Coming off a banner year for dividend increases in 2012,
investors are still hungry for payouts in 2013. Last year,
payouts jumped 18 percent and the forward indicated dividend rate
reached a new all-time high,
according to S&P Dow Jones Senior Index
Analyst Howard Silverblatt
.
Silverblatt sees 2013 as the potential for being another
record-setting year on the dividend front. Not surprisingly, a
good part of the rosy outlook for dividend stocks this year is
tied to the expectation that venerable, blue-chip names that have
lengthy streaks of dividend increases going will keep those
streaks in tact.
Several marquee dividend
ETFs
track indexes that screen based on dividend increase streaks,
including the $9.71 billion SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSE:
SDY
). In a new research note, S&P Capital IQ rated SDY
Overweight.
"In light of 10-year Treasuries yielding less than 2%, stocks
that offer yields of 3% or higher and have strong fundamentals
are particularly appealing. But, the challenging part is making
sure that the dividends are secure and there is room for further
growth," said S&P Capital IQ in the note.
SDY does ensure its constituents are not just dividend payers,
but dividend growers as well. The ETF tracks the &P High
Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index (SPHYDATR). To be included in
that index, companies must have increased dividends for
at least 20 consecutive years
.
SDY features a dividend yield of 3.17 percent and the ETF is
home to 84 holdings. The fund offers exposure to all 10 S&P
500 sectors, though its industry allocations will not surprise
seasoned dividend investors. Consumer staples dominate SDY with
an allocation of almost 21 percent. Finacials and industrials
follow, each at about 16 percent.
To its credit, SDY is not excessively weight to just one or
two stocks. Currently, Avon (NYSE:
AVP
), which S&P Capital IQ said is being removed from SDY, is
the ETF's largest holding with a weight of 2.74 percent.
SDY is home to nine Dow components, including AT&T (NYSE:
T
) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:
JNJ
). Johnson & Johnson has increased its dividend for 50
consecutive years. Other SDY holdings include, Coca-Cola (NYSE:
KO
) and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:
PG
) are also on dividend raising streaks spanning five decades or
more.
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:
XOM
) and Chevron (NYSE:
CVX
), the two largest U.S. oil companies and the two names that
represent, the bulk of SDY's energy sector exposure, each have
current dividend increase streaks of well over 20 years.
"Favorable S&P Quality Rankings, along with a
below-average standard deviation of just 12.3 (versus 15.1 for
the S&P 500 Index) contribute positively to SDY's risk
considerations in our ETF ranking. Other positive factors for
SDY, according to S&P Capital IQ, are a tight bid/ask spread
and bullish technical trends," according to the research
firm.
Other popular ETFs that screen based on the length of a
company's dividend increase track record, include the Vanguard
Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE:
VIG
). VIG, the largest U.S. dividend ETF by assets, tracks the
Mergent Dividend Achievers Select Index. That index requires a
dividend increase streak of at least a decade. VIG's top holdings
include Wal-Mart (NYSE:
WMT
), Coca-Cola, P&G and McDonald's (NYSE:
MCD
).
VIG was not highlighted in the S&P note, but the firm said
"for investors seeking a diversified ETF of companies with a long
record of dividend increases, SDY warrants further attention."
VIG is the cheaper of the two with an expense ratio of 0.13
percent compared with a 0.35 percent annual expense ratio charged
by SDY.
For more on ETFs, click
here
.
(c) 2013 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment
advice. All rights reserved.
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