Six Dividend Growth Stocks Raising Dividends Last Week

I review the list of dividend increases every week as part of my review process.

There were 35 dividend increases over the past week. Six of these companies have managed to raise dividends for at least ten consecutive years. The companies include:

Badger Meter, Inc. (BMI) manufactures and markets flow measurement, quality, control, and communication solutions worldwide. 

Badger Meter raised quarterly dividends by 18% to $0.40/share. This is the 33rd consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend champion. During the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 13.60%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company has managed to grow earnings from $0.90/share to $4.26/share.

The company is expected to earn $4.79/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 39.25 times forward earnings and yields 0.85%.

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (BR) provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry in the United States and internationally. 

Broadridge Financial raised quarterly dividends by 10.80% to $0.975/share. This is the 19th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever. During the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 12.54%.

Between 2016 and 2025, the company has managed to grow earnings from $2.60/share to $7.70/share.

The company is expected to earn $9.39/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 28.41 times forward earnings and yields 1.46%.

Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CSL) operates as a manufacturer and supplier of building envelope products and solutions in the United States, Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Carlisle Construction Materials (CCM) and Carlisle Weatherproofing Technologies (CWT). 

Carlisle Companies raised quarterly dividends by 10% to $1.10/share. This was the 49th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend champion. During the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 14.87%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company has managed to grow earnings from $4.89/share to $28.17/share.

The company is expected to earn $20.34/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 17.44 times forward earnings and yields 1.20%.

Federal Realty (FRT) is a recognized leader in the ownership, operation and redevelopment of high-quality retail-based properties located primarily in major coastal markets from Washington, D.C. to Boston as well as Northern and Southern California. 

Federal REIT raised quarterly dividend by 2.70% to $1.13/share. This is the 58th consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend king. The company has managed to grow dividends by an annualized rate of 2.37% over the past decade.

Between 2015 and 2024, the REIT has managed to grow FFO from $5.05/share to $6.77/share

It's expected to generate $7.17/share in FFO in 2025.

The stock sells for 13 times forward FFO and yields 4.81%.

Open Text Corporation (OTEX) designs, develops, markets, and sells information management software and solutions in North, Central, and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, China, and internationally. 

Open Text raised the quarterly dividend by 4.80% to $0.275/share. This was the 12th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever. During the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 13.17%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company has managed to grow earnings from $1.20/share to $2.34/share.

The company is expected to earn $5.53/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 7.12 times forward earnings and yields 3.55%.

Terreno Realty Corporation (TRNO) acquires, owns and operates industrial real estate in six major coastal U.S. markets: New York City/Northern New Jersey, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. 

Terreno Realty increased quarterly dividend by 6.10% to $0.52/share. This was the 14th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever. During the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 12.20%.

FFO/share increased from $0.84 in 2015 to $2.43 in 2024. The company is expected to generate $2.59/share in FFO in 2025.

The stock sells for 21.08 times forward FFO and yields 3.59%.

Relevant Articles:

- Fifteen Dividend Companies Raising Distributions Last Week

- Twenty Dividend Growth Companies Rewarding Owners With Raises Last Week

- Four Dividend Growth Stocks Increasing Dividends Last Week

- Nine Dividend Achiever Banks Raising Dividends After Passing the Fed's Stress Tests

Twenty Dividend Growth Companies Rewarding Owners With Raises Last Week

I review the list of dividend increases every single week, as part of my monitoring process. This process helps me check the pulse of the dividend growth investing universe.

It's helpful to monitor developing trends in newer companies, and to monitor trends in more established ones as well. The dividend increase provides strong signaling signal to me, as to the direction of the business. It's particularly helpful when compared to historical averages. For even more context, it's helpful to take it one step further and review ten year trends in financials such as earnings per share, dividends per share, dividend payout ratios etc. Last but not least, you have to look at valuation, which is more art than science.

Anyways, last week there were 41 companies in North America that raised dividends to shareholders. Twenty of these companies have a minimum ten year streak under their belts. The companies include:

This list is not a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. It is simply a list of companies that raised dividends last week. The companies listed have managed to grow dividends for at least ten years in a row.

The next step in the process would be to review trends in earnings per share, in order to determine if the dividend growth is on strong ground. Rising earnings per share provide the fuel behind future dividend increases.

This should be followed by reviewing the trends in dividend payout ratios, in order to check the health of dividend payments. A rising payout ratio over time shows that future dividend growth may be in jeopardy. There is a natural limit to dividends increasing if earnings are stagnant or if dividends grow faster than earnings.

Obtaining an understanding behind the company’s business is helpful, in order to determine how defensible the dividend will be during the next recession. Certain companies are more immune to any downside, while others follow very closely the rise and fall in the economic cycle.

Of course, valuation is important, but it is more art than science. P/E ratios are not created equal. A stock with a P/E of 10 may turn out to be more expensive than a stock with a P/E of 30, if the latter is growing earnings and the former isn’t. Plus, the low P/E stock may be in a cyclical industry whose earnings will decline during the next recession, increasing the odds of a dividend cut. The high P/E company may be in an industry where earnings are somewhat recession resistant, which means that the likelihood of dividend cuts during the next recession is lower.

Relevant Articles:

- Fifteen Dividend Companies Raising Distributions Last Week

- Seven Dividend Growth Stocks Raising Dividends Last Week

- Four Dividend Growth Stocks Increasing Dividends Last Week

- Nine Dividend Achiever Banks Raising Dividends After Passing the Fed's Stress Tests

S&P 500 Annualized Returns by Decade

Breaking down the total returns by source, helps you understand perfectly how total returns are generated

Total Returns are a function of:

1. Dividends

2. Earnings Per Share Growth

3. Change in valuation

The first two items matter the most in the long run; the last matters the most in the short run.

Ultimately, the trade-offs between each item on a given time period determine total returns overall.

As Benjamin Graham aptly summarized it, "In the short-run, the market is a voting machine. In the long-run, the market is a weighting machine."

I recently found a chart that breaks down S&P 500 returns by decade, starting in 1880 and ending in 2019.

It's fascinating to understand how annualized total returns were generated by looking at the interplay between those sources of returns.

For example, during the first decade of the 2000s, total returns were driven mostly by dividends, as share prices declined due to multiple's decreasing. Earnings growth was muted as well. This is when a lot of investors realized that trees don't always grow to the sky.

The 2010s however showed a completely different picture. The dividend portion of total returns was smaller and overshadowed by changes in earnings growth, and aided slightly by changes in the multiple.

Overall, changes in the multiple tend to produce big swings in the positive or the negative direction. However, these tend to revert to the mean over time. Ultimately, the longer your timeframe, the lower the impact of multiple changes on total returns. However, the shorter the timeframe, the higher the impact of the multiple changes on total returns. However, be advised that multiple changes are properly titled as "speculative" source of returns. That's because it's heavily influenced by the short-term views of Mr Market.

For example, in the 1970s, valuations multiple shrank, which subtracted a steep 8.30%/year from annualized returns. Paying a high valuation in the late 1960s turned out to be a headwind to shorter term returns. While a decade is "short-term", holding through a painful decade definitely doesn't feel short-term.

However, in the 1980s, valuations expanded, which added 8.20%/year to annualized returns. It's definitely a good situation to be in when you can buy stocks on the cheap, and then they deliver earnings growth, solid dividends and the multiples expand too.

This type of a model is directly applicable to studying individual companies as well. This is why I find it helpful to evaluate dividend growth and earnings growth for each company I review, and then also review that in tandem with valuation multiples such as dividend yield and P/E ratio. It's important to look at the bigger picture, and not get stuck on one item however.

Thank you for reading!

Fifteen Dividend Companies Raising Distributions Last Week

 As part of my monitoring process, I review the list of dividend increases every week. I usually focus on companies that have managed to boost dividends to shareholders for at least a decade (with one exception this week). 

There were 30 companies that raised dividends in the US last week. Fifteen of them have increased dividends for at least ten years in a row.

The companies that raised their dividends to shareholders are listed below:

This list is not a recommendation to buy or sell stocks. It is simply a list of companies that raised dividends last week. The companies listed have managed to grow dividends for at least ten years in a row.

The next step in the process would be to review trends in earnings per share, in order to determine if the dividend growth is on strong ground. Rising earnings per share provide the fuel behind future dividend increases.

This should be followed by reviewing the trends in dividend payout ratios, in order to check the health of dividend payments. A rising payout ratio over time shows that future dividend growth may be in jeopardy. There is a natural limit to dividends increasing if earnings are stagnant or if dividends grow faster than earnings.

Obtaining an understanding behind the company’s business is helpful, in order to determine how defensible the dividend will be during the next recession. Certain companies are more immune to any downside, while others follow very closely the rise and fall in the economic cycle.

Of course, valuation is important, but it is more art than science. P/E ratios are not created equal. A stock with a P/E of 10 may turn out to be more expensive than a stock with a P/E of 30, if the latter is growing earnings and the former isn’t. Plus, the low P/E stock may be in a cyclical industry whose earnings will decline during the next recession, increasing the odds of a dividend cut. The high P/E company may be in an industry where earnings are somewhat recession resistant, which means that the likelihood of dividend cuts during the next recession is lower.

Relevant Articles:

- Seven Dividend Growth Stocks Raising Dividends Last Week

- Four Dividend Growth Stocks Increasing Dividends Last Week

- Nine Dividend Achiever Banks Raising Dividends After Passing the Fed's Stress Tests

- Three Dividend Growth Companies Raising Dividends Last Week

The 10 largest Dividend Growth Companies in the US

Dividend Growth Companies are businesses that have managed to increase annual dividends for several years in a row. Typically, established dividend growth companies need at least 10 years of annual dividend increases before they could be added to the dividend achievers list. If they have at least a 25 year track record, they are added either to the list of dividend aristocrats (if they are members of S&P 500) or the dividend champions list. Some folks also use a 5 year track record to establish presence in the dividend growth investing universe, believing that they can potentially identify future stars earlier than everyone else.

I wanted to take a look at the ten largest Dividend Growth Companies in the US, in order to look for value. I narrowed the list down to the largest publicly traded companies in the US, which have managed to increase dividends for at least 10 years in a row.

These are well-known, established and highly followed and widely owned companies. If you had bought them a decade ago, you would have locked in good starting valuations, and enjoyed a decade of solid dividend growth and total returns. All of those were driven by growth in earnings per share over the past decade.

The question of course is whether they are worth adding to today. Let's take a look at them:

Frankly, those companies all look expensive to me. Perhaps J.P. Morgan Chase is the one that looks close to fairly valued today, albeit 15 times for a financial and a dividend yield below 2% may be a stretch too.

I love the dividend growth stats for Microsoft, Broadcom, Eli Lilly, Visa, Mastercard and Costco. However, those multiples are pretty steep if you ask me. I would not pay more than 25 forward for these growth stories, in order to get some margin of safety in case growth slows down and to take into consideration the risk I am taking. It is quite possible that a lost decade where P/E multiples shrink could cause low returns, even if growth turns out to be reliable and durable (which it is not always the case). If I start out with a low yield in the first place, I may not be paid much to wait either. Either way, I love those companies and would love to buy/add to them at the right price. 

In the case of Apple, I dislike the high valuation and the slowdown in dividend growth. Plus, the dividend yield is low. Hence if earnings stagnate from here there is low margin of safety and I am not paid much to wait.

Wal-Mart is expensive as well, given their slow dividend growth and low yield. The company is trying to transform its business to better compete with online retailing, which has taken out some capital from dividend growth initiatives. They are starting to crank up dividend growth again, but the valuation is still rich for a large company like that. I would love to buy more at the right valuation.

As for Exxon Mobil, it is optically cheap at a 16 times forward earnings and a dividend yield of 3.67%. This is a company that has paid dividends for decades, and increased them for 42. They didn't cut dividends during the past decade, which was very hard on the energy sector, amidst glut of production, disruptions, and negative prices at one point in 2020. Hence I have a high degree of confidence (as much as you can have confidence of course) that this dividend is important to management and shareholders, and won't be just cut on a whim. However, dividend growth has been very slow in the past decade. The business was not easy in the past decade however, and a lot of competitors ended up cutting or suspending dividends at least once in the past decade. Hence, that slow growth in dividends is actually a win.

Well, there you have it, my opinion on the largest dividend growth companies in the US. Note, they are weighted heavily in several popular dividend growth funds in the US. Unfortunately, those valuations are high, which could weigh on future returns.

The other fun fact to consider is that the ten largest dividend growth companies of 2035 mey turn out to be a list that is much different than this list above.

Just for reference, the ten largest dividend growth companies in 2015 were:

Wal-Mart, Johnson & Johnson, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, Exxon Mobil, CVS Health, IBM, 3M and United Technologies.

Either way, the way to succeed is to find good quality dividend growers, but acquire them at a good valuation.