Month: May 2018

My Buy Watch List for May and June

2018 remains a volatile investing year.

Given my investment strategy, I am much less concerned about day to day gyrations of the stock market. However - I am always looking for new companies to add to my portfolio.

I therefore regularly compose watch lists with stocks to research further and with the potential to become this or next month’s new buys.

With many Consumer Staples stocks at or near 52 week lows, I am looking to add more in this sector.

There are currently two candidates on my May and June watch list: PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) and The Clorox Company (CLX) - both Consumer Staples stocks.

Starting with PepsiCo - as can be seen in the graph above the stock is close to it’s 52 week  low.

I currently own 15 shares of PepsiCo in my portfolio but with the price back around ~$100 I am considering adding to my position.

The reasons I liked and bought the stock in March still apply - while the price has declined some more.

PEP currently provides a great yield of 3.71%, and is a Dividend Champion with 46 (!) years of growing dividend pay-outs.

There is certainly a lot to like about this company with 22 billion dollar brands in it’s lineup.

The second stock on my watch list is Clorox.

Like PEP, this Consumer Staple stock is also hovering around 52 week lows (chart above).

The household brands powerhouse boasts 41 years of growing dividends, with a current yield of a very decent 3.21%.

The company is facing some recent headwinds (as is reflected in it’s declining stock price)  - but given it’s dividend features it warrants additional research before possibly adding it to my portfolio.

What do you think about these two companies? What is your watch list for this month? Leave a comment/reply to share your thoughts!

Dividend Update: April 2018

It’s time for my favorite type of post: a tally of the dividends I received in the prior month.

Given my strategy of DGI, it is really the dividend payouts that I care about. For each of the companies I invest in, I like to see a steady and growing stream of dividend payouts.

So how did I do in April?

Last month 13 companies sent me a dividend payout, adding up to a total of $301.

While January and February of this year yielded total dividends just slightly below the $300 mark, it looks like 3 Benjamins will be my lower threshold going forward.

Even better, I am on track to hit my first $500+ month this year. Truly the power of dividend growth investing.

The following table shows the tickers of the companies that made an April 2018 dividend payout to my portfolio. It features the dividend amount I received and any change in payout as compared to the last payout moment.

Ticker Dividends Received Dividend per Share Change
KMB $35.00 3.09%
SOUHY $3.65 14.06%
DEO $14.00 18.44%
VTR $12.64
HASI $16.50
EQR $10.08
WPC $71.05 0.50%
STAG $5.92
LHO $31.50
CAH $30.06
CSCO $33.00 13.79%
BNS $25.47 -0.47%
CLDT $11.00 3.09%
TOTAL 301

 

The fact that 13 companies sent me dividend checks is great in and of itself.

But out of those 13 there were 6 companies who decided to raise their pay-outs.

Two dividend raises stand out this month. Diageo’s (DEO) 18% raise is enough to get me cracking open another Guinness.

Cisco’s (CSCO) 14% raise comes as part of a strong 5 year dividend raising streak of this networking powerhouse. I included this company’s recent raise announcement in my January overview of some great dividend boosts in my portfolio.

Bank of Novia Scotia’s (BNS) slight decline is nothing to worry about. The Canadian bank actually raised their dividend pay-out, but since the dividend is denoted in Canadian dollars the exchange rate spoiled the party here a little.

In summary: April was another great month to be a dividend growth investor, and I set a new bottom threshold at $300 dollars in dividend pay-outs.

Comparing the dividend payout of April 2017 to April 2018 shows an increase of $221 to $301- a Year-on-Year (YoY) growth of 36%.

This YoY growth is featured in the table below.

How was your April and its dividend?  Leave a comment/reply to share your thoughts!