Dividend Champions For January 2016

Summary
CCC Universe Expanded by 142 companies in 2015.
Newest Champion crowned.
Watch out for MLP cuts in January/February.
The Dividend Champions spreadsheet and PDF have been updated through 12/31/15 and are available here. Note that all references to Champions mean companies that have paid higher dividends for at least 25 straight years; Contenders have streaks of 10-24 years; Challengers have streaks of 5-9 years. "CCC" refers to the universe of Champions, Contenders, and Challengers.
In One Year, Out the Other
As 2016 begins, we may be moving (back) to a "new normal." After the new Challenger "Class of 2015" surpassed the record "Class of 2014" in number and the net growth of the CCC universe, we should see smaller "Classes" over the next few years, along with the possibility of more deletions. In December, the CCC universe remained at 753 companies, with 9 new Challengers, 9 deletions, and one promotion (new Champion SEI Investments). The Near Challengers listing picked up just five "NEW" notations (in Appendix B on the Notes tab), bringing the number of Near-Challengers to 124, down from 128 last month and the record of 281 companies in September 2014. After November's action saw the average price of CCC stocks slip by 16¢, that figure dropped by $1.87 in December. While the average "age" of the dividend streaks remained at 13.8 years, the average yield edged up from 3.12%... Read more