39 Upcoming Dividend Increases Including 2 Dividend Kings

Summary

• Thirty-nine companies, including Coca-Cola and Telephone and Data Systems, are raising their dividends.
• Strong dividend-growth outperforms slow or no dividend-growth.
• The article provides tables and metrics to help investors make informed decisions.

I can't even believe it. There are weeks that sometimes only feature a few dividend increases. Then there are others where ten, twenty, or more dividend increases come-last week featured 27, which is a considerable number. But this week features 39! This may very well be the most extensive list of the entire year. It also features two dividend kings in Coca-Cola (KO) and a new king in Telephone and Data Systems (TDS). KO extends its 62-year streak with a 5.4% increase, and TDS is the latest dividend king with a 50-year streak and a 2.7% increase. Read on for the complete lists!

As an investor utilizing a dividend-growth strategy, I always look forward to receiving dividends, especially increases. I have observed that companies that regularly raise their dividend payouts perform significantly better than those that do not. I constantly monitor these companies and am happy to share my insights on upcoming dividend increases. I have compiled a list of top stocks expected to raise dividends in the upcoming week. You can confidently use this analysis to construct your portfolio and make timely purchases.

How I Created The Lists

The information presented here is a result of merging two sources of data - the "U.S. Dividend Champions" spreadsheet from this website and upcoming dividend data from NASDAQ. The process combines data on companies with a consistent dividend growth history with future dividend payments. It's important to understand that all companies included in this list have consistently grown in dividends for at least five years.

Companies must have higher total yearly dividends to be included in this list. Hence, a company may not increase its dividend every calendar year, but the total annual dividend can still grow.

What Is The Ex-Dividend Date?

The ex-dividend date is when you must purchase shares to be eligible for the upcoming dividend or distribution. To qualify, you must have bought the shares by the end of the preceding business day. For instance, if the ex-dividend date is Tuesday, you must have acquired the shares by the market close on Monday. If the ex-dividend date is a Monday (or a Tuesday following a holiday on Monday), you must have bought the shares by the previous Friday.

Dividend Streak Categories

Here are the definitions of the streak categories, as I'll use them throughout the piece.

• King: 50+ years.
• Champion/Aristocrat: 25+ years.
• Contender: 10-24 years.
• Challenger: 5+ years.

The Dividend Increasers List

Data was sorted by the ex-dividend day (ascending) and then by the streak (descending):

Field Definitions

Streak: Years of dividend growth history are sourced from the U.S. Dividend Champions spreadsheet.

Forward Yield: The new payout rate is divided by the current share price.

Ex-Dividend Date: This is the date you need to own the stock.

Increase Percent: The percent increase.

Streak Category: This is the company's overall dividend history classification.

Show Me The Money

Here's a table mapping the new rates versus the old rates. It also reiterates the percentage increase. This table is sorted similarly to the first (ex-dividend day ascending, dividend streak descending).

Additional Metrics

Some different metrics related to these companies include yearly pricing action and the P/E ratio. The table is sorted the same way as the table above.

Tickers By Yield And Growth Rates

I've arranged the table in descending order so that investors can prioritize the current yield. As a bonus, the table also features some historical dividend growth rates. Moreover, I have incorporated the "Chowder Rule," which is the sum of the current yield and the five-year dividend growth rate.

Historical Returns

My investment strategy involves finding stocks combining increasing dividends and consistently outperforming the market. I use the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) as my dividend growth benchmark. This ETF has a remarkable track record of exceptional performance, a higher yield than the S&P 500, and a proven record of growing dividends. I prefer to invest in the ETF if a stock cannot beat the benchmark. I've added companies to my personal investment portfolio based on this analysis. I also routinely use this analysis to choose timely additional purchases.

I'm comparing SCHD to the companies with the highest 10-year dividend growth rates. The 10-year dividend growth rate is one factor in the methodology behind SCHD. It's also a proxy for success, though not perfectly predictive, as it is easier to continually grow a dividend over long periods, with the share price following. Here are the results.

With such a large list of companies to choose from, the company selected for inclusion in the above graph became very selective. LMAT, the last company selected, has an extremely impressive 10-year dividend CAGR of 16.7%.

As the benchmark, SCHD had a total return of 194%. Impressively, only two of the ten did not outperform SCHD. I think that's a testament to the solid historical dividend growth. CNQ nearly mirrored the results with a 191% total return, so I purposely split hairs here. CTRA finished with a slightly negative total return over the decade. If this were a hypothetical portfolio, the rest of the performers would more than makeup for one lousy holding.

The performance only goes up from there, and here's a different view of the top performers.

Please do your due diligence before making any investment decision.

Editor's Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.