matisse capital management

Some Top Dividend Growers from the First Half of 2010

Those raising dividends at highest annual rate.  If you read this blog regularly, you know that I post a list of the companies that raised dividends each week on Fridays.  Within these posts, I identify the top dividend growers - companies that raised payouts at the highest annual compound rate.  I usually base this analysis over the last 10 years; however some companies have not paid dividends for that long a time frame.  Here are some of the top dividend growers from the first half 2010, with the period of analysis noted:

    UNH,United Healthcare, 47.8% annually over the last 10 years

    VLGEA, Village Supermarkets, 45.2% annually over the last eight years

    FLO, Flowers Foods, 39.5% annually over the last 9 years

    AEO, American Eagle Outfitters, 33.0% annually over the last 6 years

    BDMS, Birner Dental, 30.8% annually over the last 10 years

    PETM, Petsmart, payout grew 30.0% annually over the last 7 years

    GRMN, Garmin, 29.2% annually over the last 7 years

    KNX, Knight Transportation, 29.1% over the last 7 years.  

    ESV, Ensco, 27.8% annually over the last 10 years

    FDS, FactSet Research, 27.6% annually over the last 10 years

    LOW, Lowe's, 27.1% annually over the last 10 years   

    DRI, Darden Restaurants, payout grew 26.7% annually over the last 10 years.

    QCOM, QUALCOMM, 25.9% annually over the last 8 years

    CAH, Cardinal Health, 25.6% over the last 10 years

    MNRO, Munro Muffler, 24.6% annually over the last five years

    BLK, BlackRock, 22.0% annually over the last 8 years

    TJX, TJX Companies, 22.3% annually over the last 10 years

    CNQ, Canadian Natural Resources, 21.9% annually over the last 10 years. 

    TIF, Tiffany's, 20.1% annually over the last 10 years

    UGI, United Guardian, 19.6% over the last 10 years.  

    SPLS, Staples, Inc., 18.5% annually over th last 10 years

    DLM, Del Monte, 18.0% annually over the last 5 years. 

    GPS, Gap Inc., 17.5% annually over the 10 years

    OZRK, Bank of the Ozarks, 17.5% annually over the last 10 years

    WMT, Wal-Mart, 17.5% annually over the last 10 years.

    IBM, IBM Corp., 17.4% annually over the last 10 years. 

    RBCAA, Republic Bancorp,16.9% annually over the last 10 years

    RTN, Raytheon, 15.3% annually over the last 10 years

    AMAT, Applied Materials, 15.2% annually over the last 10 years

    TGT, Target, 15.0% annually over the last 10 years

    RLI, RLI Corp., 13.7% annually over the last 10 years.  

    PEP, Pepsico, 13.1% annually over the last 10 years

    JNJ, Johnson & Johnson, 12.9% annually over the last 10 years

    COP, Conoco, 12.5% annually over the last 10 years

    MCK, McKesson, 11.6% annually over the last 10 years.

Disclosure: The author is long FLO, PEP and JNJ.

Companies That Raised Dividends This Week

A good week for dividend growers.  In addition to the companies below that have formally raised dividends, Sasol Limited (SSL) has announced that it may raise its dividend on improved market conditions.  Also, Digital realty Trust (DLR) says "there's a good chance" it will raise its dividend (and earnings estimates), but did not specify a time frame.

    AEO, American Eagle, from $0.10 to $0.11, quarterly; yield = 3.5%; +10%

    BCR, C. R. Bard, from $0.17 to $0.18, quarterly; yield = 0.9%; +6%

    CAT, Caterpillar Inc., from $0.42 to $0.44, quarterly; yield = 2.9%; +5%

    DLM, Del Monte, from $0.05 to $0.09, quarterly; yield = 2.3%; +80%

    FDX, FedEx, from $0.11 to $0.12, quarterly; yield = 0.6%; +9%

    NFG, National Fuel Gas, from $0.335 to $0.345, quarterly; yield = 2.8%; +3%

    TGT, Target, from $0.17 to $0.25, quarterly; yield = 1.8%; +47%

    VIA, Viacom, Inc., initiates dividend of $0.15, quarterly; yield = 1.6%

The top dividend growers of this group?  Over the last six years, since it started paying a dividend, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) has increased its payout at an average annual rate of 33%.  Del Monte (DLM) started paying a dividend five years ago and has increased it at an average annual rate of 18%.  Finally, over the last 10 years, Target (TGT) has increased its dividend at an annualized rate of 15%.

Regulators Tell Banks Not to Raise Dividends (JPM, GS)

Stability over dividends.  From the Financial Times: "US regulators have told banks not to increase dividends or buy back shares until political and economic uncertainty surrounding the industry dissipates, in a move that will delay by months the return of capital to shareholders...In a letter sent in December, officials reminded financial groups they would have to meet criteria, such as "stress-testing"their balance sheets and achieving sustainable profitability, before releasing funds to shareholders."  This applies in particular to Chase (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS); both firms have mentioned publicly the possibility of increasing dividends (both now below 1.0%) as they have returned to profitability.

Dividend News - 2/21

Daimler AG (DAI), the maker of Mercedes Benz cars, had a loss in the fourth quarter 2009 of $480 million.  Analysts had expected a profit.  The main reasons?  Higher taxes and lower sales.  DAI has now canceled its dividend for 2010, the first time in 14 years.  The 5-year average yield was 5.2%.

Coca-Cola Co. (KO), has lifted its dividend from $0.41 to $0.44, quarterly.  The new KO yield will be 3.2%.  Over the last 10 years  the company has raised its payout at an annual compound rate of 9.9%.   KO has been very successful in emerging markets, getting almost 80% of its profit outside North America. 

Abbott laboratories (ABT), the global pharma company, increased its dividend 10%, from $0.40 to $0.44, quarterly.  The new yield is 3.2%.  This is the 38th consecutive year that the company has increased its payout, and over the last 10 years the dividend has increased at an annual compound rate of 8.8%.

The Highest Dividend Payers in the S&P 500

Below is a chart from Thomson Reuters, ranking dividend stocks from the S&P 500 in descending order (click to enlarge).  Of course, an unusually high dividend can be a sign of trouble, elevated by a low share price.  Additional top dividend payers are listed after the jump.

Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) Added to S&P 500

Share are up 4.5% since last night's closing price of $68.00.  From ABC:

"Shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc surged on Wednesday after Standard & Poor's said it will add the company run by billionaire Warren Buffett to its S&P 500 stock index...S&P late Tuesday said Berkshire will replace Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp in the S&P 500, and the S&P 100 index of big blue-chip companies, on a date to be announced.  The addition of Berkshire...follows the Nebraska-based company's 50-for-1 split last week of its B shares...Adding Berkshire to the S&P 500 also forces the portfolio managers who track the index to buy its shares."

Dividend News Around the World - 10/12

• The highest yielding stocks of the Dow 30. 

• A very bad quarter for dividend increases.  

• Some smart dividend plays for tough times. 

• Three 'ridiculously cheap' dividend stocks. 

• Canada's Dividend Aristocrats deliver consistently.

• Telefonica's (TEF) dividend is now over 4.0%. 

• Five stocks that have paid dividends for more than 50 years.

 

Dividend News - 4/7

A dozen Dow stocks increased their dividends in Q1.  According to Barrons, these included Coca-Cola (KO), 3M (MMM), and Wal-Mart (WMT).  Among the utilities that increased their dividends were CenterPoint Energy (CNP), Consolidated Edison (ED), FPL Group (FPL), PG&E (PCG) and Public Service Enterprise Group (PEG).  Other dividend news follows:

The list of Dividend Aristocrats dwindles: Bloomberg

 14 companies that increased their dividend last month: Seeking Alpha

Toronto Dominion (TD) likely to keep dividend flat: Reuters

 Worst quarter for dividend cuts since 1958: Wall Street Journal

Wall Street's backward thinking on dividend cuts: iStockAnalyst

 P&G expected to raise its dividend 10%: Reuters

Top 10 UK dividend payers: This is Money

US companies raising dividends (SKT, PAA, GEL, TJX): Dividend Growth Investor

Reinstate the Uptick Rule

The ban on short selling some 900 financials expired last Wednesday, October 8.  So what happened Thursday?  Financials went into a tailspin.  By the end of the day, they looked something like this:

RF, Regions Financial Corp., -22.6%

AB, AllianceBernstein Holding, -20.1%

MFC, Manulife Financial, -16.7%

WFC, Wells Fargo, -16.6%

HIG, Hartford Financial Services Group, -16.3%