7 Best Utilities Sector Dividend Stocks

Today’s article concludes my article series identifying high-quality stocks in each GICS sector. 

My watchlist of dividend growth stocks is Dividend Radar, a list of stocks trading on U.S. Exchanges with dividend increase streaks of five or more years. Dividend Radar is a free resource for dividend growth investors, maintained and published every Friday by Portfolio Insight. The latest edition (dated October 1, 2021) contains 744 stocks, of which 58 fall in the Utilities sector.

I use DVK Quality Snapshots to assess the quality of dividend growth stocks, assigning 0-5 points to each stock based on how they rate on five widely-used quality indicators. The total of these points is a stock’s quality score out of a maximum of 25 points. I rank stocks by sorting them in descending order of quality score. When stocks have the same quality score, I use tie-breaking metrics to rank them. 

This article presents the seven top-ranked stocks in the Utilities sector.

Dividend Increases: September 25-October 1, 2021

We monitor dividend announcements for stocks in Dividend Radar, a spreadsheet we update and publish for free every Friday. 

The spreadsheet provides key data of stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more. The Dividend Radar spreadsheet separates stocks into categories three categories: Champions (with increase streaks of 25+ years), Contenders (10-24 years), and Challengers (5-9 years).

This week, seven companies in Dividend Radar declared dividend increases, including three of my DivGro holdings. Note there were no dividend cuts or suspensions announced for Dividend Radar stocks during this period.

Upcoming Ex-Dividend Dates: October 5-18, 2021

This article series provides a summary of upcoming ex-dividend dates of stocks in Dividend Radar, a weekly automatically generated spreadsheet listing dividend growth stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more.

The reason we write these articles is to alert readers so they could buy shares before the cut-off date, and so earn the upcoming dividend. 

The ex-dividend date of stocks is usually set one business day before the record date, the cut-off date for determining which shareholders will receive the next dividend payment. If you buy a stock on its ex-dividend date or after, you will not receive the next dividend payment. Instead, the seller will receive the next dividend. If you buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, you will receive the dividend.

Monthly Review Of DivGro: September 2021

Once a month, I review my portfolio of dividend growth stocks, DivGro. My goal with these reviews is to share updates to my portfolio and to detail the dividends I received during the month. I also look at how DivGro's projected annual dividend income (PADI) has changed.

In September, I added shares to six existing positions and twelve DivGro stocks announced dividend increases. The net result of these changes is that PADI increased by about 5.9% in September. Year over year, PADI increased by 15.7%.

As for dividend income, in September I received dividends totaling $4,632 from 48 stocks in my portfolio, a year over year increase of 13%. So far in 2021, I've collected $27,762 in dividends or about 80% of my 2021 income goal of $34,500.

7 Dividend Growth Stocks For October 2021

Welcome to October's edition of my monthly series of high-quality dividend growth stocks suitable for further analysis and possible investment. 

I select DG stocks from Dividend Radar which tracks stocks trading on U.S. Exchanges with dividend increase streaks of at least five years. Dividend Radar is maintained and published by Portfolio Insight every Friday as a free resource to DG investors.

To highlight different DG stocks every month, I use different screens to narrow down approximately 750 Dividend Radar stocks. This month, I screened for Dividend Contenders trading well below my Buy Below prices with solid growth and income prospects, and safe dividends.

Expired Options (September 2021)

Shortly after options expiration, I try to post an article to report on expired options and any actions I took in the week leading up to options expiration. 

The summer months have been busy and I didn't get around to doing this; instead, I covered expired options with my regular monthly Options Update articles. 

This article covers the options that were scheduled to expire on 17 September. 

7 Best Real Estate Sector Dividend Stocks

One way to diversify your portfolio and mitigate risk is to invest in different sectors. This article series identifies high-quality stocks in the different GICS sector.

I use DVK Quality Snapshots to assess the quality of dividend growth stocks and assign quality scores. The system employs five quality indicators and assigns 0-5 points to each quality indicator, for a maximum of 25 points. To rank stocks, I sort them by descending quality scores and using tie-breaking metrics where necessary. 

My watch list for dividend growth stocks is Dividend Radar, a free resource for dividend growth investors. Dividend Radar maintains a list of stocks trading on U.S. Exchanges with a streak of at least five years of higher annual dividend payouts. Dividend Radar is updated and published every Friday and is available for download here. 

This article presents the seven top-ranked dividend growth stocks in the Real Estate sector.

Dividend Increases: September 18-24, 2021

We monitor dividend announcements for stocks in Dividend Radar, a spreadsheet we update and publish for free every Friday. 

The spreadsheet provides key data of stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more. The Dividend Radar spreadsheet separates stocks into categories three categories: Champions (with increase streaks of 25+ years), Contenders (10-24 years), and Challengers (5-9 years).

This past week, eight companies in Dividend Radar announced dividend increases, including four of the stocks I hold in my portfolio. Note there were no dividend cuts or suspensions announced for Dividend Radar stocks during this period.

Upcoming Ex-Dividend Dates: September 28-October 11, 2021

Welcome to another article in our series that provides a summary of upcoming ex-dividend dates of stocks in Dividend Radar. 

The reason we write these articles is to alert readers so they could buy shares before the cut-off date, and so earn the upcoming dividend. 

The ex-dividend date of stocks is usually set one business day before the record date, the cut-off date for determining which shareholders will receive the next dividend payment. If you buy a stock on its ex-dividend date or after, you will not receive the next dividend payment. Instead, the seller will receive the next dividend. If you buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, you will receive the dividend.

The Dividend Aristocrats Ranked By Quality Scores

This article ranks the Dividend Aristocrats using DVK Quality Snapshots, providing updated key metrics, quality indicators, and fair value estimates. Additionally, I provide a downloadable spreadsheet with fundamental and added value data for all Dividend Aristocrats.

After presenting the Dividend Aristocrats in rank order, I use several screens to identify investment-grade Dividend Aristocrats offering favorable valuations and compelling metrics. By favorable valuations, I mean stock trading below my risk-adjusted Buy Below prices. As for compelling metrics, I look for stocks with superior growth and income outlooks, offering safe dividends. 

4 Dividend Aristocrats With Favorable Valuations

The Dividend Aristocrats list is an elite list of 65 companies that have paid higher dividends every year for at least 25 consecutive years. 

The list is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices and is updated annually in January. To be included in the list, stocks must be in the S&P 500, have dividend increase streaks of 25 years or more, and have a market capitalization of at least $3 billion.

As a dividend growth investor, I look to invest in high-quality and safe dividend growth stocks trading at reasonable valuations. This article presents four Dividend Aristocrats measured against my stock selection criteria.

Dividend Increases: September 11-17, 2021

We monitor dividend announcements for stocks in Dividend Radar, a spreadsheet we update and publish for free every Friday. 

The spreadsheet provides key data of stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more. The Dividend Radar spreadsheet separates stocks into categories three categories: Champions (with increase streaks of 25+ years), Contenders (10-24 years), and Challengers (5-9 years).

This past week, thirteen companies in Dividend Radar announced dividend increases, including five of the stocks I hold in my portfolio. Note there were no dividend cuts or suspensions announced for Dividend Radar stocks during this period.

Upcoming Ex-Dividend Dates: September 21-October 4, 2021

This article series provides a summary of upcoming ex-dividend dates of stocks in Dividend Radar, a weekly automatically generated spreadsheet listing dividend growth stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more.

The ex-dividend date of stocks is usually set one business day before the record date, the cut-off date for determining which shareholders will receive the next dividend payment. If you buy a stock on its ex-dividend date or after, you will not receive the next dividend payment. Instead, the seller will receive the next dividend. If you buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, you will receive the dividend.

I co-produce this series with James Marino Sr. of Portfolio Insight and we cover ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.

Top Holdings Of Dividend ETFs (Part 2c: The Top Sensitive Sector Stocks)

Because the top holdings of Dividend ETFs are not distributed evenly among the eleven GICS sectors, I decided to delve a little deeper and reveal the seven top-ranked stocks in each of the 11 GICS sectors. 

Rather than presenting all 77 stocks in a single article, I decided to organize the results by supersector. Part 2a covered the top Defensive Sector stocks and Part 2b the top Cyclical Sector stocks.

This article covering the top Sensitive Sector stocks: Communication Services, Energy, Industrials, and Information Technology. 

7 Best Materials Sector Dividend Stocks

One way to diversify your portfolio is to invest in different sectors. This article series is intended to help investors identify high-quality stocks in each GICS sector.

To assess the quality of dividend growth stocks, I use DVK Quality Snapshots to assign quality scores. The system employs five quality indicators and assigns 0-5 points to each quality indicator, for a maximum of 25 points. To rank stocks, I sort them by descending quality scores and using tie-breaking metrics where necessary. 

My watch list for dividend growth stocks is Dividend Radar, a free resource for dividend growth investors. Dividend Radar maintains a list of stocks trading on U.S. Exchanges with a streak of at least five years of higher annual dividend payouts. Dividend Radar is updated and published every Friday and is available for download here. 

This article presents the seven top-ranked dividend growth stocks in the Materials sector.

10 Dividend Growth Stocks For September 2021

In my monthly series of 10 Dividend Growth Stocks, I rank a selection of dividend growth stocks in Dividend Radar and present the ten top-ranked stocks for consideration. 

To rank stocks, I use DVK Quality Snapshots to determine quality scores and sort those in descending order, breaking ties with additional metrics.

This month,

 I screened for high-yielding, discounted stocks with safe dividends. All ten stocks yield at least 4%, trade below my fair value estimates, and have dividends deemed Very Safe or Safe by Simply Safe Dividends. 

3 Dividend Kings With Favorable Valuations

The Dividend Kings are companies that have increased their annual dividend payouts for at least 50 consecutive years. This is a remarkable achievement over a time frame that included economic recessions, market crashes, technological revolutions, and shifting consumer tastes. 

Dividend Radar is my watch list of dividend growth stocks. Updated and published weekly, Dividend Radar is an automatically generated spreadsheet listing stocks with five years or more dividend streaks. The latest edition (September 3, 2021) contains 752 dividend growth stocks and only 34 are Dividend Kings.

As a dividend growth investor, I look to invest in high-quality and safe dividend growth stocks trading at reasonable valuations. This article presents five stock selection criteria I usually consider before buying dividend growth stocks for my DivGro portfolio and three Dividend Kings that meet those criteria.

Upcoming Ex-Dividend Dates: September 14-27, 2021

This article series provides a summary of upcoming ex-dividend dates of stocks in Dividend Radar, a weekly automatically generated spreadsheet listing dividend growth stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more.

The ex-dividend date of stocks is usually set one business day before the record date, the cut-off date for determining which shareholders will receive the next dividend payment. If you buy a stock on its ex-dividend date or after, you will not receive the next dividend payment. Instead, the seller will receive the next dividend. If you buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, you will receive the dividend.

I co-produce this series with James Marino Sr. of Portfolio Insight and we cover ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.

Dividend Increases: August 28-September 10, 2021

We monitor dividend announcements for stocks in Dividend Radar, a spreadsheet we update and publish for free every Friday. 

The spreadsheet provides key data of stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more. The Dividend Radar spreadsheet separates stocks into categories three categories: Champions (with increase streaks of 25+ years), Contenders (10-24 years), and Challengers (5-9 years).

In the past two weeks, six companies in Dividend Radar announced dividend increases. There were no dividend cuts or suspensions announced for Dividend Radar stocks during this period.

Home Run Number 38

I announced my last Home Run in late July. In that article, I mentioned that The Home Depot, Inc (HD) was the closest to achieving home run status, with total returns of 90% (or 35% on an annualized basis). 

Today, I'm announcing my 38^th Home Run but it is not HD that doubled my original outlay in total returns! Another stock beat HD to the punch!

As a dividend growth investor, I have a reasonable expectation that the majority of the stocks in my portfolio will someday reach home run status. Dividend growth investing is a long term strategy, and the longer I'm invested in a stock, the higher is the likelihood that it will double my original capital outlay!

Upcoming Ex-Dividend Dates: September 7-20, 2021

This article series provides a summary of upcoming ex-dividend dates of stocks in Dividend Radar, a weekly automatically generated spreadsheet listing dividend growth stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more.

The ex-dividend date of stocks is usually set one business day before the record date, the cut-off date for determining which shareholders will receive the next dividend payment. If you buy a stock on its ex-dividend date or after, you will not receive the next dividend payment. Instead, the seller will receive the next dividend. If you buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, you will receive the dividend.

We cover ex-dividend dates for the next two weeks.

Monthly Review Of DivGro: August 2021

Once a month, I review my portfolio of dividend growth stocks, DivGro. These reviews aim to provide a summary of dividends received, and detail buy and sell transactions. I also look at how DivGro's projected annual dividend income (PADI) has changed.

In August, I opened two new positions and added shares to three existing positions. Five DivGro stocks announced dividend increases in August. The net result of these changes is that PADI increased by about 4.7% in August. Year over year, PADI increased by 11.5%.

As for dividend income, in August, I received dividends totaling $2,116 from 25 stocks in my portfolio, a year-over-year increase of 26%. So far in 2021, I've collected $23,130 in dividends or about 67% of my 2021 goal of $34,500.

Options Update: August 2021

After July's fiasco, I'm happy to say I made some money from options trading in August!

I've given up on achieving my options income goal for 2021. Instead, I'll take things easy in the remaining months of this year and set a more modest goal for 2022. 

In this month's update, I'll cover expirations and trades that generated new options income. I'll also report on a few options I'd closed early. As usual, the article provides my options income tally, as well as a summary of options that will expire in the next two months. 

7 Best Information Technology Sector Dividend Stocks

In this article series, I reveal the top-ranked dividend growth stocks in each GICS sector.

My watchlist of dividend growth stocks in Dividend Radar, a list of stocks trading on U.S. Exchanges with increasing annual dividend payouts for five or more consecutive years. We update and publish Dividend Radar every Friday. The latest edition (dated August 27, 2021) contains 754 stocks, 56 of which are in the Information Technology sector. 

To rank stocks, I sort them in descending order by quality scores, as determined by DVK Quality Snapshots. When two stocks have the same quality score, I use tie-breaking metrics to rank one stock higher than the other. 

This article presents the seven top-ranked dividend growth stocks in the Information Technology sector.

7 Dividend Growth Stocks For September 2021

Welcome to another edition of my monthly series in which I pick seven high-quality dividend growth stocks for further analysis and possible investment. My watch list for selections is Dividend Radar, a list of dividend growth [DG] stocks trading on U.S. exchanges with dividend increase streaks of at least five years.

Each month, I apply different screens to narrow down the more than 750 Dividend Radar stocks. Changing the screens from month to month serves to highlight different aspects of DG investing. For example, income investors prefer higher-yielding stocks, value investors tend to look for deep discounts, and growth-oriented investors favor higher dividend growth rates.

This month, I ranked high-quality Dividend Radar stocks with Safe or Very Safe dividends that are reasonably valued and have attractive total return prospects over the next five years.