There are only 26 such companies in the US, and perhaps a couple more in the rest of the world. It is not a small achievement to have been able to reward long-term shareholders with a dividend raise for over half a century.
Over the past 50 years, some calamities experienced include:
- The Vietnam War
- The oil crisis in the 1970s
- Stagflationary 1970s
- Double digit interest rates in the 1980s
- Fall of the Soviet Union in 1991
- 9/11 in 2001
- The Dot-com bubble bursting in 2000
- The housing bubble bursting in 2007 - 2008
- ZIRP and NIRP since 2009
- Seven Recessions since 1967…
Throughout this calamity each of those businesses managed to grow earnings, and raise the dividend to their long-term shareholders. If you are looking for a long-term shareholder base, the best way to build it is by paying those owners more every single year. This is a simple, but novel idea for corporations to embrace.
We had one new addition to the list in 2018, which brought the number of companies to 26. This is a record since we started tracking the list of dividend kings in 2010. When I first came up with the idea for the list of dividend kings in 2010, there were only eleven companies on it. While our 2018 list also included 26 companies, I had to remove Target for now, since its streak of annual dividend increases was only 48 years. I am pretty confident that the retailer will hit 50 years in a row by the end of the decade.
The new addition for the current year include:
Commerce Bancshares (CBSH)
The companies in the 2019 dividend kings list include:
Company Name
|
Symbol
|
Industry
|
Years Dividend Increases
|
Price 11/30/2018
|
Dividend Yield
|
10-yr Dividend Growth
|
3M Company
|
MMM
|
Conglomerate
|
60
|
207.92
|
2.58%
|
9.37%
|
ABM Industries Inc.
|
ABM
|
Business Services
|
51
|
31.68
|
2.21%
|
3.54%
|
American States Water
|
AWR
|
Utility-Water
|
64
|
67.08
|
1.64%
|
7.61%
|
California Water Service
|
CWT
|
Utility-Water
|
51
|
45.72
|
1.64%
|
2.19%
|
Cincinnati Financial
|
CINF
|
Insurance
|
58
|
81.73
|
2.59%
|
3.53%
|
Coca-Cola Company
|
KO
|
Beverages-Non-alcoholic
|
56
|
50.40
|
3.10%
|
7.94%
|
Colgate-Palmolive Co.
|
CL
|
Personal Products
|
55
|
63.52
|
2.64%
|
8.55%
|
Commerce Bancshares
|
CBSH
|
Banking
|
50
|
63.02
|
1.49%
|
4.41%
|
Dover Corp.
|
DOV
|
Machinery
|
63
|
84.89
|
2.26%
|
10.96%
|
Emerson Electric
|
EMR
|
Industrial Equipment
|
62
|
67.52
|
2.90%
|
5.88%
|
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp
|
FMCB
|
Banking
|
54
|
712.00
|
1.97%
|
4.00%
|
Federal Realty Inv. Trust
|
FRT
|
REIT-Shopping Centers
|
51
|
132.09
|
3.09%
|
5.37%
|
Genuine Parts Co.
|
GPC
|
Auto Parts
|
62
|
103.71
|
2.78%
|
6.47%
|
Hormel Foods Corp.
|
HRL
|
Food Processing
|
53
|
45.09
|
1.86%
|
16.32%
|
Johnson & Johnson
|
JNJ
|
Drugs/Consumer Prod.
|
56
|
146.90
|
2.45%
|
7.44%
|
Lancaster Colony Corp.
|
LANC
|
Food/Consumer Prod.
|
56
|
180.32
|
1.33%
|
7.52%
|
Lowe's Companies
|
LOW
|
Retail-Home Improv.
|
56
|
94.37
|
2.03%
|
19.31%
|
Nordson Corp.
|
NDSN
|
Machinery
|
54
|
120.41
|
1.16%
|
12.53%
|
Northwest Natural Gas
|
NWN
|
Utility-Gas
|
62
|
66.33
|
2.86%
|
2.72%
|
Parker-Hannifin Corp.
|
PH
|
Industrial Equipment
|
62
|
172.04
|
1.77%
|
13.21%
|
Procter & Gamble Co.
|
PG
|
Consumer Products
|
62
|
94.51
|
3.04%
|
7.25%
|
SJW Corp.
|
SJW
|
Utility-Water
|
51
|
56.04
|
2.00%
|
3.72%
|
Stanley Black & Decker
|
SWK
|
Tools/Security Products
|
51
|
130.85
|
2.02%
|
7.09%
|
Stepan Company
|
SCL
|
Cleaning Products
|
51
|
80.82
|
1.24%
|
7.37%
|
Tootsie Roll Industries
|
TR
|
Confectioner
|
52
|
35.01
|
1.03%
|
4.53%
|
Vectren Corp.
|
VVC
|
Utility-Electric/Gas
|
59
|
71.81
|
2.67%
|
3.02%
|
Vectren Corp. (VVC) is one company that would likely depart the list in 2019, since it is in the process of being acquired. However, there are three companies which are set to potentially join the elite list of dividend kings by the end of 2019:
Atria Group (MO)
Black Hills Corp. (BKH)
H.B. Fuller Company (FUL)
This track record is a testament to the stability of the underlying businesses that generated the earnings growth necessary to grow the dividend for half a century (and longer). This track record is an indication of a business that is relatively immune to outside shocks. This resilience throughout the period manifests itself into the long stretch of dividend increases, spanning over half a century.
While these companies are not investment recommendations, I post them as examples for further study by serious dividend investors. Studying the businesses, their industries, could give you clues as to the type of business that can flourish over a half of a century.
As I mentioned above, I have been compiling the list of dividend kings since 2010. To view the historical changes in the list, please follow the links below:
2018 Dividend Kings List
Dividend Kings List for 2017
Dividend Kings for 2016
Dividend Kings List for 2015
The Dividend Kings List for 2014
The Dividend Kings List Keeps Expanding in 2013
Eleven Dividend Kings, Raising dividends for 50+ years
Ten Dividend Kings raising dividends for over 50 years
Thank you for reading!
PS Note that Parker-Hannifin's track record is based upon dividend payments for its Fiscal Year rather than the Calendar Year. The fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
Therefore, the FY 2015 dividend was $2.37/share ( one dividend payment of 48 cents/share plus three dividend payments of 63 cents/share).
The FY 2016 dividend was $2.52/share ( four dividend payments of 63 cents/share)
The FY 2017 dividend was $2.58/share ( two dividend payments of 66 cents/share plus two dividend payments of 63 cents/share)
Because of the use of Fiscal Years, rather than Calendar Years, I excluded Parker - Hannifin from the first list of dividend kings that I compiled in 2010.
Update: 06/17/2018
In early 2018 I listed Target as a dividend king incorrectly with a 50 year history of annual dividend increases. Upon reviewing the dividend history for Target on the company’s investor relations website, I agree that it has only managed to boost distributions for 47 years in a row ( which is not a small achievement either). Therefore, I am downgrading it back to dividend champion status. Hopefully in three years it can become a dividend king. The lesson for this paragraph is to trust, but always verify the numbers you see. In addition, you should always do your own research and only invest in what makes sense for you. Blindly following others is frequently a mistake.
