I review the list of dividend increases weekly, as part of my monitoring process. This exercise helps review existing holdings and potentially identify companies for further research.
I typically focus my attention on more established dividend growers which have managed to increase dividends for at least a decade. That weeds out a lot of hopefuls and cyclicals. I am focused on companies that can potentially grow dividends through the ups and downs of a typical economic cycle, which historically has averaged about 5 years.
Over the past week, there were four companies in the US which have managed to increase dividends for at least a decade. The companies include:
Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (APOG) is a leading provider of architectural products and services for enclosing buildings, and glass and acrylic products used for preservation, energy conservation, and enhanced viewing
The company increased quarterly dividends by 4.20% to $0.25/share. This marks Apogee’s eleventh consecutive year with a dividend increase.
The company has a 5 year annualized dividend growth of 8.80%. The ten year annualized rate of dividend growth is 10.30%.
The stock is selling for 11.40 times forward earnings and yields 1.81%.
BlackRock, Inc. (BLK) is a publicly owned investment manager.
The company raised quarterly dividends by 2% to $5.10/share. This is the 15th year of consecutive annual dividend increases for this dividend achiever.
The company has a 5 year annualized dividend growth of 10.70%. The ten year annualized rate of dividend growth is 11.50%.
The stock sells for 20 times forward earnings and yields 2.52%.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) provides midstream energy services to producers and consumers of natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGLs), crude oil, petrochemicals, and refined products. The company operates through four segments: NGL Pipelines & Services, Crude Oil Pipelines & Services, Natural Gas Pipelines & Services, and Petrochemical & Refined Products Services.
The partnership hiked quarterly distributions by 3% to $0.5150/unit. This distribution represents a 5.1 percent increase over the distribution declared with respect to the fourth quarter of 2022, and a 3 percent increase over the distribution declared with respect to the third quarter of 2023.
This dividend champion has increased distributions every since year since going public in 1998.
The company has a 5 year annualized distribution growth of 2.90%. The ten year annualized rate of distribution growth is 3.90%.
The partnership yields 7.69%.
STAG Industrial (STAG) is a REIT focused on the acquisition, ownership and operation of industrial properties throughout the United States.
This REIT increased monthly dividends by 0.70% to $0.1233/share. This marked the 13th year of consecutive annual dividend increases for this dividend achiever.
The company has a 5 year annualized dividend growth of 0.70%. The ten year annualized rate of dividend growth is 2.30%.
The REIT is selling for 16.95 times forward FFO and yields 3.86%.
Identifying companies for research is just one step in the process of course. The next steps involved reviewing financials, in order to determine the likelihood of future dividend increases and dividend safety. It also means trying to understand the business and whether it sells at a good valuation.
