Dividend Champions Analysis: A Lot Of Banks With Over 3% Yields

Overview
In this article I present an analysis of a modified list of the Dividend Champions. I analyze all stocks in the list except the Dividend Kings. I track these companies separately due to their long-term success in growing dividends. You can read my recent analysis update on the Dividend Kings. I discuss the top performing stocks in my ranking stocks in my model. Note that my model tends to have more of a momentum tilt based on trailing earnings and dividend growth but does consider dividend safety and valuation. The top five stocks in order are A.O. Smith (AOS), T. Rowe Price Group (TROW), Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA), Ross Stores Inc (ROST), and BancFirst Corp. OK (BANF). Of these five stocks I continue to like T. Rowe Price the best.
This month I want to highlight and focus on the number of small-cap and mid-cap banks that have over 3% yields on the Dividend Champions list. There are seven banks in this category including Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR), Community Trust Banc. (CTBI), Arrow Financial Corp. (AROW), People’s United Financial (PBCT), United Bancshares Inc. (UBSI), Eagle Financial Services (OTCQX:EFSI), and Southside Bancshares (SBSI). There are several more banks on the Dividend Champions list with a yield between 2% and 3%. In general, bank stocks have not done well since late 2018 due to the slowing economy and stock prices have trended down. This has led to higher yields and lower valuations. Some of these banks are conservatively run and the... Read more