Aug 31 2007

High Dividend Achievers vs. High Dividend Aristocrats

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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17 Comments on this post

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  1. Stock Analysis: Canadian Dividend Stock IGM Financial wrote:

    [...] Ah, my favorite metric when looking at a stock. Usually, if I am examining a stock a lot closer then it has already passed the dividend growth test because it is either a Dividend Achiever or a Dividend Aristocrat. However, I want to look at the trend here as well to see if things are moving along steadily. If dividend increases seem to be slowing down, then I need to figure out why. Things are clipping along nicely at IGM, with what appears to be some acceleration in the rate of dividend increases. [...]

    September 11th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
  2. Pre-Screened Securities Through Your Broker wrote:

    [...] that the stocks on the list include a large number of blue chip companies that are included on the Dividend Achievers list of companies that consistently increase their dividends. These are companies that I like and [...]

    September 23rd, 2007 at 5:13 pm
  3. Weekly Dividend Investing Roundup - October 19, 2007 wrote:

    [...] The list is the Dividend Achievers list of stocks. Whether you are old or young, I think this list is a good place to start looking for dividend stock [...]

    October 19th, 2007 at 8:02 am
  4. 5 Things Dividend Investors Should Do To Make It Through Volatile Markets wrote:

    [...] stocks, then check out the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (SPY) tracks the S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index. This will help diversify away some company specific risk while giving you a yield that is [...]

    November 13th, 2007 at 12:20 pm
  5. Top 7 Screening Criteria When Using Online Screening Software to Find Dividend Stocks wrote:

    [...] a dividend investor, I consistently use the Dividend Achievers and Dividend Aristocrats list when coming up with potential future investment ideas. However, one thing that I have been [...]

    November 22nd, 2007 at 8:50 am
  6. Some New Additions to The S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats » The Dividend Guy Blog wrote:

    [...] policy of consistently increasing dividends every year for at least 25 years. It is called the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats a very elite list of companies and is one of the first places I go when I am looking for stocks to [...]

    December 13th, 2007 at 9:10 am
  7. Upgrading to a New Computer - No Dividend Stock Analysis Today » The Dividend Guy Blog wrote:

    [...] High Dividend Achievers vs. High Dividend Aristocrats [...]

    December 19th, 2007 at 9:33 am
  8. The Dividend Guy Investment Process Part 5: Initial Dividend Stock Screening » The Dividend Guy Blog wrote:

    [...] To see more of my articles about Dividend Aristocrats and Dividend Achievers, please see my post, High Dividend Achievers vs. High Dividend Aristocrats. [...]

    January 19th, 2008 at 9:10 am
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  10. 6 Warning Signs a Company May Cut Its Dividend » The Dividend Guy Blog wrote:

    [...] your company has been a part of the Dividend Aristocrats and then all of a sudden it has stopped increasing its dividends, then things are not well at the [...]

    July 4th, 2008 at 8:35 am
  11. Investment Opportunity | My Quest for the Sweet Life wrote:

    [...] This blog post has some info on companies that have a history of increasing dividends. Share and Enjoy: [...]

    November 26th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
  1. 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
  2. Mr. Cheap said:

    Any chance you have comparable lists for Canadian companies? :-)

    September 2nd, 2007 at 12:53 pm
  3. Stefan said:

    Yes, me too, I’d like to see a list for Canadian companies, please.

    September 8th, 2007 at 6:34 pm
  4. 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
  5. roger said:

    Nortel. What is going on with Nortel.

    Bombardier. Good/bad news?

    October 24th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
  6. Richard said:

    Dividend Guy,
    Thanks for another great article. Your Canadian readers may find this list of Dividend Achievers useful.

    http://www.indxis.com/2009DividendAchievers.html

    February 15th, 2009 at 6:01 am

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