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January was the best month for the stock market since March 2016. What are the chances that this momentum continues?
Historically, February has not been a great month for the stock market. By all accounts, investors should start thinking about a little safety this month.
But you can still fall in love with dividend stocks from now through Valentine’s Day. We spotted five companies with particularly enticing February dividend increases. It makes sense to swoon over stocks that consistently reward investors with dividend hikes.
Over the last three years, the Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (NYSE: VIG), which represents stocks that have a history of dividend increases, has gained 44%, outperforming the S&P 500 by five percentage points. It pays to stick to consistent dividends.
Here are five companies whose February dividends you could really love, and four of them trade ex-dividend on Valentine’s Day itself.
Top February Dividends: Boeing (NYSE: BA)
This leading aerospace company has been one of the biggest names in aircraft manufacturing for years, making jets like the 747 and 787. Deliveries of new jets are expected to rise by over 6% this year. Boeing is also doing well with smaller and more efficient planes, such as the 737, which is discount airlines are ordering more of.
With that, Boeing is making plenty of cash, not having to spend a lot of money on developing new planes. This allows it to be a very shareholder friendly company. The company has a six-year streak of consecutive dividend increases. Boeing is boosting its quarterly dividend by 20% this month and will be paying shareholders a $1.71 per share dividend. It pays a 1.9% dividend yield and only pays out 50% of its earnings via dividends.
Shares trade ex-dividend on Feb. 8.
Top February Dividends: CenterPoint Energy (NYSE: CNP)
CenterPoint is a small utility company, trading with a $12 billion market cap. But it’s a very stable name when it comes to generating income. It has monopoly-like hold in its core businesses, such as operations in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. It has an energy and natural gas distribution business; its oil and gas investments include a majority investment in Enable Midstream Partners (NYSE: ENBL)
CenterPoint is increasing its quarterly dividend by 4% to $0.278. This energy utility company has a 12-year streak of consecutive dividend increases, but it’s been paying a dividend for over 100 years.
Shares trade ex-dividend on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.
Top February Dividends: Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN)
Amgen is a $136 billion market cap drug maker and a steady cash flow generator. It uses that cash flow to create new drugs and to pay a solid dividend. It has two stable drugs right now, Enbrel and Neulasta, as well as promising drugs Prolia, Sensipar and Repatha in the pipeline. Repatha is the cholesterol drug that’s expected to generate over $2 billion in revenues within a couple years. It also has the biosimilars franchise, which is expected to generate $3 billion in revenues next year.
Amgen is increasing its quarterly dividend by 15% to $1.32 a share this month. Amgen started paying a dividend in 2011 and now has a seven-year streak of consecutive dividend increases. The drug company has a 2.9% dividend yield and is paying out just 40% of its earnings via dividends.
Shares trade ex-dividend on Feb. 14.
Top February Dividends: Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY)
Eli Lilly, another name in the drug industry, plans to launch upwards of 20 new products over the next half-decade. Coupled with its strong dividend, Eli Lilly is one of the best all-around pharmaceuticals companies to own.
The drug company also has a handful of drugs, such as Revlimid, Cymbalta, Zyprexa, Alimta, that generate solid cash flows. It’s expected to grow earnings by 14% this year and another 11% in 2019. Eli Lilly pays a 2.7% dividend yield and the drug maker is boosting its quarterly dividend by 8% later this month to $0.563 a share.
Shares trade ex-dividend on Feb. 14.
Top February Dividends: The Chemours Co. (NYSE: CC)
Chemours is a smaller name on our list and one that was fraught with turmoil after being spun off from DuPont (NYSE: DD) in 2015. In 2016 its shares traded at under $4, but the company has since turned itself around. It was faced with unrealistic expectations and a high debt load following the spinoff. Now the performance chemicals company has found its footing.
Chemours’ core business, titanium dioxide, has turned around and Chemours has effectively cut costs. The company’s profit margin stands at 5% and it is expected to grow earnings by nearly 40% next year. With this, Chemours is now increasing its quarterly dividend by over fivefold to $0.17 a share. Its dividend yield is now 1.3%, but it’s still only paying out 18% of earnings via dividends.
Shares trade ex-dividend on Feb. 14. Sweet.