10 Companies Expected to Increase Dividends in April - Seeking Alpha

10 Companies Expected to Increase Dividends in April - Seeking Alpha

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. Based on last year's announcements, I'm expecting the following companies to announce dividend increases between now and the anniversary of their previous increase:

Dividend Champions (25 or more years):

		No.	2/28		Qtrly	%	LY
Company	Symbol	Yrs	Price	Yield	Rate	Inc.	Ex-Div
H.B. Fuller Company	FUL	41	21.55	1.30	0.0700	2.94	4/27/10
Procter & Gamble Co.	PG	54	63.05	3.06	0.4818	9.50	4/28/10

Dividend Contenders (10-24 years):

		No.	2/28		Qtrly	%	LY
Company	Symbol	Yrs	Price	Yield	Rate	Inc.	Ex-Div
Tanger Factory Outlet	SKT	17	26.65	2.91	0.1938	1.31	4/28/10
People's United Financial	PBCT	17	13.18	4.70	0.1550	6.90	4/29/10

Dividend Challengers (5-9 years):

		No.	2/28		Qtrly	%	LY
Company	Symbol	Yrs	Price	Yield	Rate	Inc.	Ex-Div
Raytheon Company	RTN	6	51.21	2.93	0.3750	20.97	4/1/10
Watsco Inc.	WSO	9	64.58	3.22	0.5200	8.33	4/13/10
Coca-Cola FEMSA	KOF	7	73.06	1.58	1.1560	127.56	4/21/10
Donegal Group Inc. A	DGICA	8	12.76	3.61	0.1150	2.22	4/29/10
Donegal Group Inc. B	DGICB	8	18.50	2.22	0.1025	2.50	4/29/10
Empresa Nacional/Elec.	EOC	7	52.19	2.95	0.7690	45.64	4/29/10
Southern Company	SO	9	38.11	4.78	0.4550	4.00	4/29/10

Notably, the expected increases include the next two companies likely to graduate from Challenger to Contender status (Watsco and Southern Company). Obviously, April is not a big month for annual dividend increases, considering that the last two months featured projections for 39 and 30 companies, respectively, to boost their payouts. Currently, at least 26 Champions, Contenders, and Challengers are expected to boost dividends in May (or sooner), so April seems to represent a temporary lull in overall activity.

Although I'm basing this listing on April ex-dividend dates, there may be other companies that announce increases to be paid in April or later. (Companies announce dividend declarations anywhere from two days to six weeks before the ex-dividend date.) Not all of these companies will meet the strict standards of every investor, but they may be appropriate for portfolio diversification. Potential investors should do more research before committing funds.

Disclosure: I am long PG, RTN