2023-11-24 05:28:02 ET
Summary
- Three dividend kings are featured this week: Stepan Company, Tennant Company, and Lancaster Colony Corporation.
- December is the last opportunity for companies to announce yearly dividend increases.
- Tables and metrics are provided for investors to prioritize current yield and historical dividend growth rates.
I love dividend-growing companies! Receiving dividend checks is one of the great joys of investing life. Not only that, but companies that consistently increase their payouts perform significantly better than those that don't. As someone who closely monitors these companies, I'm happy to share valuable insights on upcoming dividend increases. With these lists, you can confidently expect to see the top stocks expected to raise their dividends in the upcoming week. I use this analysis for my portfolio construction and actionable items as they come up.
This week features three dividend kings: Stepan Company, Tennant Company, and Lancaster Colony Corporation.
Also exciting is as we enter the year's final weeks, these are the last opportunities for companies to announce their yearly increase. Many great companies announce in December as they wrap up their fiscal years.
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 involves combining data on companies with a consistent dividend growth history with their 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 dividends paid out each year 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. It's important to note that 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.
Category | Count |
King | 3 |
Champion | 2 |
Contender | 10 |
Challenger | 4 |
The Dividend Increasers List
Data has been sorted by the ex-dividend day (ascending) and then by the streak (descending):
Name | Ticker | Streak | Forward Yield | Ex-Div Date | Increase Percent | Streak Category |
Dolby Laboratories, Inc. | ( DLB ) | 9 | 1.38 | 27-Nov-23 | 11.11% | Challenger |
CRA International, Inc. | ( CRAI ) | 7 | 1.72 | 27-Nov-23 | 16.67% | Challenger |
Stepan Company | ( SCL ) | 55 | 1.84 | 29-Nov-23 | 2.74% | King |
Tennant Company | ( TNC ) | 51 | 1.28 | 29-Nov-23 | 5.66% | King |
Hubbell Incorporated | ( HUBB ) | 16 | 1.63 | 29-Nov-23 | 8.93% | Contender |
Power Integrations, Inc. | ( POWI ) | 11 | 1.04 | 29-Nov-23 | 5.26% | Contender |
McDonald's Corporation | ( MCD ) | 48 | 2.37 | 30-Nov-23 | 9.87% | Champion |
Brown-Forman Corporation Class B | ( BF.B ) | 39 | 30-Nov-23 | 5.83% | Champion | |
Brown-Forman Corporation Class A | ( BF.A ) | 24 | 30-Nov-23 | 5.83% | Contender | |
Landmark Bancorp, Inc. | ( LARK ) | 22 | 4.33 | 30-Nov-23 | 5.00% | Contender |
Lockheed Martin Corporation | ( LMT ) | 21 | 2.8 | 30-Nov-23 | 5.00% | Contender |
Principal Financial Group, Inc. | ( PFG ) | 15 | 3.71 | 30-Nov-23 | 3.08% | Contender |
Churchill Downs Incorporated | ( CHDN ) | 13 | 0.32 | 30-Nov-23 | 7.00% | Contender |
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. | ( HIG ) | 13 | 2.42 | 30-Nov-23 | 10.59% | Contender |
Associated Banc-Corp | ( ASB ) | 12 | 4.98 | 30-Nov-23 | 4.76% | Contender |
Nelnet, Inc. | ( NNI ) | 9 | 1.3 | 30-Nov-23 | 7.69% | Challenger |
ACNB Corporation | ( ACNB ) | 6 | 3.11 | 30-Nov-23 | 7.14% | Challenger |
Lancaster Colony Corporation | ( LANC ) | 61 | 2.12 | 1-Dec-23 | 5.88% | King |
NIKE, Inc. | ( NKE ) | 22 | 1.37 | 1-Dec-23 | 8.82% | Contender |
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).
Ticker | Old Rate | New Rate | Increase Percent |
DLB | 0.27 | 0.3 | 11.11% |
CRAI | 0.36 | 0.42 | 16.67% |
SCL | 0.365 | 0.375 | 2.74% |
TNC | 0.265 | 0.28 | 5.66% |
HUBB | 1.12 | 1.22 | 8.93% |
POWI | 0.19 | 0.2 | 5.26% |
MCD | 1.52 | 1.67 | 9.87% |
BF.B | 0.206 | 0.218 | 5.83% |
BF.A | 0.206 | 0.218 | 5.83% |
LARK | 0.2 | 0.21 | 5.00% |
LMT | 3 | 3.15 | 5.00% |
PFG | 0.65 | 0.67 | 3.08% |
HIG | 0.425 | 0.47 | 10.59% |
CHDN | 0.357 | 0.382 | 7.00% |
ASB | 0.21 | 0.22 | 4.76% |
NNI | 0.26 | 0.28 | 7.69% |
ACNB | 0.28 | 0.3 | 7.14% |
LANC | 0.85 | 0.9 | 5.88% |
NKE | 0.34 | 0.37 | 8.82% |
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. A value investor may find stock ideas with those companies near their 52-week lows, as they could provide more margin of safety and inflated yield.
Unfortunately, at this time, most companies are near their yearly highs with the recent market resurgence.
Ticker | Current Price | 52 Week Low | 52 Week High | PE Ratio | % Off Low | % Off High |
DLB | 86.66 | 66.77 | 90.7 | 40.56 | 30% Off Low | 4% Off High |
CRAI | 97.43 | 81.29 | 125.88 | 16.2 | 20% Off Low | 23% Off High |
SCL | 81.63 | 63.6 | 113.64 | 25.18 | 28% Off Low | 28% Off High |
TNC | 87.38 | 57.98 | 89.53 | 30.59 | 51% Off Low | 2% Off High |
HUBB | 299.58 | 218.01 | 338.9 | 22.9 | 37% Off Low | 12% Off High |
POWI | 77.07 | 66.9 | 99.15 | 21.08 | 15% Off Low | 22% Off High |
MCD | 281.93 | 232.92 | 297.75 | 31.88 | 21% Off Low | 5% Off High |
BF.B | 59.54 | 52.59 | 74.06 | 41.84 | 13% Off Low | 20% Off High |
BF.A | 61.25 | 53.52 | 73.73 | 36.73 | 14% Off Low | 17% Off High |
LARK | 19.4 | 16.15 | 23.88 | 6.76 | 20% Off Low | 19% Off High |
LMT | 450.4 | 393.77 | 501.35 | 15.61 | 14% Off Low | 10% Off High |
PFG | 72.28 | 64.62 | 90.53 | 11.49 | 12% Off Low | 20% Off High |
HIG | 77.73 | 63.48 | 78.05 | 9.53 | 22% Off Low | 0% Off High |
CHDN | 120.42 | 101.9 | 150.45 | 0 | 18% Off Low | 20% Off High |
ASB | 17.68 | 14.1 | 23.97 | 8.44 | 25% Off Low | 26% Off High |
NNI | 86.33 | 81.67 | 101.31 | 17.35 | 6% Off Low | 15% Off High |
ACNB | 38.54 | 26.07 | 39.85 | 13.56 | 48% Off Low | 3% Off High |
LANC | 170.07 | 157.36 | 216.52 | 35.87 | 8% Off Low | 21% Off High |
NKE | 107.88 | 88.66 | 130.07 | 82.77 | 22% Off Low | 17% Off High |
Tickers By Yield And Growth Rates
I've arranged the table in descending order for investors to 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.
Ticker | Yield | 1 Yr DG | 3 Yr DG | 5 Yr DG | 10 Yr DG | Chowder Rule |
ASB | 4.98 | 5 | 5.3 | 7.3 | 10.1 | 12.3 |
LARK | 4.33 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 6 | 6.1 | 10.3 |
PFG | 3.71 | 0.4 | 4.9 | 4.6 | 10.7 | 8.3 |
ACNB | 3.11 | 7.7 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 4 | 8.5 |
LMT | 2.8 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 8.5 | 10.1 | 11.3 |
HIG | 2.42 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 14.2 | 12.5 |
MCD | 2.37 | 10.2 | 6.7 | 8.5 | 7 | 10.9 |
LANC | 2.12 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 8.1 | 9.4 |
SCL | 1.84 | 9 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 8.6 | 12.1 |
CRAI | 1.72 | 16.1 | 16.1 | 16.2 | 17.9 | |
HUBB | 1.63 | 6.7 | 7.2 | 7.8 | 9.6 | 9.4 |
BF.A | 1.44 | 9 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 7.3 | 6.84 |
BF.B | 1.44 | 9 | 5.7 | 5.4 | 7.3 | 6.84 |
DLB | 1.38 | 8 | 7.1 | 11 | 12.4 | |
NKE | 1.37 | 11.5 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 12.5 | 12.6 |
NNI | 1.3 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 10.2 | 10 | 11.5 |
TNC | 1.28 | 6 | 6.4 | 4.8 | 4 | 6.1 |
POWI | 1.04 | 8.7 | 22.8 | 19.3 | 17.9 | 20.3 |
CHDN | 0.32 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 11.5 | 7.4 |
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. Investing in the ETF is better if a stock cannot beat the benchmark. I've added companies to my personal investment portfolio based on this analysis.
Here's the total return chart of SCHD versus the top 10 highest 10-year dividend growth rates. For reference, SCHD has returned about 169% over the decade. Churchill Downs was the outlier, with an astonishing 783% total return.
LMT, HUBB, POWI, and NKE beat SCHD by a few percentage points yearly. SCL and ASB were at the bottom of the pack.
For those in the States, Happy Thanksgiving! Please do your due diligence before investing, and thanks for reading.
For further details see:
19 Upcoming Dividend Increases, Including 3 Kings