Seven Dividend Growth Companies Raising Dividends Last Week

I review the list of dividend increases each week, as part of my monitoring process. I follow this process in order to monitor existing investments and to potentially identify companies for further research. I focus on quality companies with consistent cashflows, which can be purchased at attractive valuations, which I can then buy and hold forever. These are the types of long-term investments that can deliver rising dividends for decades, while also delivering dependable returns in the process.

This exercise also shows the data points I use in my quick evaluation of a company. This helps me determine if I want to proceed in analyzing a company for potential investment or not. Typically, a promising fundamental development, such as increasing earnings, a sustainable payout ratio and a track record of consistent dividend increases would place a company on my list for further research. I review the growth in earnings and dividends over the past decade, in order to evaluate the likelihood of them continuing their steady march upwards. I also look at valuation together with fundamental performance. 

If a company is attractively valued, that's definitely great and increases the chances of it becoming a part of my portfolio, if my analysis doesn't raise any red flags. Even if the company seems overvalued today, I would still review it, in order to be ready to act if it ever becomes cheaper.

Over the past week, there were seven companies that have managed to increase dividends for at least a decade, AND also increased dividends last week. The companies include: 

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) operates convenience stores under the Casey's and Casey’s General Store names. Its stores offer pizza, donuts, breakfast items, and sandwiches; and tobacco and nicotine products. 

The company increased quarterly dividends by 14% to $0.57/share. This is the 26th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend champion. Over the past decade the company has managed to increase dividends at an annualized rate of 9.60%.

The company managed to grow earnings from $5.79/share in 2016 to $14.72/share in 2025.

The company is expected to earn $15.93/share in 2026.

The stock sells for 31.80 times forward earnings and yields 0.40%.

Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in the United States and internationally.

The company raised quarterly dividend by 7.10% to $1.51/share. This is the 31st consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend aristocrat. Over the past decade, the company has managed to increase dividends at an annualized rate of 7.25%. 

Between 2015 and 2024, the company managed to grow earnings from $4.23/share to $22.17/share.

The company is expected to earn $18.70/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 19.30 times forward earnings and yields 1.56%.

HEICO Corporation (HEI) designs, manufactures, and sells aerospace, defense, and electronic related products and services in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments Flight Support Group (FSG) and Electronic Technologies Group (ETG).

The company raised its semi-annual dividend by 9.10% to $0.12/share. This is the 18th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 13.10%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company managed to grow earnings from $1.02/share to $3.71/share.

The company is expected to earn $4.58/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 66.40 times forward earnings and yields 0.08%

National Fuel Gas Company (NFG) operates as a diversified energy company. It operates through four segments: Exploration and Production, Pipeline and Storage, Gathering, and Utility.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 3.90% to $0.535/share. This dividend king has increased its annual dividend for 55 straight years. During the past decade the company has managed to increase dividends at an annualized rate of 2.95%.

Between 2015 and 2024 the company managed to grow earnings from a loss of $4.50 to a profit of $0.84/share. 

The company is expected to earn $6.90/share in 2025. It's trend in earnings per share is not very consistent, but a little volatile.

The stock sells for 12.19 times forward earnings and yields 2.45%.

Target Corporation (TGT) operates as a general merchandise retailer in the United States.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 1.80% to $1.14/share. This is the 54th consecutive year of annual dividend increases for this dividend king. Over the past decade it has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 7.97%. 

Between 2015 and 2024, the company has managed to grow earnings from $5.36/share to $8.89/share.

The company is expected to earn $7.36/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 13.50 times forward earnings and yields 4.51%.

Realty Income (O) is a Real Estate Investment Trust which invests in triple-net properties in the US and Europe.

The REIT raised its monthly dividends to $0.2690/share. This is a 2.28% increase over the dividend paid during the same time last year. Realty Income is a dividend aristocrat which has increased dividends every single years since its IPO in 1994. Over the past decade, Realty Income has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 3.96%.

The company managed to grow FFO from $2.77/share in 2015 to $4.01/share in 2024.

Realty Income is expected to generate $4.26/share in FFO in 2025.

The REIT sells for 13.60 times forward FFO and yields 5.50%.

W. R. Berkley Corporation (WRB), an insurance holding company, operates as a commercial line writer worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Insurance, and Reinsurance & Monoline Excess. 

The company raised quarterly dividends by 12.50% to $0.09/share. This is the 24st consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, the company managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 9.39%.

Between 2015 and 2024 the company managed to grow earnings from $1.20/share to $4.39/share.

The company is expected to generate $4.31/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 17.11 times forward earnings and yields 1.45%.

Average and Median Net Worth by Age

Do you ever wonder how your net worth compares to others in your age group? Do you ever wonder if you are ahead or behind? Do you also ever wonder how to build wealth?

Well I recently obtained a table that shows the average and median net worth by age. The table was compiled using data from the Federal Reserve survey of consumer finances.

Let's describe what some of those terms mean,

In statistics, the median is the middle number in a sorted list of numbers. It represents the point where half of the values are above and half are below. Essentially, it's the midpoint of a dataset. 

"Average" typically refers to the arithmetic mean, which is calculated by adding all the numbers in a set and then dividing that sum by the total number of values in the set.

The fun part is that an average can be pulled up by outliers. For example, if I am a 94 year old with a net worth of $0 and I am joined by Warren Buffett, whose net worth is $152 Billion, the average net worth is going to be $76 Billion between the two of us.

If Buffett is joined by several folks in their 90s however, the mid point is going to be $293,322. This means that half of those in their 90s will have a net worth below $293,322, while the other half will have a net worth above $293,322.

The fascinating part is how a few wealthy folks (the outliers) can really pull the average net worth numbers up. However it is somewhat saddening that the median net worth figures are so low for the US population.

Most folks in the US simply do not have a high net worth to begin with. 

This is due to a combination of low income, high cost of living and emergencies that could sink finances in an instant. 

On the other hand, many folks in their 70s, 80s, 90s have pension and/or Social Security income, which has a "value" but is not really reflective in this statement of net worth.

For younger folks, it is understandable that their net worth would be low in their 20s or even 30s. That's when you are starting in your careers, and building out your worth from a low point. For many, they also have to overcome the negative burden of student loans as well.

I will be honest with you, when I read this table, I see it as an inspiration to build wealth.

I see it as an inspiration to convert a portion of paycheck on a regular basis into a portfolio of dividend growth stocks.

The initial grind is hard, as you need to invest in your human capital first, and then start to monetize that with your first job after college.

As a younger person, your biggest asset is time.

Assuming a 7% real total return annualized, a dollar invested in your 20s would turn to almost $30 in 50 years. 

But that same dollar would only turn to almost $2 in a decade.

It would turn to almost $4 in two decades.

It would turn to $7.50 in three decades.

It would turn to almost $15 in four decades.

Remember those are "real" dollars, as in "inflation adjusted".

As for taxes, there are handy retirement accounts to defer or eliminate them (Roth IRA).

If you manage income and expenses well, you can probably afford to have a decent savings rate right off the bat. If you can live like a college student, even after your first job for a few years at least, you can soak up a lot in savings. Those can be a nice emergency fund to fall back on in case things happen. It can also be a nice nest egg that would compound for a long period of time for you too.

As a general rule, the earlier you start investing, the more time you have to compound those investments. 

The latter you start investing ,the less time you have to compound those investments.

So it's important to start early, as this story demonstrates.

Your savings rate matters a lot. To get to it one needs to manage BOTH income AND expenses. A high income alone won't help you if you spend all of it. Being super frugal alone on a low income also won't help you because you have less to work with, and certain fixed costs are unavoidable. Hence you need to manage BOTH.  Your savings rate matters.

The best game in town is to generate a good salary/income in a lower cost of living area. For example, making $250,000 in New York City or Silicon Valley may sound great, until you pay half of it on rent. On the other hand, while earning $100,000 in Saint Louis may sound like a lower income than the coasts, you may be able to save more as your rent/housing may be lower too. The major expense categories include housing, food, transportation + taxes as well.

Getting to your first $100,000 is the hardest, as it requires being smart with your money.

A higher savings rate can help you reach your goals and objectives faster. A lower savings rate can mean that it takes you longer to reach your goals and objectives. The math behind early retirement is simple.

If you save 70% of your income, invest in dividend paying companies yielding 3% and growing earnings, dividends and share prices at a real rate of 4% per year, you will be able to retire in approximately 10 years.

If you only save 50% of income, you will be able to retire in 17 years.

At a 40% savings rate, it takes 21 - 22 years to reach the dividend crossover point. The dividend crossover point is the point at which your dividends exceed expenses.

If you only manage to save 30% per year, you will be able to retire in 27 years.

This chart shows how long it would take for the investment income to exceed the amount of spending, given the return, the dividend growth, dividend reinvestment and savings assumptions.

For example if you earn $10,000/month, and you spend $5,000/month, you would be able to save and invest $5,000/month. This is a 50% savings rate. At the conservative return assumptions above, you would be able to retire in about 17 years. That’s when the portfolio would be generating $5,000/month in dividends.

The savings rate is very important. Getting to the right savings rate means focusing on managing BOTH spending AND income. That’s the fuel before we even discuss the investment strategy.

You can view the spreadsheet behind the calculations from this link. You can download it, and play with your own assumptions.

I assume a “real salary” that does merely keep up with inflation, and investment returns that are also “real” and therefore are after inflation. I also am ignoring the effect of taxes on investment income, since everyone’s taxes are different, and I didn’t want to complicate too much this simple truth. More complications are probably going to confuse people, rather than make it clear for them. I am also assuming that this investment income is the only income to provide the essentials for a basic retirement income. In most situations, a person would have pension income and social security income or even some part time job income to rely upon, when they retire. For those who strive to retire early, it is quite possible that they will exclusively rely on the income produced from their investments.

Also note that as with other models, there is linearity assumed in terms of savings rate each month, investment returns each month etc. In reality, real life does tend to be lumpier. While a model has its limitations, it still tends to showcase and illustrate a mental model rather well.

Accumulating income generating assets takes time. But once you reach a certain inflection point, the power of compounding starts doing the heavy lifting for you. 

The power of compounding is fascinating. The human mind cannot really comprehend it easily. But if you did the right thing early on, and accumulated wealth wisely, your future self would be happy for it. Your family would be taken care of too.

Today we learned about the key ingredients that would help you build wealth. It is a simple function of how much you save (As a percentage of income), your holding period and your rate of return (dividend yield + dividend growth).

Once you get the basics covered, all it takes is to invest consistently, and let the power of compounding do the heavy lifting for you.

Two Dividend Achievers Increasing Dividends Last Week

I review the list of dividend increases every week as part of my monitoring process. This exercise helps me stay in shape, and abreast on what's happening accross the dividend growth investing universe. 

I typically focus on companies that have managed to grow dividends for at least a decade. This requirement weeds out a lot of dividend growth hopefuls that never quite make it to the finish line either due to business model and/or state of the economy.

Over the past week, there were two companies that raised dividends to shareholders. Both companies have managed to increase dividends for at least a decade: 

Oil-Dri Corporation of America (ODC) develops, manufactures, and markets sorbent products in the United States and internationally. It operates in two segments, Retail and Wholesale Products Group, and Business to Business Products Group. 

The company increased its quarterly dividends by 16.10% to $0.18/share. This marks the 22nd consecutive year of dividend growth for this dividend achiever. Over the past decade, the company has managed to grow dividends at an annualized rate of 4.48%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company managed to grow earnings from $0.80/share to $2.72/share.

The company is expected to earn $3.13/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 16.12 times earnings and yields 1.31%.

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) operates as a health care company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx.

The company raised its quarterly dividend by 5.20% to $2.21/share. This is the 16th year of consecutive annual dividend increases for this dividend achiever. It's also the slowest raise in the quarterly dividend ever. Over the past decade, the company has managed to raise its dividend at an annualized rate of 18.80%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company has managed to grow earnings from $6.10/share to $15.64/share.

The company is expected to earn $22.59/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 13.10 times forward earnings and yields 2.91%,

Relevant Articles:

- Four Dividend Growth Companies Increasing Dividends Last Week

- Nine Companies Raising Dividends Last Week

- 14 Companies Showering Shareholders With More Cash

- Eleven Dividend Growth Companies Raising Dividends Last Week

Warren Buffett on Living Off Dividends In Retirement

I am a big fan of Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha. His letters to shareholders are an excellent resource for students of value investing. I've studied his strategy, investments and his work, and believe that Warren Buffett is a Dividend Growth Investor in disguise.

I am also a big fan of Dividend Growth Investing. The goal of every Dividend Growth Investor is to generate enough in dividend income to pay for their expenses in retirement. To get there you save and invest consistently in quality dividend growth companies that sell at attractive valuations. The next step is to keep at it, and also patiently let the power of compounding do the heavy lifting for you. It takes time to build this portfolio, brick by brick, but once you reach critical mass, the power of compounding is very visible. With dividend growth on top of regular dividend reinvestment and regular investment and after giving it some time, that dividend income and net worth goes in turbocharged mode.

I like the concept of Dividend Growth Investing when it comes to investing for retirement. The investor builds a diversified portfolio by investing regularly, reinvests those dividends until their dividend income covers expenses. At that point, they can retire. 

I recently saw an interesting video clip of Warren Buffett, which discussed how he would invest if he were retired.

You can read the transcript below:

"Warren Buffett: If I were retired, I had a million-dollar portfolio of stocks paying me $30,000 a year in dividends. my children were grown and the house was paid off, I wouldn’t worry too much about having a lot of cash around."

I love this video because it is short and to the point. 

A million dollar portfolio could be built today to generate $30,000 in annual dividend income quite easily. If history is any guide, that income would likely grow at or above the rate of inflation over time, thus preserving the purchasing power of that income. In addition, as the dividend grow, it's very likely that the value of the portfolio would grow over time as well. This in effect would also help protect purchasing power of principal as well.

The concept of living off dividends in retirement is a very powerful one. It's also very simple. When the amount of dividend income generated by your portfolio covers your expenses, you can retire. I use the rule of 3% to determine how much money I need to accumulate to cover expenses. This means that I need to have roughly 33 times the amount of money accumulated for each dollar I plan to spend in retirement. In other words, if I spend $30,000/year, I need roughly $1 Million invested at 3%. If I need $100,000/year, I need to accumulate around $3.3 Million in income generating assets.

Getting to the million dollar portfolio of course requires time, patience, perseverance and consistency. I would think that a long-term investor can get there in a reasonable amount of time. Getting there is a function of the the dividend yield, dividend growth, amount invested and time you invest for (assuming of course that the investor keeps costs low in the process as well).

For example, someone who invests $30,000/year in a portfolio of dividend growth stocks yielding 3% and growing dividends at 6%/year annualized, would be able to generate about $30,000 in annual dividend income withing 15 years or so. If that investor keeps investing for 22 years, the total amount of dividend income would reach $60,000/year. You may like this spreadsheet to play with assumption.

However, if they can only invest roughly $1,250/month, it would take about 22 years to reach $30,000 in annual dividend income. At a 3% average dividend yield, this translates into a portfolio worth $1 Million.

The other part I liked about the video is the discussion around owning your home and being in a phase of life where your children are grown up and on their own. 

At a certain point in life you may either have your house paid off, and/or you are ready to downsize, which reduces housing costs. That in itself reduces amount of investable assets that are needed to produce income for you. If your housing cost is $30,000/year on top of every other expense you have, you need an additional $1 Million in retirement assets (dividend stocks/401k etc). But if you can reduce that amount to say $15,000, then you need less in retirement assets to support this part of your budget.

If your kids are grown up and on their own, that further reduces ongoing costs as well. Of course, the retired couple may have higher discretionary expenses related to travel, and helping out with grandchildren or helping children as well. But the necessary costs have definitely been reduced, as discretionary costs could be reduced somewhat more easily than necessary ones. You need to eat even during a recession, but that trip to Paris could wait another season or another year.

Of course, the other thing to consider is other income sources in retirement. If you plan to retire at the traditional age in your early 60s, you may also be eligible for social security in the US or a traditional pension plan. If you spend $30,000/year in retirement, but also generate $1,000/month in Social Security, you actually need only $18,000/year in dividends to cover the shortfall. That means that you only need $600,000 portfolio, rather than thee $1 Million one. Of course, if you do not plan to start your Social Security until the age of 70 or you plan to retire much earlier, then you would likely need that full $1 Million in income producing assets, before you can retire early.

Four Dividend Growth Companies Increasing Dividends Last Week

I review the list of dividend increases every week, in an effort to monitor the dividend growth investing universe. This exercise helps me review existing holdings and potentially uncover companies for further research. This exercise also helps me showcase my quick method of reviewing companies, before determining if I should put them on my "to research" pile or "not research" pile.

There were ten companies raising dividends in North America last week. Four of those companies have managed to raise dividends for at least a decade. The companies include:

Donaldson Company, Inc. (DCI) manufactures and sells filtration systems and replacement parts worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Mobile Solutions, Industrial Solutions, and Life Sciences.

The company raised quarterly dividends by 11.10% to $0.30/share. Donaldson is a member of the S&P High-Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index and calendar year 2024 marked the 29th consecutive year of annual dividend increases.

The company managed to grow earnings from $1.51/share in 2015 to $3.43/share in 2024.

The company is expected to earn $3.60/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 19.30 times forward earnings and yields 1.72%.

Lowe's (LOW) operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. It provides a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating.

The company raised its quarterly dividend by 4.30% to $1.20/share. This is the 63rd consecutive year of annual dividend increases for this dividend king. Over the past decade, this dividend king has managed to raise dividends at an annualized rate of 17.46%.

This is also the third consecutive year of raising the quarterly dividend by a nickel however.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company managed to grow earnings from $2.73/share to $12.24/share.

The company is expected to earn $12.26/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 18.42 times forward earnings and yields 2.04%.

National Bank of Canada (NA.to or NTIOF) provides financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional clients, and governments in Canada and internationally. It operates through four segments: Personal and Commercial, Wealth Management, Financial Markets, and U.S. Specialty Finance and International. 

The company raised quarterly dividends to CAD $1.18/share. This is a 7.27% increase over the dividend paid during the same time last year. This is the 16th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever.

Over the past decade, the bank has managed to grow dividend at an annualized rate of 8.62%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company managed to grow earnings from CAD $4.56/share to CAD $10.78/share.

The bank is expected to earn CAD $10.96/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 10.96 times forward earnings and yields 3.50%.

Royal Bank of Canada (RY) operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. Its Personal Banking segment offers home equity financing, personal lending, chequing and savings accounts, private banking, auto financing, mutual funds, GICs, credit cards, and payment products and solutions. 

The company raised quarterly dividends to CAD $1.54/share. This is an 8.45% increase over the dividend paid during the same time last year. This is the 13th consecutive annual dividend increase for this dividend achiever.

Over the past decade, the bank has managed to grow dividend at an annualized rate of 6.89%.

Between 2015 and 2024, the company managed to grow earnings from CAD $6.75/share to CAD $11.27/share.

The bank is expected to earn CAD $13.29/share in 2025.

The stock sells for 13.09 times forward earnings and yields 3.54%.

Relevant Articles:

- Nine Companies Raising Dividends Last Week

- 14 Companies Showering Shareholders With More Cash

- Eleven Dividend Growth Companies Raising Dividends Last Week

- Four Dividend Increases In a Time of Tariffs