dividend increases for stocks on my watch list of dividend growth stocks to identify candidates for further analysis. Companies that regularly raise their dividends show confidence in the potential growth of future earnings. I look for announcements from stocks in the CCC list, but I use several screens to limit the number of stocks to monitor. For example, I only monitor companies with market caps greater than $500M.

In the past week, 20 companies on my watch list decided to increase their dividends. I own one of these stocks. Part 1 of this article presents dividend increases from stocks in the Consumer Discretionary and Financials sectors. See the upcoming Part 2 for dividend increase announcements from the remaining sectors.

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

Home Run Number 14

In June last year I opened positions in four stocks that don't pay dividends. For fun, I call these stocks my future dividend payers.

The stocks are the most popular and best performing technology stocks in the market and have generated rather spectacular returns for investors.

One of these stocks just became DivGro's fourteenth home run stock. I use the term home run to describe any position in DivGro that crosses the 100% mark in total returns.

In this article, I recap DivGro's previous home runs, announce the 14^th home run, and list the positions that are closing in on home run status.

33 Dividend Increases: February 19-23, 2018 (Part 3: Remaining Sectors)

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch is one way to identify candidates for further analysis. Last week, 33 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases. I own two of these stocks in my DivGro portfolio.

Part 1 presented dividend increases from stocks in the Financials and Real Estate sectors, while Part 2 covered Consumer Discretionary and Materials sector stocks.

This is Part 3, which covers the remaining sectors.

33 Dividend Increases: February 19-23, 2018 (Part 2: Consumer Discretionary and Materials Sectors)

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch list helps me identify candidates for further analysis. I look for announcements from stocks in the CCC list, but I use several screens to limit the number of stocks to monitor.

In the past week, 33 companies on my watch list decided to increase their dividends, including two of the stocks I hold in my portfolio.

Part 1 presented dividend increases of stocks in the Real Estate and Financials sectors. This is Part 2, which covers dividend increase announcements from Consumer Discretionary and Materials sector stocks. The upcoming Part 3 will provide a summary of dividend increases from stocks in the remaining sectors.

Seven out of ten increases from the Consumer Discretionary and Materials sectors are double digit increases! In fact, three stocks announced increases topping 20%!

33 Dividend Increases: February 19-23, 2018 (Part 1: Real Estate and Financials Sectors)

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

In the past week, 33 companies on my watch list decided to increase their dividends, including two of the stocks I hold in my portfolio.

Part 1 provides a summary of dividend increases announced by stocks in the Real Estate and Financials sectors. Part 2 will cover dividend increases from Consumer Discretionary and Materials sector stocks, while Part 3 will cover the remaining sectors.

Four stocks in the Real Estate and Financials sectors announced double digit percentage increases and two more are within a rounding error of a 10% raise!

Monthly Review of DivGro: January 2018

Welcome to the first monthly review in 2018 of DivGro, my portfolio of dividend growth stocks.

This review is quite late as my investment blogging activities are being impacted by a very busy work schedule. In fact, I find it quite difficult to get around to doing some much-needed administration, let alone write a review article!

Well, I finally had some time to prepare and write this review for January!

Options Update: January 2018 (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of my January 2018 options update.

Part 1 presented the regular options trades I executed in January. But I also executed a new strategy for DivGro, which I'll explain in this article. Specifically, I executed three bull put spreads, which combines the selling of a put option with the simultaneous buying of another put option at a lower strike price.

This update will also report on the open options and obligations I have and I'll conclude with a running tally of DivGro's options income to date.

Options Update: January 2018 (Part 1)

Welcome to my first options update article of 2018!

I write monthly options update articles to keep track of options trades in my DivGro portfolio. I mostly sell covered calls on dividend growth stocks I own or secured puts on stocks I would like to own. Sometimes, I execute more speculative options trades, too.

DivGro is focused on investing in dividend growth stocks, but I added options trading to the mix in June 2016 to boost dividend income. Collecting options income allows me to buy more dividend growth stocks.

Each options update serves as a status report on open options and obligations I have. I also report new trades and provide a running tally of DivGro's options income to date.

27 Dividend Increases: February 12-16, 2018 (Part 3: Remaining Sectors)

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch is one way to identify candidates for further analysis. Last week, 27 companies on my watch list declared dividend increases, including four stocks I own.

Part 1 presented dividend increases of stocks in the Industrials and Information Technology sectors. Part 2 covered dividend increase announcements from stocks in the Financials, Consumer Discretionary, and Real Estate sectors. Here, I cover increases from stocks in the remaining sectors.

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

27 Dividend Increases: February 12-16, 2018 (Part 2: Financials, Consumer Discretionary, & Real Estate Stocks)

Monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch is one way to identify candidates for further analysis. I look for announcements from stocks in the CCC list, but I use several screens to limit the number of stocks to monitor.

In the past week, 27 companies on my watch list decided to increase their dividends, including four of the stocks I hold in my portfolio.

Part 1 presented dividend increases of stocks in the Industrials and Information Technology sectors. This is Part 2, which covers dividend increase announcements from stocks in the Financials, Consumer Discretionary, and Real Estate sectors. See the upcoming Part 3 for a summary of dividend increases from stocks in the remaining sectors.

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

27 Dividend Increases: February 12-16, 2018 (Part 1: Industrials and Information Technology Stocks)

I like monitoring dividend increases for stocks on my watch list of dividend growth stocks because I consider such stocks to be candidates for further analysis. Companies that regularly raise their dividend payments show confidence in future earnings growth potential.

In the past week, 27 companies on my watch list decided to increase their dividends, including four of the stocks I hold in my portfolio. Part 1 provides a summary of dividend increases announced by stocks in the Industrials and Information Technology sectors. Part 2 will cover dividend increases from stocks in the Financials, Consumer Discretionary, and Real Estate sectors, while Part 3 will cover the remaining sectors.

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

26 Dividend Increases: February 5-9, 2018 (Part 3: Remaining Sectors)

Companies that regularly increase their dividends show confidence in their ability to grow earnings. I monitor dividend increase announcements from stocks in the CCC list.

Last week, 26 companies on my watch list declared dividend increases, including 3 stocks I own. Part 1 presented dividend increases from stocks in the Industrials and Information Technology sectors. Part 2 covered dividend increase announcements from stocks in the Financials and Consumer Discretionary sectors. Here, I cover dividend increases from stocks in the remaining sectors.

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

26 Dividend Increases: February 5-9, 2018 (Part 2: Financials and Consumer Discretionary Stocks)

One way to identify dividend growth stocks for further analysis is to monitor dividend increases. I monitor dividend increase announcements from stocks in the CCC list.

Last week, 26 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases, including three of the stocks I own.

Part 1 presented dividend increases of stocks in the Industrials and Information Technology sectors. This is Part 2, which covers dividend increase announcements from stocks in the Financials and Consumer Discretionary sectors. See the upcoming Part 3 for a summary of dividend increases for stocks in the remaining sectors.

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

26 Dividend Increases: February 5-9, 2018 (Part 1: Industrials and Information Technology Stocks)

Companies can only increase their dividends regularly if they grow earnings sufficiently. I like monitoring dividend increase announcements because I consider stocks that regularly increase their dividends to be candidates for further analysis. 

Last week, 26 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases, including three stock I own. Part 1 provides a summary of dividend increases announced by stocks in the Industrials and Information Technology sectors. Part 2 will cover dividend increases from stocks in the Financials and Consumer Discretionary sectors, while Part 3 will cover the remaining sectors.

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

10 Dividend Growth Stocks For February 2018

David Fish's CCC list is an excellent source for dividend growth investors. Compiled and updated every month, the CCC list contains U.S. companies with at least 5 consecutive years of increasing dividends. The accompanying spreadsheet provides key statistics of the CCC stocks.

In my monthly 10 Dividend Growth Stocks series, I identify 10 CCC stocks worthy of further research. To create the list, I trim the CCC list using various screens and rank the remaining stocks using a proprietary ranking system. I also assign a 7-star rating to each stock. Stocks rated 5 stars or better are worthy of further analysis.

24 Dividend Increases: January 29-February 2, 2018 (Part 2: Remaining Sectors)

I monitor dividend increase announcements for stocks on my watch list. It is one way I look for candidates for my DivGro portfolio. Companies can only raise their dividends regularly if earnings grow sufficiently.

This past week, 24 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases. One of these increases is from a stock I own.

Part 1 covered dividend increases from the Energy and Real Estate sectors. This is Part 2, which covers dividend increases from the remaining sectors.

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

24 Dividend Increases: January 29-February 2, 2018 (Part 1: Energy and Real Estate)

Companies can only raise their dividends regularly if they grow earnings sufficiently. One way to identify dividend growth stocks for further analysis is to monitor dividend increases.

This past week, 24 companies on my watch list announced dividend increases. One of these increases is from a stock I own.

Part 1 of this two-part article covers dividend increases from the Energy and Real Estate sectors. Part 2 will cover dividend increases from the remaining sectors.

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

Three More Home Runs!

Well, the markets are going nuts and volatility is back big time! As I write this, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is at 42.84, way up from the sub-15 levels it has been at for most of 2017.

Stock prices are see-sawing furiously, so I'm questioning the value of writing this article while things are so volatile. But I'm doing it anyway to keep up-to-date with DivGro's home runs.

Recall that I use the term home run to describe any position in DivGro that has crossed the 100% mark in total returns. Once a position reaches home run status, it retains that status, even if the share price drops. And that's the case with the home runs I'm reporting today. All three of them reached home run status on Friday, 26 January, but now they're trading below the 100% level.

Annual Review, 2017

Welcome to the 5^th 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 helps me to learn and grow as a dividend growth investor. Much of my learning comes from the research I do while writing articles, but I've also learned a lot from interacting with like-minded investors. So, I want to say Thank You! to all my readers for your encouragement, questions, and comments. Please keep it coming!

In my annual reviews, I look at DivGro's performance as measured by dividend income, dividend increases, annualized returns, and rate of return. I also look at some highlights of the past year and share my outlook for the coming year.

32 Dividend Increases: January 22-26, 2018 (Part 3: Remaining Sectors)

I monitor dividend increases to find suitable candidates for further analysis.

In the past week, 32 companies on my watch list declared dividend increases, including 5 of my DivGro holdings.

Part 1 covered dividend increases for the Financials sector, while Part 2 presented dividend increases for the Energy and Utilities sectors. This is Part 3, which presents raises from the remaining sectors.

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

32 Dividend Increases: January 22-26, 2018 (Part 2: Energy and Utilities)

Companies that regularly raise their dividends show confidence in their ability to grow earnings. In the past week, 32 companies on my watch list declared dividend increases, including 5 of my DivGro holdings.

Part 1 covered dividend increases for the Financials sector. This is Part 2, which presents dividend increases for the Energy and Utilities sectors. Part 3 will present raises from the remaining sectors.

As a bonus, I'm including a summary of ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks. Scan the list of stocks to see if there's a stock you want to pick up before the ex-dividend date so you can grab the next dividend.

32 Dividend Increases: January 22-26, 2018 (Part 1: Financials Sector)

I like monitoring dividend increases for stock son my watch list of dividend growth stocks because I consider such stocks to be candidates for further analysis.

Recently, 32 companies on my watch list decided to increases their dividends, including 5 of the stocks I own.

Part 1 covers dividend increases for the Financials sector, while Part 2 and Part 3 will cover dividend increases for the remaining sectors.

As a bonus, I'm including a summary of available ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.