LTC Properties (LTC) raised its dividend 9.7% from $.155 to $.17 per month. Obviously I'm very pleased to see a hefty increase on a holding that is already high yield. High yield + high dividend growth is a potent combination, I need to find more companies like this. However LTC tends to increase dividends at irregular intervals meaning it's not automatic like a PG or JNJ. Anyways I like the management here and expect to enjoy additional increases over time with LTC.
Kraft Foods Group (KRFT) raised its dividend 5.0% from $.50 to $.525 per quarter. This was the first ever dividend boost for the post spinoff Kraft. Earlier this year the KRFT CEO stated the company was targeting mid single digit dividend growth. 5% is exactly on par so there is nothing to complain about here. I want to add more KRFT shares, but unfortunately I find the share price to be fully valued at the moment.
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) announced a 57.1% dividend increase from $.14 to $.22 per quarter starting Q1 2014. This is by far the largest increase my portfolio has ever seen, holy cow! ABT used to be a dividend champion (with a 40 year streak) before it split into two companies earlier this year. It is technically no longer a dividend champion but I decided not to penalize the company because the total ABT + ABBV combined dividends is larger than the old company. Anyhow the new ABT's stance on dividend growth is now crystal clear. I plan to accumulate more shares and probably even elevate ABT back to core holding status as it was before the Abbvie spinoff.
Kinder Morgan, INC (KMI) boosted its dividend 2.5% from $.40 to $.41 per quarter. While that number might seem rather low, KMI tends to do similar increases every quarter. I'll take any increase I can get. Each and every dividend increase puts more money in my pocket and moves me a baby step closer to financial independence.
Senior Housing Properties (SNH) FROZE its dividend at $.39 per quarter. I need to spend some time and figure out what the heck is going on here; freezes are almost always unacceptable! If a company can't even a muster the usual 2.5% raise it tells me something is wrong. I don't intend to sell positions very often, but I am likely to do so here. On the bright side, it shouldn't be terribly difficult to find a replacement REIT with a similar yield. I haven't had much time to do research the past few weeks. More to follow on the unfortunate SNH turn of events.
I love how regularly KMI is in a position to continue rewarding shareholders with dividend increases. With a +4.5% yield and over 12% dividend growth this past year, the yield on cost in accelerating quite nicely! I'm glad I scooped up some additional shares on the weakness over the last couple of months.
ReplyDeleteHey!
DeleteHow you been man? The KMI increases have sure been strong! I think at this point my allocation is full so I plan to sit back and enjoy the ride for time being. Thanks for dropping by.
I recently noticed that ABBV and ABT are back where they were prior to spin off (if it can be compared at all). ABBV yield is above 3% and ABT is reaching that level already. It seems that I will be adding those two stocks back to my portfolio.
ReplyDeleteI plan to add more ABT if I can lock in a 2.5% yield. Long term I like Abbott more right now than pre-spinoff. I say this because ABT no longer relies so heavily on the drug Humira which loses patent protection in a few years. I don't think ABT will come remotely close to maintaining 50% dividend growth (that's impossible). However, I think high single digits/low double digits is a reasonable estimation for the time being. ABT is very diversified, ABBV is more of a one trick pony.
DeleteIt will interesting to see what ABBV does with its dividend, but I am not as bullish on them long term.
Take care!
Good point on ABBV and Humira. I totally ignored that one and yes, I agree with you that it may change the game for ABBV.
DeleteI had not realized ABT had raised it so high. That is very encouraging.
ReplyDeleteYes it is nice to see a boost this high! However ABT will not be able to maintain dividend growth like this, I think the point of it was to get the yield back to historical levels. I'm pretty darn sure the board of directors had that in mind, I think they wanted to make it obvious ABT is still a dividend grower!
DeleteI reached out to SNH Investor Relations to ask about the dividend freeze:
ReplyDelete"SNH’s dividend is determined every quarter where the board meets independently to discuss the current distribution rate. While the company has consistently increased the dividend once since inception, management feels comfortable paying out between 80 – 90% of its Funds from Operations to investors. Currently, SNH’s FFO payout ratio of 93% is higher than management would like to see.
While I don’t have any color on when the dividend will be raised, it is the board’s primary goal to maintain and grow the dividend over time while maintaining a conservative FFO payout ratio and increasing FFO through accretive acquisitions and raises to rent within existing leases structures.
Let me know if you have further questions."
I may hold this for a little while yet and keep an eye on the payout ratio. I'm sitting on some small cap gains and my YOC is north of 7.1%. I'm not even sure what I would replace it with at the moment. Do you know what you're going to do? The freeze did take me off guard and does have me somewhat concerned.
And I forgot to add they did get back to me within a day, which I'm pleased about.
DeleteThanks for following up! SNH's explanation makes sense, holding is an option I did consider. However, I already decided to move on and replace it with OHI. You can read the post I just typed about the switch if interested.
DeleteBest wishes!