We monitor dividend announcements for stocks in Dividend Radar, a stock spreadsheet with dividend streaks of five years or more. Readers are invited to download the spreadsheet for free. Dividend Radar Spreadsheet Separates Stocks into three categories: Champions (with streaks of increase over 25 years), Contenders (10-24 years old) and Challengers (5-9 years old).

Last week, six Dividend Radar companies decided to increase their dividends. Note that no dividend cuts or suspensions were announced for Dividend Radar shares during this period.

The following table provides a summary of the dividend increases. The table is sorted into sections for Champions, Contenders, and Challengers, then by percentage increase, (%Increase). Dividends are annualized and in US dollars, unless otherwise indicated. Yield is the new dividend yield for a recent price and year are years of consecutive dividend increases.

The following dividend increase data is sorted alphabetically by ticker.

Business descriptions are the author’s summary of business descriptions sourced from Finviz.

Kroger (KR)

KR, together with its subsidiaries, operates retail food and drugstores, multi-department stores, jewelry stores and convenience stores across the United States. The Company’s banners include Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer and King Soopers, as well as Simple Truth and Simple Truth Organic. KR was founded in 1883 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio.

• On June 23, KR declared a quarterly dividend of 26¢ per share.
• This is an increase of 23.81% over the previous dividend of 21¢.
• Payable September 1 to shareholders of record August 15; ex-div: August 12.

Worthington Industries (WOR)

Founded in 1955 and based in Columbus, Ohio, WOR is a metal fabrication company focused on value-added steel processing and fabricated metal products. The company converts flat-rolled steel for other fabricators and various end markets. It manufactures filled and unfilled pressure cylinders, tanks, hand torches, oil and gas equipment and various accessories for end-use market applications. WOR also manufactures open and closed cabs, as well as operator stations for heavy mobile equipment.

• On June 22, WOR declared a quarterly dividend of 31¢ per share.
• This is an increase of 10.71% over the previous dividend of 28¢.
• Payable September 29 to shareholders of record September 15; ex div: September 14.

Horizon Bancorp (HBNC)

HBNC operates as a bank holding company for Horizon Bank which provides commercial and retail banking services in northern and central Indiana, as well as the southern, central and Great Lakes Bay areas of Michigan. HBNC was founded in 1873 and is headquartered in Michigan City, Indiana.

• On June 24, HBNC declared a quarterly dividend of 16¢ per share.
• This is an increase of 6.67% over the previous dividend of 15¢.
• Due July 22, to shareholders of record July 8; ex div: July 7.

Matson (MATX)

MATX provides shipping and logistics services to the non-contiguous national economies of Hawaii, Alaska, and Guam, as well as other island economies in Micronesia. The company was formerly known as Alexander & Baldwin Holdings and changed its name to Matson in June 2012. MATX was founded in 1882 and is headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii.

• On June 23, MATX declared a quarterly dividend of 31¢ per share.
• This is an increase of 3.33% over the previous dividend of 30¢.
• Payable September 1 to shareholders of record August 4; ex-div: August 3.

John Wiley (WLY)

WLY operates as a worldwide research and education company, enabling researchers, learners, universities and businesses to achieve their goals in an ever-changing world. The Company operates through three segments: publishing and research platforms, academic and professional learning, and educational services. WLY was founded in 1807 and is based in Hoboken, New Jersey.

• On June 23, WLY declared a quarterly dividend of 34.75¢ per share.
• This is an increase of 0.72% over the previous dividend of 34.5¢.
• Due July 20, to shareholders of record July 6; ex div: July 5.

Riverview Bancorp (RVSB)

Founded in 1923 and based in Vancouver, Washington, RVSB operates as a holding company for Riverview Community Bank which provides community banking services to small and medium businesses, professionals and individuals in Washington and Oregon. RVSB offers a range of deposit and loan products, as well as mortgage brokerage and asset management services.

• On June 23, RVSB declared a quarterly dividend of 6¢ per share.
• This is an increase of 0.00% over the previous dividend of 6¢.
• Due July 21, to shareholders of record July 8; ex div: July 7.

Please note that we do not recommend any of these actions. Readers should do their own research on these companies before purchasing shares.

Dividend reductions and suspensions

Based on reader requests, we’ve added this section to our weekly feature series. Please note that we only cover dividend cuts and suspensions announced by companies in the Dividend Radar spreadsheet. No dividend cuts or suspensions were announced for shares in Dividend Radar during this period.

An interesting candidate

In this section, we highlight one of the stocks that have announced a dividend increase. We provide quality rating and present performance, profit and valuation charts.

Our objective is to identify high quality dividend growth [DG] stocks trading at reasonable valuations. This is a difficult task, however, as high-quality DG stocks often trade at higher valuations. If we can’t find a worthy candidate, we’ll suggest a stock to add to your watchlist and an appropriate target price.

To start, we use DVK Quality Snapshots to perform a quick quality assessment, reviewing our DG Action List based on quality scores. Below is a shortlist of two stocks with quality scores between 15 and 25:

Consider Dividend candidate Krogera stock that pays 2.15% at $48.45 per share and has a 5-year dividend growth rate [DGR] by 11.7%.

KR is noted Decent (quality score: 15-18):

Over the past ten years, KR has underperformed the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (TO SPY), an ETF designed to replicate the 500 companies in the S&P 500 index:

During this period, KR generated total returns of 410% vs. SPY’s 259%, a margin of 1.58 to 1.

If we extend the period of comparison to the last twenty years, KR also outperformed SPY, with total returns of 578% versus 488% for SPY. That’s a margin of 1.18 to 1.

KR has increased its dividend for 16 years, but here are the dividend payouts for the past decade:

KR dividend growth is a pattern of consistency and the company’s latest dividend increase is indeed very generous at 23.8%!

While KR’s earnings growth isn’t as consistent, it’s clear the company can afford its generous dividend increases:

Additionally, KR’s earnings payout ratio is just 21%, which is “very low for most companies” according to Simply Safe Dividends:

It means KR has plenty of room to continue paying and growing its dividend. Simply Safe Dividends considers KR dividend Surewith a Dividend Safety Score of 71.

Next, now consider the valuation of KR.

We could estimate fair value dividing the stock’s annualized dividend ($1.04) by its average return over 5 years (1.94%). This results in a fair value [FV] $54 estimate. Given the current price of KR of $48.45, the stock is trading at a discounted valuation relative to its past dividend yield history.

For reference, the FV of CFRA is $43, Morningstar FV is $48, Portfolio Insight FV is $49, The FV of Finbox.com is $60 and the FV of Simply Wall St is $69.The average of these fair value estimates is $54, which also indicates that KR may trade at a reduced valuation.

My own FV estimate of KR is $48, so I think the stock is trading at about fair value.

Here are the most recent Seeking Alpha articles covering KR:

1. To buy: Is Kroger stock a buy after earnings?by BOOX search
2. To buy: Kroger: Don’t play the Wall Street gameby Individual Trader
3. To buy: Kroger: likely to outperform the market in times of low consumer confidenceby Bela Lakos

Conclusion

KR is a DG rated grade stock Decent. For rated shares Decent, I need a 10% discount for my estimate of fair value. Therefore, my lower purchase price is $43.

Please note I do not recommend KR or any of the stocks listed in this article. Readers should do their own research on these companies before purchasing shares.

Thanks for reading and happy investing!