17 Companies Spreading Holiday Cheers To Shareholders

As part of my review process, I evaluate dividend increases every week. This process helps me to see how my portfolio holdings are doing. It also helps me to uncover and review new candidates for my portfolio.

I look for dependable dividends from companies with a minimum ten-year streak of annual dividend increases, fueled by earnings growth. I look for dependable dividends from companies with dependable earnings, and solid competitive advantages, which I can acquire at attractive valuations.

During the past week, the following companies increased dividends to shareholders. Each company has a ten year streak of annual dividend increases. I review the latest dividend increase relative to the ten year average, and the growth in earnings per share over the past decade. Last but not least, I discuss current valuation. The companies include:

Name	Symbol	New Dividend	Previous Dividend	Increase %	Dividend Streak in Years	5 year Dividend Growth Rate	Dividend Yield	Forward P/E
Abbott	ABT	$    0.55	$    0.51	7.84%	52	12.14%	2.05%	24.24
Amgen	AMGN	$    2.25	$    2.13	5.63%	12	11.02%	3.27%	14.84
American Tower	AMT	$    1.70	$    1.62	4.94%	12	16.60%	3.21%	10.38
Franklin Resources	BEN	$    0.31	$    0.30	3.33%	43	7.71%	4.22%	12.59
Edison	EIX	$    0.78	$    0.74	5.41%	19	5.23%	4.45%	14.91
Ensign	ENSG	$    0.06	$ 0.0575	4.35%	15	5.29%	0.22%	23.42
Mid-America Apartment	MAA	$    1.47	$    1.40	5.00%	13	6.08%	4.37%	14.66
Nucor	NUE	$    0.54	$    0.51	5.88%	51	5.78%	1.25%	9.64
Norwood Financial	NWFL	$    0.30	$    0.29	3.45%	25	5.26%	3.53%	10.86
Realty Income	O	$ 0.2565	$ 0.2560	0.20%	30	3.20%	5.37%	13.89
Pfizer	PFE	$    0.42	$    0.41	2.44%	13	4.56%	6.31%	17.17
Pentair	PNR	$    0.23	$    0.22	4.55%	48	6.41%	1.30%	19.01
SEI Investments	SEIC	$    0.46	$    0.43	6.98%	32	6.64%	1.48%	17.84
Toro	TTC	$    0.36	$    0.34	5.88%	14	11.38%	1.65%	21.45
US Bancorp	USB	$    0.49	$    0.48	2.08%	13	10.29%	4.35%	11.12
WD-40	WDFC	$    0.88	$    0.83	6.02%	14	9.74%	1.50%	46.17
Waste Management	WM	$    0.75	$    0.70	7.14%	20	8.87%	1.72%	29.17

This is a list of companies for further review. Most seem attractive as businesses, but that doesn’t mean that they should be invested in at any price, regardless of valuation.

The next step is to check each business, in order to determine if it is worth further review. I would look at ten year trends in earnings per share, dividends per share, payout ratios, shares outstanding. I would try to understand what the business does, and make an assessment if the good times would continue, so that I can expect higher earnings, dividends and intrinsic values over time. I would look at the valuation relative to earnings and dividend growth, in order to determine if the business is fairly valued, if it looks promising too. 

For a sample review of American Tower (AMT), check here.

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