Monday, November 23, 2020

Dividend Increases: Dividend Stocks Working Hard During The Holidays

As we officially head into the holiday season, many of us in the U.S. will get a few days off this week in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. Though not much is happening at the office, there are still many working for me today. Not people, but my Dividend Stocks. It is great to know while I am relaxing with family and watching the big game, those stocks are hard at work providing me an additional income stream.

Several companies this week provided their shareholders an early Thanksgiving bonus in the form of higher cash dividends:
Valvoline (VVV) recently increased its quarterly dividend 11% to $0.125 per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 15 to shareholders of record Nov. 30, with an ex-div date of Nov. 27. The yield based on the new payout is 2.3%

Ethan Allen Interiors (ETH) recently increased its quarterly dividend 19% to $0.25 per share. The dividend is payable Jan. 21 to shareholders of record Jan. 7, with an ex-div date of Jan. 6. The yield based on the new payout is 6.0%.

American Equity Investment Life (AEL) recently increased its quarterly dividend 6.7% to $0.32 per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 10 to shareholders of record Nov. 25 with an ex-div date of Nov. 24. The yield based on the new payout is 1.2%.

Timken (TKR) recently increased its quarterly dividend 3.6% to $0.29 per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 3 to shareholders of record Nov. 24 with an ex-div date of Nov. 23. The yield based on the new payout is 1.7%.

Merck (MRK) recently increased its quarterly dividend 6.6% to $0.65 per share. The dividend is payable Jan. 8 to shareholders of record Dec. 15, with an ex-div date of Dec. 14. The yield based on the new payout is 3.2%.

AFLAC (AFL) recently increased its quarterly dividend 18% to $0.33 per share. The dividend is payable March 1 to shareholders of record Feb. 17, with an ex-div date of Feb. 16. The yield based on the new payout is 3.1%.

Spire (SR) recently increased its quarterly dividend 4.4% to $0.65 per share. The dividend is payable Jan. 5 to shareholders of record Dec. 11, with an ex-div date of Dec. 10. The yield based on the new payout is 4.0%.

Nike (NKE) recently increased its quarterly dividend 12% to $0.275 per share. The dividend is payable Dec. 29 to shareholders of record Dec. 7, with an ex-div date of Dec. 4. The yield based on the new payout is 0.8%.

McCormick (MKC) recently increased its quarterly dividend 9.7% to $0.68 per share. The dividend is payable Jan. 11 to shareholders of record Dec. 31, with an ex-div date of Dec. 30. The dividend will be paid on a split-adjusted basis of $0.34/share reflecting the 2-for-1 stock split effective December 1, 2020. The yield based on the new payout is 1.48%.

Selecting stocks with increasing dividends is critical for an income growth strategy. The above list contains stocks that recently raised their dividends; it is not a list of recommend buys. As always, due diligence should be performed before buying or selling any stock.

Full Disclosure: Long AFL,

Related Articles