Dividend Challengers (And Near-Challengers): 77 Increases Expected By The End Of December

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 Season in Full Swing
The Dividend Growth surge that emerged last month marked the start of the busiest period of the year, namely the fourth quarter of one year and the first quarter of the next. The number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has increased from exactly 100 a month ago to 144 now, the typical increase for the next six months or so. That should offer some reassurance that the "counter" trend highlighted in my recent article is not as devastating as it may have seemed. While the typical fourth-quarter Freezes tend to eliminate the "weak" CCC components, it's clear that the strong companies continue to thrive!
The table below coincides with the usual "forward look" of about 11 weeks for this article. Based on last... Read more