Dividend Increases: June 18-24, 2022

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We monitor dividend announcements for stocks in Dividend Radar, a spreadsheet of stocks with dividend streaks of five years or more. Readers are invited to download the spreadsheet for free. The Dividend Radar spreadsheet separate stocks into three categories: Champions (with increase streaks of 25+ years), Contenders (10-24 years), and Challengers (5-9 years).

In the past week, six companies in Dividend Radar decided to increase their dividends. Note there were no dividend cuts or suspensions announced for Dividend Radar stocks during this period.

The following table presents a summary of the dividend increases. The table is sorted into sections for Champions, Contenders, and Challengers, and then by the percentage increase, (% Incr). Dividends are annualized and in US$, unless otherwise indicated. yield is the new dividend yield for a recent price and Yrs are years of consecutive dividend increases.

The following dividend increase data are sorted alphabetically by ticker.

Company descriptions are the author’s summary of company descriptions sourced from Finviz.

Kroger (KR)

KR, along with its subsidiaries, operates retail food and drug stores, multi-department stores, jewelry stores, and convenience stores across the United States. The company’s banner brands include Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, and King Soopers, as well as Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic. KR was founded in 1883 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

  • On Jun 23, KR declared a quarterly dividend of 26¢ per share.
  • This is an increase of 23.81% from the prior dividend of 21¢.
  • Payable Sep 1, to shareholders of record on Aug 15; ex div: Aug 12.

Worthington Industries (WOR)

Founded in 1955 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, WOR is a metals manufacturing company focused on value-added steel processing and manufactured metal products. The company processes flat-rolled steel for other processors and various end markets. It manufactures filled and unfilled pressure cylinders, tanks, hand torches, oil and gas equipment, and various accessories for end-use market applications. WOR also manufactures open and enclosed cabs, as well as operator stations for heavy mobile equipment.

  • On Jun 22, WOR declared a quarterly dividend of 31¢ per share.
  • This is an increase of 10.71% from the prior dividend of 28¢.
  • Payable Sep 29, to shareholders of record on Sep 15; ex div: Sep 14.

Horizon Bancorp (HBNC)

HBNC operates as the bank holding company for Horizon Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services in Northern and Central Indiana, as well as in Southern, Central, and the Great Lakes bay regions of Michigan. HBNC was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana.

  • On Jun 24, HBNC declared a quarterly dividend of 16¢ per share.
  • This is an increase of 6.67% from the prior dividend of 15¢.
  • Payable Jul 22, to shareholders of record on Jul 8; ex-div: Jul 7.

Matson (MATX)

MATX provides ocean transportation and logistics services to the domestic non-contiguous economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, as well as to other island economies in Micronesia. The company was formerly known as Alexander & Baldwin Holdings and changed its name to Matson in June 2012. MATX was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

  • On Jun 23, MATX declared a quarterly dividend of 31¢ per share.
  • This is an increase of 3.33% from the prior dividend of 30¢.
  • Payable Sep 1, to shareholders of record on Aug 4; ex div: Aug 3.

John Wiley (WLY)

WLY operates as a research and education company worldwide, empowering researchers, learners, universities, and corporations to achieve their goals in an ever-changing world. The company operates through three segments: Research Publishing & Platforms, Academic & Professional Learning, and Education Services. WLY was founded in 1807 and is headquartered in Hoboken, New Jersey.

  • On Jun 23, WLY declared a quarterly dividend of 34.75¢ per share.
  • This is an increase of 0.72% from the prior dividend of 34.5¢.
  • Payable Jul 20, to shareholders of record on Jul 6; ex-div: Jul 5.

Riverview Bancorp (RVSB)

Founded in 1923 and based in Vancouver, Washington, RVSB operates as the holding company for Riverview Community Bank that provides community banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individuals in Washington and Oregon. RVSB provides a range of deposit and loan products, as well as mortgage brokerage and asset management services.

  • On Jun 23, RVSB declared a quarterly dividend of 6¢ per share.
  • This is an increase of 0.00% from the prior dividend of 6¢.
  • Payable Jul 21, to shareholders of record on Jul 8; ex-div: Jul 7.

Please note that we’re not recommending any of these stocks. Readers should do their own research on these companies before buying shares.

Dividend Cuts and Suspensions

Following requests from readers, we’ve added this section to our weekly article series. Please note that we’re only covering dividend cuts and suspensions announced by companies in Dividend Radar’s spreadsheet. There were no dividend cuts or suspensions announced for stocks in Dividend Radar during this period.

An Interesting Candidate

In this section, we highlight one of the stocks that announced a dividend increase. We provide a quality assessment and present performance, earnings, and valuation charts.

Our objective is to identify high-quality dividend growth [DG] stocks trading at reasonable valuations. That’s a tough task, though, as high-quality DG stocks often trade at premium valuations. If we can’t find a worthy candidate, we’ll suggest a stock to add to your watchlist and a suitable target price.

To start, we use DVK Quality Snapshots to do a quick quality assessment, screening our list of DG stocks based on quality scores. Below is a shortlist of two stocks with quality scores in the range of 15-25:

Summary table and key metrics of high-quality stocks that announced dividend increases.

Created by the authors from data in Dividend Radar

Let’s consider Dividend Contender Krogera stock that yields 2.15% at $48.45 per share and has a 5-year dividend growth rate [DGR] of 11.7%.

KR is rated decent (quality score: 15-18):

Quality score breakdown of highlighted stock

Created by the author from a personal spreadsheet

Over the past ten years, KR underperformed the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (SPY), an ETF designed to track the 500 companies in the S&P 500 index:

Chart showing how KR outperformed the SPY over the past decade

Portfolio Insight

Over this time frame, KR delivered total returns of 410% versus SPY’s 259%, a margin of 1.58-to-1.

If we extend the period of comparison to the past twenty years, KR also outperformed SPY, with total returns of 578% versus SPY’s 488%. That’s a margin of 1.18-to-1.

KR has grown its dividend for 16 years, but here are the dividend payouts of the last decade:

Chart of KR's 10-year dividend growth history

Portfolio Insight

KR’s Dividend growth is a model of consistency and the company’s latest dividend increase is very generous indeed at 23.8%!

While KR’s earnings growth is not as consistent, it is clear that the company can afford its generous dividend increases:

Chart of KR's 10-year Non-GAAP earnings growth history

Portfolio Insight

Moreover, KR’s earnings payout ratio is only 21%, which is “very low for most companies” according to Simply Safe Dividends:

Chart of KR's 10-year history of earnings and free cash flow payout

Simply Safe Dividends

That means KR has plenty of room to continue paying and growing its dividend. Simply Safe Dividends consider KR’s dividend safewith a Dividend Safety Score of 71.

Next, let’s now consider KR’s valuation.

Snapshot of KR's valuation and key metrics, courtesy of Portfolio Insight

Portfolio Insight

We could estimate fair value by dividing the stock’s annualized dividend ($1.04) by its 5-year average yield (1.94%). This results in a fair value [FV] estimate of $54. Given KR’s current price of $48.45, the stock is trading at a discounted valuation relative to its past dividend yield history.

For reference, CFRA’s FV is $43, Morningstar’s FV is $48, Portfolio Insight’s FV is $49, Finbox.com’s FV is $60, and Simply Wall St’s FV is $69.The average of these fair value estimates is $54, also indicating that KR may be trading at a discounted valuation.

My own FV estimate of KR is $48, so I believe the stock is trading at about fair value.

Here are the most recent Seeking Alpha articles covering CR:

  1. buying: Is Kroger Stock A Buy After Earnings?, by BOOX Research
  2. buying: Kroger: Do Not Play The Wall Street Game, by individual traders
  3. buying: Kroger: Likely To Outperform The Market During Times Of Low Consumer Confidence, by Bela Lakos

Conclusion

KR is a quality DG stock rated decent. For stocks rated decent, I require a 10% discount to my fair value estimate. Therefore, my Buy Below price is $43.

Please note that I’m not recommending KR or any of the stocks listed in this article. Readers should do their own research on these companies before buying shares.

Thanks for reading, and happy investing!