'Overdue' Dividend Increases (And Other Streaks In Peril)

Summary
Dividend streak "Death Watch" is on.
Foreign companies face strong dollar hurdle.
M&A activity will end some streaks.
In compiling the Dividend Champions list (found here), I get to see which companies are nearing the anniversaries of their previous dividend increases. Most of these firms raise their payout about the same time every year, but some companies go longer before boosting their dividends, and this can raise concerns about their streaks of increases.
Dividends in Doubt Series
This series lists companies whose latest dividend increases might be considered "overdue" because it has been more than a year since the previous increase, a possible sign that their streaks of increases are in danger. (Some firms regularly go more than a year between increases, so this is only an "early warning" sign that some of them may warrant concern.)
Since the previous update in July, four (MOCO, AMAT, DRI, NAUH) of the 36 "overdue" companies mentioned in that article have been deleted, while three (CPKF, MCK, TOO, and RAI) declared increases, removing themselves from "overdue" status. Since the nine companies in the first group below are in immediate danger of a dividend "freeze" (back-to-back years of equal dividend totals), the 2015 Dividend Streak "Death Watch" has begun and hinges on the fourth quarter dividend announcements. Of course, any dividend reductions or eliminations would lead... Read more