Wednesday, October 29, 2014

BP and AFL raise dividends --- New yields are 5.54% and 2.60%

Yesterday BP raised its quarterly dividend from $.585 to $.60.  This represents a 2.56% increase from last quarter and a 5.26% over last year.  Since I own 225 shares, my yearly dividends will increase by $13.50.

Aflac also announced that it will increase its quarterly dividend from $.37 to $.39. This represents am increase of 5.4%.  This is a rather unimpressive increase in a relatively low yielding stock, but I suppose any increase is better than no increase. I currently own 67 shares so my dividends will increase $5.36.

The combined increase in yearly dividends is $18.86.


Other news:

ARCP has seen its shares collapse today with shares trading as low as $8.93.  Apparently there are some accounting irregularities that have surfaced.  When I first started buying shares, I mentioned that this investment should be viewed as speculative.  My current share count is only 191 shares and this represents less than 0.6% of my portfolio.  The yield is now in excess of 10% and should be viewed as unsustainable in my opinion.  While I have no plans to sell right now, I will be watching it closely.

This is a classic example of why we should always remember to diversify across sectors, companies, and asset classes.

22 comments:

  1. yah own both those stocks. Funny about arcp as I was giving it a good look past few days along with O.

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    1. AG,

      I am glad your received a raise. I'm glad you avoided ARCP especially since you have been using a margin account with you REITs. Hopefully the management will clean house and re-establish credibility with the market or they may be in for some difficult time going forward.

      MDP

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  2. All ways nice to get a pay raise!

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  3. Replies
    1. Tawcan,

      This is the best part of dividend investing....increasing income with no additional capital! :-)

      MDP

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  4. Thanks for sharing the news about the dividend increases. The AFL increase is exactly what I was expecting. I knew it wouldn't be something too spectacular but a raise is a raise and I'm happy with it.

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    1. DivHut,

      I agree that Aflac was conservative in its raise. A $.02 raise is a bit disappointing considering the yield is pretty low. I like the company because it is well run and adds diversification to my portfolio.

      MDP

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  5. I was quite pleased with BP's 2014 total increase, especially for a stock with a dividend yield hovering around 5.5%.

    It's too bad for ARCP. I hope it works out for you. I got burned with GreenStar Agriculture and most recently with Tesco for accounting irregularities. Shareholders lose big while senior management simply gets the boot. Doesn't seem fair to me.

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    1. ADY,

      I really like BP and it is my largest energy holding, for now. The yield is awesome and I fully expect to add more shares in the future.

      ARCP was a bit risky and I knew it going in. Luckily I didn't over buy the position. I'll probably stick with more conservative REITS in the future.

      MDP

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  6. MDP,

    Great purchases this last week and I'm also happy to celebrate these dividend raises with you. There's nothing like seeing those forward dividends increase on their own. Don't beat yourself up over ARCP, your portfolio is definitely in a place to take speculative risks like this. Who knows, maybe the share price will recover almost immediately. Sometimes the risk to reward is too good to pass up and even if it falls further, you're going to hit big on so many other investments it won't even matter. Keep up the good work!

    Best Regards,
    Ryan

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    Replies
    1. Ryan,

      Thanks for the perspective my friend. I'll probably stick with more established companies and management teams in the future. It is events like these that reinforces my decision to diversify across many assets and companies. I'll also take a closer look at some of my riskier positions at the end of this year. Keep up the fantastic work over there!

      MDP

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  7. MDP,

    Good stuff! Love me some pay raises. :)

    The last couple of AFL dividend increases haven't been out of this world, but they're consistent.

    Best wishes!

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    1. DM,

      I was a bit disappointed with Aflac, but I like the company and a raise is a raise. A 2.5% yield and a 5% raise is a bit low. Maybe next year it will be closer to 10%.

      MDP

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  8. MDP,

    I have BP and ARCP. That is too bad about ARCP and management is going to have a hard time getting shareholder trust it seems.

    I still am going to hold on. At some point they have assets and rental income to cover some issues but it is has been turning into a pretty risky investment.

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    Replies
    1. DSI,

      ARCP will probably be a disappointing stock to own for a while. I am not selling now, but I will look at it hard at the end of the year.

      MDP

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  9. Nice dividend raises! I am also a shareholder of ARCP and I think holding and dripping the dividend will be my strategy here. Remember they are still collecting rents every month and will eventually gain shareholder trust.

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  10. DM,

    The raises are fantastic. I am also dripping ARCP for now, but will most likely exit the position sometime in the near future.

    MDP

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  11. We've been slowly building our shares of AFL...the news was somewhat expected but glad to hear nevertheless. 2.6% is not a huge raise...but as others have already said, "a raise is still a raise." I'll most certainly take a raise over no raise any day! :)

    Cheers to dividend growth! AFFJ

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    1. AFFJ,

      I'm glad to be a fellow shareholder with you. Hopefull a few more raises comes soon. I will watching for T to increase its dividend very soon!

      MDP

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