Dividend Challengers (And Near-Challengers): 58 Increases Expected By September 30

In compiling the Dividend Champions list (found 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.
Dividend Growth Picks Up
The Dividend Growth "vacation" that has dominated the early part of Summer should run its course over the next couple of weeks. As you can see in the table below, the pace picks up in August and September (by Ex-Dividend Date), before accelerating in the fourth quarter. The number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has increased from just 78 a month ago to 102 now, still in the "below average" category, but well up from the slow pace of recent months. I would expect the overall activity to remain relatively light until the end of third quarter, before the 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... Read more