Dividend Challengers (And Near-Challengers): 83 Increases Expected By The End Of December

In compiling the Dividend Champions list, 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.
Activity Picks Up As expected, the pace of dividend increase announcements is beginning its usual fourth-quarter surge, following a typical summer slowdown. The number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has risen to 146 from a total of just 94 last month. (Both are still well below the 186 during the busiest season, around Groundhog Day.) As mentioned last month, it appears that 2018 will be a banner year for new Champions, as there are no less than 15 companies with current streaks of 24 years, while the Contenders will be replenished by an equal number of companies adding to their current 9-year streaks.
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... Read more