Dividend Challengers (And Near-Challengers): 153 Increases Expected By The End Of March

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 at 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 Meets the Groundhog After a slow start to the New Year, the first quarter becomes the busiest time of the year for dividend increase announcements, starting, as usual, around Groundhog Day. The number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has risen to a staggering 221 now, up from just 109 last month and a peak of 146 in my mid-October articles. (The latest numbers are even up from the 186 around Groundhog Day 2017.)
As mentioned previously, 2018 should be a banner year for new Champions, as there are more than a dozen companies with current streaks of 24 years, while the Contenders will be replenished by a similar number of companies adding to their current 9-year streaks, and there are over 100 companies ready to become Challengers in the next 12 months.
The table below... Read more