High Dividend Achievers vs. High Dividend Aristocrats
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The are basically two lists is North American that track the dividend increases for thousands of companies: high dividend achievers and high dividend aristocrats. The primary criteria for these lists are a consistent record of dividend increases for a specific number of years. When I say consistent, I mean it. Each company on each list must not have missed a dividend increase in the requisite number of years. So what is the real difference between the two groups of stocks?
The difference lies in the number of years a company has consecutively increased its dividend:
* High Dividend Achievers = at least 10 years
* High Dividend Aristocrat = at least 25 years
The effect this has on the number of stocks on each list is large. The more stringent of the two, Aristocrats, has only 59 stocks on its list (Note: Excel File). By comparison, the Achievers has 312 on the list.
What does this really mean to a dividend investor? Investing is all about finding companies with consistent track records of things like revenue, EPS, and cash flow. The longer there is evidence that a company has performed well, the more comfortable an investor can be when buying stock in that company. It is no guarantee of solid future performance, but it is more important to have it than not. The same can be said for dividend increases. I would argue that the longer a company has been increasing its dividend, the more likely it will continue to do so in the future. Therefore if you are really focused on finding companies with LONG track records of dividend increases then the Aristocrats list is a better starting point to identify stocks for further analysis.
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Similar posts:
- Some Concerns with the S&P/TSX Canadian Dividend Aristocrats
- The Dividend Guy Investment Process Part 5: Initial Dividend Stock Screening
- A Valuation Exercise: The Dividend Achievers and Price to Sales
- How to Invest in Mergent’s Dividend Achievers Without Buying Individual Stocks
- A Dividend Increase is Not a Reason to Buy a Stock
17 Comments on this post
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Yielder said:
We have not had a recession since the early 90s. If you look at that period, you see slowing dividend increases, dividend increase freezes, & dividend cuts. In a recession, expect many of the 312 Achievers to have dividend problems. It’s possible that some of the Aristocrats will too since many are probably not the same company today that they were then.
September 1st, 2007 at 6:21 am -
Mr. Cheap said:
Any chance you have comparable lists for Canadian companies?
September 2nd, 2007 at 12:53 pm -
Stefan said:
Yes, me too, I’d like to see a list for Canadian companies, please.
September 8th, 2007 at 6:34 pm -
The Dividend Guy said:
There is no comparable list for the Aristocrats, however there are Canadian companies listed here:
http://www.dividendachievers.com/Site/others/constituents.php?id=56&preview=
If anyone knows if the S&P does an Aristocrats list for Canadian companies, please let me know.
The Dividend Guy
September 8th, 2007 at 7:14 pm -
roger said:
Nortel. What is going on with Nortel.
Bombardier. Good/bad news?
October 24th, 2008 at 10:54 pm -
Richard said:
Dividend Guy,
Thanks for another great article. Your Canadian readers may find this list of Dividend Achievers useful.February 15th, 2009 at 6:01 am
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