The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (MHP) provides various information services for the financial, education, and business information markets worldwide. It operates in four segments: Standard & Poor’s (S&P), McGraw-Hill Financial, McGraw-Hill Education (MHE), and McGraw-Hill Information & Media (I&M). The company is a dividend champion which has increased distributions for 38 years in a row. The most recent dividend increase was in January, when the Board of Directors approved a 6.40% increase to 25 cents/share. The major competitors of McGraw-Hill include Pearson (PSO), Moody’s (MCO) and Meredith Corp (MDP).
Over the past decade this dividend stock has delivered an annualized total return of 4.20% to its loyal shareholders.
The company has managed to deliver an impressive increase in EPS of 7.50% per year since 2001. Analysts expect McGraw-Hill to earn $2.86 per share in 2011 and $3.12 per share in 2012. This would be a nice increase from the $2.65/share the company earned in 2010. The company has managed to decrease the number of shares outstanding by 2.70% per year over the past decade through share buybacks, which has aided earnings growth.
The company’s high return on equity has doubled over the past decade to 40%. Rather than focus on absolute values for this indicator, I generally want to see at least a stable return on equity over time.
The annual dividend payment has increased by 11.90% per year since 2001, which is higher than the growth in EPS.
A 12% growth in distributions translates into the dividend payment doubling every 6 years. If we look at historical data, going as far back as 1989, we see that McGraw-Hill has actually managed to double its dividend every eleven years on average.
Over the past decade the dividend payout ratio has remained below 40% for a majority of the time with the exception of a brief period in 2001. A lower payout is always a plus, since it leaves room for consistent dividend growth minimizing the impact of short-term fluctuations in earnings.
Currently McGraw-Hill is trading at 14.40 times earnings, yields 2.60% and has a sustainable dividend payout. The stock meets my entry criteria, and I will look forward to adding to my existing position in it.
Full Disclosure: Long MHP
Relevant Articles:
- Kimberly-Clark (KMB) Dividend Stock Analysis
- PepsiCo (PEP) Dividend Stock Analysis
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) Dividend Stock Analysis
- Chevron Corporation (CVX) Dividend Stock Analysis
Popular Posts
-
Dollar cost averaging is a process, where the same amount of funds is allocated to preset investment/s at regular intervals of time. It is ...
-
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway just received a dividend check for $194 million dollars from Coca-Cola. Berkshire Hathaway owns 400 mil...
-
As an investor, I am aware that I have a lot of blind spots. Someone with a glass half full outlook on life might say that I have a lot of r...
-
I review the list of dividend increases every week, as part of my monitoring process. This exercise helps in monitoring existing positions a...
-
I review the list of dividend increases every week, as part of my monitoring process. This exercise helps in monitoring existing positions a...
-
The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Groomi...
-
The goal of this website is to inspire readers to identify their goals and objectives, and then create a process to achieve them. I shared t...
-
One of my favorite charts shows a listing of eleven consumer goods companies, and the brands that they own. It reinforces my belief that str...
-
As dividend growth investors , our goal is to buy shares in a company that will shower us with cash for decades to come. One of the importan...
-
I review the list of dividend increases as part of my monitoring process. This exercise helps me monitor existing holdings. It also helps me...