Dividend Contenders: 18 Increases Expected By July 31

In compiling the Dividend Champions list (here) I get to see which companies are nearing the anniversaries of their previous dividend increases. Since most of these firms raise their payout about the same time every year, I can say with some confidence that they are likely to do so again. I have separated the Champions (25 or more years of higher dividends), Contenders (10-24 years), and Challengers (5-9 years) into distinct groupings, so please look for the other articles, which I hope will be published about the same time. Note that "CCC" refers to the combination of Champions, Contenders, and Challengers.
Lazy Days of Summer
Now that the tidal wave of Shareholder Meetings has subsided, I expect to see a lull in dividend increase announcements heading into Summer. The number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has decreased from 126 a month ago to just 63 now, putting it in the "below average" category. Aside from a couple of brief surges, I would expect the overall activity to remain relatively light until late in the third quarter and heading into the usual heavier activity in this year's fourth quarter and the first quarter of 2017.
The table below coincides with the usual "forward look" of about 11 weeks for this article. Based on last year's announcements, I'm expecting the following companies to announce dividend increases between now and the... Read more