6 Stocks Building Future Yield With Higher Dividends

As a young investor I followed an aggressive growth strategy. Having narrowly missed the tech bubble bursting, I purchased my first dividend stock on December 11, 2003. I had heard dividend investments were supposed to be safer, but knew very little else about the strategy. I was fortunate enough to accidentally buy several good dividend growth stocks and learn the “secret” of dividend investing. It is not necessarily starting with a high-yield investment, but ending up with a high-yield investment. This usually occurs by buying stocks with a moderate yield and a long history of growing dividends and letting time do its job.

This week several companies are building future yield by increasing the cash dividends paid to their shareholders:

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (WFM) is engaged in the business of natural and organic foods supermarket operating approximately 456 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Recently the company increased its quarterly dividend 29% to $0.18 per share. The dividend is payable July 11, 2017 to stockholders of record on June 30, 2017, with an ex-dividend date of June 28, 2017. The yield based on the new payout is 1.7%.

General Mills, Inc. (GIS) is a manufacturer and marketer of branded consumer foods sold through retail stores. Recently the company increased its quarterly dividend 2.1% to $0.49 per share. The dividend is payable August 1, 2017 to stockholders of record on July 10, 2017, with an ex-dividend date of July 6+, 2017. The yield based on the new payout is 3.5%.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates 1,536 restaurants through its subsidiaries in the United States and Canada. Recently the company increased its quarterly dividend 12% to $0.63 per share. The dividend is payable August 1, 2017 to stockholders of record on July 10, 2017, with an ex-dividend date of July 6, 2017. The yield based on the new payout is 2.8%.

Logitech International S.A. (LOGI) designs, manufactures and markets products that allow people to connect through music, gaming, video, computing, and other digital platforms. Recently the company increased its annual dividend 10% to CHF0.062 per share. The dividend is payable September 27, 2017. The yield based on the new payout is 1.6%.

8point3 Energy Partners LP (CAFD) owns, operates and acquires solar energy generation projects, with interests in 642 Megawatt (MW) of solar energy projects. Recently the partnership increased its quarterly distribution 3% to $0.2642 per unit. The distribution is payable July 14, 2017 to unitholders of record on July 6, 2017, with an ex-dividend date of July 3, 2017. The yield based on the new payout is 7.2%.

Worthington Industries, Inc. (WOR) is a metals manufacturing company, focused on value-added steel processing and manufactured metal products. Recently the company increased its quarterly dividend 5% to $0.21 per share. The dividend is payable September 29, 2017 to stockholders of record on September 15, 2017, with an ex-dividend date of September 13, 2017. The yield based on the new payout is 1.8%.

Selecting stocks with increasing dividends is critical for an income growth strategy. The above list contains stocks that recently raised their dividends; it is not a list of recommend buys. As always, due diligence should be performed before buying or selling any stock. For a list of stocks with a long string of consecutive cash dividend increases, see this list.

Full Disclosure: No position in the aforementioned securities. See a list of all my Dividend Growth Portfolio holdings here.

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Tags: WFM, GIS, DRI, LOGI, CAFD, WOR,