Dividend Challengers (And Near-Challengers): 87 Increases Expected By April 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.
Expansion Returns
The first six weeks of 2017 have demonstrated how strong (and wide-spread) dividend growth can be, as dozens of companies have already extended their streaks of dividend growth and the CCC "universe" has grown to almost 800 companies. (There are 798 as of this writing.) As mentioned in recent months, the light activity from mid-December to mid-January gave way to a sharp pickup in dividend-increase announcements with Ex-Dividend Dates beginning around Groundhog Day and that will continue through March and April, when many companies announce their annual earnings and schedule the annual shareholder meetings. The number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has declined from 186 a month ago to 133 now, a good indication of how "busy" late January... Read more