Nine Companies Raising Dividends Last Week

I review the list of dividend increases as part of my monitoring process.

There were 15 companies that increased dividends last week. Ten of those companies have each managed to increase dividends for at least ten consecutive years. 

The companies include:

Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB) operates as the holding company for Bar Harbor Bank & Trust that provides banking and nonbanking products and services primarily to consumers and businesses.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 6.70% to $0.32/share. This is the 22nd consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 6.95%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $1.69/share in 2015 to $2.86/share in 2024.

The company is projected to earn $2.92/share in 2025. 

The stock sells for 9.90 times forward earnings and yields 4.14%.

Costco Wholesale Corporation (COST) engages in the operation of membership warehouses.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 12.10% to $1.10/share. This is the 21st consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 12.59%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $5.41/share in 2015 to $16.60/share in 2024.

The company is projected to earn $18.07/share in 2025. 

The stock sells for 55 times forward earnings and yields 0.47%.

Donegal Group Inc., (DGICA) (DGICB) an insurance holding company, provides commercial and personal lines of property and casualty coverages. It operates through three segments: Investment Function, Commercial Lines of Insurance, and Personal Lines of Insurance. 

It raised dividends on its A shares by 5.80% to $0.1825/share. It raised dividends on its B shares by 6.50% to $0.1650/share.

The company has raised dividends for 23 years in a row and is a member of the dividend achievers list. 

Over the past decade, it has managed to grow distributions at an annualized rate of 2.79% for the A shares to 2.92% for the B shares.

That's a lot of of complexity for such a slow rate of dividend growth.

The A stock sells for 12.60 times forward earnings and yields 3.78%. 

The B stock sells for 12.06 times earnings and yields 3.73%

H.B. Fuller Company (FUL) formulates, manufactures, and markets adhesives, sealants, coatings, polymers, tapes, encapsulants, additives, and other specialty chemical products. It operates through three segments: Hygiene, Health and Consumable Adhesives; Engineering Adhesives; and Construction Adhesives. 

The company raised quarterly dividends by 5.60% to $0.235/share. This is the 56th consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend king. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 6.61%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $1.72/share in 2015 to $2.37/share in 2024.

The company is projected to earn $4.07/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 13.21 times forward earnings and yields 1.75%.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) engages in the research and development, manufacture, and sale of various products in the healthcare field worldwide. It operates in two segments, Innovative Medicine and MedTech.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 4.80% to $1.30/share. This is the 63rd consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend king. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 5.93%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $5.56/share in 2015 to $5.84/share in 2024.

The company is projected to earn $10.57/share in 2025. Note this is adjusted EPS. For comparison purposes, teh 2024 adjusted EPS was $9.98.

The stock sells for 14.50 times forward earnings and yields 3.30%.

Sonoco Products Company (SON) designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 1.90% to $0.53/share. This is the 42nd consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend champion. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 5.01%.

The company's earnings went from $2.46/share in 2015 to $1.66/share in 2024.

The company is projected to earn $5.94/share in 2025. 

The stock sells for 7.39 times forward earnings and yields 4.74%.

Star Group, L.P. (SGU) provides home heating oil and propane products and services to residential and commercial customers in the United States

The partnership hiked its quarterly distributions by 7.20% to $0.1850/unit. This marks the 13th year of continuous annual increases in the Company’s distribution. It has a ten year annualized distribution growth of 7% over the past decade.

The partnership yields 5.41%.

The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) provides a range of commercial and personal property, and casualty insurance products and services to businesses, government units, associations, and individuals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Business Insurance, Bond & Specialty Insurance, and Personal Insurance. 

The company raised quarterly dividends by 4.80% to $1.10/share. This is the 21st consecutive year of dividend increases for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 6.80%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $10.99/share in 2015 to $21.76/share in 2024.

The company is projected to earn $18.27/share in 2025. 

The stock sells for 14 times forward earnings and yields 1.72%.

United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP) operates as the bank holding company for Unified Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services in Ohio.

The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.185/share. This is a 5.71% increase over the dividend paid during the same time last year. This is the 12th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 7.89%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $0.65/share in 2015 to $1.27/share in 2024.

The company is projected to earn $1.40/share in 2025. 

The stock sells for 9.45 times forward earnings and yields 6.84%

My Retirement Strategy

My retirement strategy is based on living off dividends.

A successful retirement strategy is dependent on the asset returns you hold in your portfolio.

Dividends remove the guesswork of how much I can withdraw from a portfolio to live off.

I know what the dividend income is, and thus I know how much I can spend per year.

My "withdrawal rate" is not based on some study that backtests, curve-fits and optimizes historical data until it confesses.

My withdrawal rate is based on current information, available today, adjusted automatically for todays conditions.

Dividends represent a return on investment, which is generated on a consistent and predictable schedule.

The amount and timing for dividends is predictable and consistent, which makes them ideal sources of income in retirement

Dividends also tend to grow above the rate of inflation over time, which means that income not only protects purchasing power but also grows it.

A retirement plan based on living off dividends will never run out of money.

You don't have to think about sequence of return risk, because you don't have to sell.

My risk of running out of money is lowered, because I take current conditions into perspective, and adjust my spending based on the dividend paid today. I do not need to sell 4% of my portfolio value if we sell at nosebleed valuations and my yield is much lower. I could also spend more than 4% if valuations are really low, and my yield is higher.

Dividends provide excellent signaling of the current business conditions.

If the economy is doing great, businesses will be earning more and paying higher dividends. I may even generate more in dividends than I need.

If the economy is doing terribly, and we get a once in a generation depression that knocks down profits, to the point like dividends are lowered en masse, I will curtail my spending to the amount of dividends received. That flexibility, and adaptability to the current environment, versus relying on a bulky academic model, is really appealing to me.

I love the idea of living off the returns generated today, not the historical or theoretical returns we read about im a study .

That being said, I focus on the dividend income, and make sure my portfolio is constructed intelligently.

I make sure that the dividend income is diversified, comes from many sources, comes from businesses that grow earnings, that have adequate margins of safety in dividends, and keep fees and costs low.

I do not really care about price fluctuations of my portfolio, because they represent "opinions", which can go up too much in a frenzy or down too much in a depression.

I hope you enjoyed this overview on my retirement strategy.

Relevant Articles:

- Dividend income is more stable than capital gains

- Sequence of returns matters in retirement planning

- Living off dividends in retirement

- Four Percent Rule for Dividend Investing in Retirement

Four Dividend Increases In a Time of Tariffs

The last two weeks have been a little turbulent. Those tariff news really seem to have spooked markets worldwide. 

Luckily, we are Dividend Growth Investors, so we stay the course, because we are paid to hold. Those of us in the accumulation phase get excited during market declines, because that means that future income is available on sale. This is where having a ready list of companies can be helpful when we get the big sale on stocks.

Those of us in the retirement phase can simply sit back, relax, and enjoy the growing stream of dividends from their diversified portfolios. 

As many of you know, I review the list of dividend increases every week. Last week, we had several companies that raised their annual dividends, like clockwork. Dividend increases from these consistent dividend payers signals confidence in their business models. Some of these companies have paid and increased dividends for many decades, withnessing cold wars, inflations, wars, oil shocks, embargoes, and possibly a ton of other bad events. Yet, they have adapted and thrived. 

Selling a branded product or service, and having strong competitive advantages and a good culture probably helped too.

Either way, there were four companies that raised dividends last week, which also have managed to increase dividends for at least ten consecutive years. Those companies include:

Agree Realty Corporation (ADC) is a publicly traded real estate investment trust that is involved in the acquisition and development of properties net leased to industry-leading, omni-channel retail tenants.

The company raised its monthly dividend by 1.20% to $0.2560/share. This represents a 2.40% increase over the dividend paid during the same time last year.  This is the 13th year of consecutive annual dividend increases for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, it managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 5.82%.

The REIT managed to grow Funds from Operations (FFO) from $2.40/share in 2015 to $3.78/share in 2024. 

The REIT expects to generate $4.23/share in FFO in 2025.

The stock sells for 17.70 times forward FFO and yields 4.05%. 

Aon plc, (AON) is a professional services firm, which provides a range of risk and human capital solutions worldwide.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 10.40% to $0.745/share.

This is the 14th year of consecutive annual dividend increases for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, it managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 11.06%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $4.93/share in 2015 to $12.55/share in 2024.

Aon is expected to earn $17.18/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 21.90 times forward earnings and yields 0.79%.

Fastenal Company (FAST) engages in the wholesale distribution of industrial and construction supplies in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and internationally. 

Fastenal raised its quarterly dividends to $0.44/share. This is a 2.30% increase over the dividend paid in Q1, 2025. This is also a 12.82% increase over the dividend paid during the same time last year.

This dividend aristocrat company has increased annual dividends for 26 years in a row. Over the past decade, it managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 12.05%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $0.89/share in 2015 to $2.01/share in 2024.

The company is expected to earn $2.16/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 37.25 times forward earnings and yields 2.13%.

The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) engages in the provision of branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. The company operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. 

The company raised quarterly dividends by 5% to $1.0568/share. This marked the 69th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend king. Over the past five years, P&G has managed to increase dividends at an annualized rate of 6.18%. The ten year average is 4.57%.

Earnings per share have increased from $4.19 in 2014 to $6.18 in 2024. The company is expected to generate $6.89/share in earnings in 2025.

The stock sells for 23.25 times forward earnings. The stock yields 2.67%. Check my review of Procter & Gamble here.

Relevant Articles:

- Procter & Gamble (PG) Increases Dividends for 69th Consecutive Year

- Two Recent Dividend Increases and Five Future Dividend Increases

- Dividend Investors are Getting Paid for Holding Dividend Stocks

- Dividend Investors are getting paid for waiting

Compounding Dividends For The Long Run

The stock market has been turbulent the past month or so. 

As a dividend growth investor, I usually ignore the ups and downs of the market. Stocks can go up, stocks can go down, but my dividends are paid on time, and increased too. Getting paid to hold is definitely a great strategy to stay invested and ignore the noise.

I recently saw some interesting research on dividends from Hartford Funds on the power of dividends.

Going back to 1960, they found that reinvested dividends accounted for 85% of historical stock market returns. Reinvesting those growing dividends into more stock definitely turbocharges the power of compounding.

A $10,000 investment in S&P 500 in 1960 turned to $982,000 by 2024. If you reinvested those dividends however, your total amounts to $6.42 Million. Compounding dividends matter.

It's fascinating to see how dividends impacted returns decade by decade. 

Dividends have contributed roughly a third of returns on average per year. During a bull market, dividends have a lower contribution, and everyone seems to forget about them. During a bear market or a flat market however, dividends shine and provide staying power for the patient long-term investor. 

While share prices can fluctuate up and down, and are difficult to forecast, dividends are much more stable, predictable and easier to rely on. This is why dividends are the perfect source of income for retirees. Plus they are tax-advantaged versus other sources of income and tend to grow above the rate of inflation over time as well.

You can see that during the 1970s and 2000s, when stock prices went largerly nowehere, dividends contributed a lions share of total returns for investors. During massive bull markets, dividends still contributed and held their own.

That being said, average dividends yields have been decreasing in the US. Notably, that's an end result of share prices rising too fast in the past 15 years, but also an increase in the way that companies distribute excess cashflow to shareholders. Notably, since the 1980s companies are "returning cash" increasingly through share buybacks and less through dividends.

This is a chart of S&P 500 dividend yields over the past 50 years:

You can see dividends yields are the lowest since late 2021. In late 2021 dividend yields were lowest since 2000..

You can see that since the 1990s, the amount of share buybacks has increased faster than dividends. However, dividends are much more stable and upwards moving up while buybacks are much more volatile and cyclical. Companies tend to do them when they are flush with cash, but share prices are higher, and tend to discontinue them when the share prices are low, but the outlook is murky.

The Hartford Funds also found out that higher yielding companies tended to deliver great performance over the past 90+years:

That's definitely fascinating, and interesting to observe on a decade-by-decade basis.

Last but not least, it's fascinating to observe the performance of dividend growth stocks. Those are the companies that tend to raise dividends to shareholders.

Long-time readers know the research from Ned David Research, which shows that dividend growth stocks rock, relative to companies that do not pay dividends, those that cut dividends and those that have high yields.

I still view a solid track record of dividend increases as a sign of a quality business with good management. However, I do look under the hood to understand what I get into, and I am selective. I focus on substance over form.

As far as the future is concerned, I believe US Equities will likely keep growing earnings over time, which would fuel dividend increases over time as well. This would likely lead to growth in share prices as well, although those do tend to oscilate up and down, above and below any estimates of intrinsic value. I do believe one needs to be careful about what they buy, as not every company can be safely bought and held. Plus, you need to evaluate valuation as even the best company in the world is not worth massively overpaying for. If you do, you may not make much in terms of money, even if you were right about the fundamentals.

Procter & Gamble (PG) Increases Dividends for 69th Consecutive Year

The Procter & Gamble Company (PG) provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. Procter & Gamble is a member of the elite dividend kings list, which includes companies that have managed to raise annual dividends for at least 50 years in a row. That's not a small feat.

The company increased quarterly dividends by 75% to $1.0568/share yesterday. This dividend increase marked the 69th consecutive year that P&G has increased its dividend and the 135th consecutive year that P&G has paid a dividend since its incorporation in 1890. (Source)

Management states that this dividend increase reinforces their commitment to return cash to shareholders, many of whom rely on the steady, reliable income earned with their investment in P&G.

The table below shows the year that the company raised dividends, the new increased quarterly dividend payment for that year, and the rate of dividend increase for the year. It focuses on the past 35 years of dividend increases for Procter & Gamble:

Over the past five years, P&G has managed to increase dividends at an annualized rate of 6.18%. The ten year average is 4.57%.

Earnings per share have increased from $4.19 in 2014 to $6.18 in 2024. The company is expected to generate $6.89/share in earnings in 2025.

That being said, the core business is very stable, which means that long-term earnings power should not be affected. However, earnings per share have not grown by much over the past decade. The slowdown in dividend growth is a direct result of the slowdown in earnings per share growth. 

In the past decade, the dividend payout ratio increased from 58% in 2014 to 62% in 2024. A lower payout is always a plus, since it leaves room for consistent dividend growth minimizing the impact of short-term fluctuations in earnings.

Based on forward earnings, it appears that the forward dividend payout ratio is at 61%, which means that the dividend is sustainable.

The number of shares outstanding has been decreasing gradually over the past decade too.

It is interesting to look at the company's performance over the past decade for perspective. The stock sold for approximately $82/share a decade ago, had earned $4.19/share and paid a quarterly dividend of 64.36 cents/share, for an annual dividend yield of 3.10%. The P/E was at 19.60.

Fast forward to today, and the company is paying a quarterly dividend of  $1.0568/share, for a total yield on cost of 5.15%. If we take dividend reinvestment into consideration, a $1,000 investment ten years ago would be generating $68.30 in annual dividend income today.

At the current price, the stock sells for 23.25 times forward earnings. The stock yields 2.67%.