February was a whirlwind of a month with several projects keeping me busy at work, kid’s schoolwork and activities busy at home, and then potty and sleep training a new puppy on top of it all. This post was actually started several weeks ago, but I wasn’t able to get it finished in time for a February update. Instead, you’ll get a double-dose dividend digest for March (which is now half over itself).

First comes the obligatory picture of my son and our new puppy. It seems that getting a puppy is the cool thing to do while social distancing during the pandemic. So after several years of putting it off, we finally gave in and got a Schnoodle for our first family pet.

The kids are loving their new pet, and while it’s been a lot of extra work for my wife and me, we are growing quite attached to our little Ruby. She’s got a great personality that loves everyone she meets and has plenty of energy to keep up with our busy kids.

Market Overview

The first two months of 2021 were interesting, to say the least. The overall market had a few strong runs before falling back to slight gains, while the energy sector is on an absolute tear, gaining over 27%.

The hot energy sector has given a nice boost to my portfolio, as what was some big losses has now turned into positive gains from the likes of EOG Resources and Exxon Mobil. My portfolio has more than double the energy sector exposure than the S&P, so I’m happy to see it finally turning around.

Portfolio Dividend Income

January Income Growth

It’s great to see capital gains, but the focus of this portfolio is dividend income growth, and it’s been a good start to the year on that front as well.

January dividend income grew by 13.4%, led by add-on buys of EOG Resources, Altria Group, Philip Morris, and Watsco and new purchases of Dollar General and Sempra Energy. This was offset by sales of Thor Industries and Occidental Petroleum and trimming of shares in Digital Realty Trust.

Of the stocks that were held throughout, Comcast had the best performance, with produced income growing by 12.1% year over year.

February Income Growth

The portfolio saw positive income growth in February as well, with 3.4% growth over 2020’s total.

The growth number was hurt by Starbucks, which decided to shift its dividend payment from February to March in 2021. This cut the income growth for the month in half for February but will help boost March’s total.

Trims to Apple and Abbott Labs and the sale of Cracker Barrel also hurt the numbers, while add-on purchases of Bristol-Myers and Kinder Morgan helped make up the difference.

Of the companies held throughout, AbbVie, Lowe’s, and Mastercard all produced double-digit income growth, while Ameriprise Financial was close behind at 9.9% growth.

January & February Dividend Increases

Income growth continues in the new year, as ten companies announced increased payouts in January and February.

Announce Date	Company	Ticker	Previous Payout Rate	New Payout Rate	Sequential Increase	Year Ago Payout Rate	YoY Increase	Dividend Yield	Link
01/11/21	Stag Industrial	$STAG	$0.120	$0.1208	0.69%	$0.1200	0.69%	4.33%	LINK
01/27/21	Norfolk Southern	$NSC	$0.940	$0.9900	5.32%	$0.9400	5.32%	1.51%	LINK
01/28/21	Comcast Corporation	$CMCSA	$0.230	$0.2500	8.70%	$0.2300	8.70%	1.75%	LINK
02/11/21	Watsco	$WSO	$1.775	$1.9500	9.86%	$1.7750	9.86%	3.14%	LINK
02/12/21	NextEra Energy	$NEE	$0.350	$0.3850	10.00%	$0.3500	10.00%	2.04%	LINK
02/17/21	Xcel Energy	$XEL	$0.430	$0.4575	6.40%	$0.4300	6.40%	2.95%	LINK
02/23/21	Home Depot Inc	$HD	$1.500	$1.6500	10.00%	$1.5000	10.00%	2.42%	LINK
02/25/21	EOG Resources Inc	$EOG	$0.375	$0.4125	10.00%	$0.3750	10.00%	2.20%	LINK
02/25/21	Sempra Energy	$SRE	$1.045	$1.1000	5.26%	$1.0450	5.26%	3.42%	LINK
02/26/21	Digital Realty Trust	$DLR	$1.120	$1.1600	3.57%	$1.1200	3.57%	3.46%	LINK
				Average:	6.98%		6.98%	2.72%

The average increase was 7%, but the numbers were dragged down by a sub-1% boost from STAG Industrial and a 3.6% increase from Digital Realty Trust.

The better numbers came from Watsco, NextEra Energy, Home Depot, and EOG Resources, who all raised dividends by 10%. EOG’s increase was especially encouraging considering it operates in the oil and gas exploration sector, which struggled mightily last year when crude prices crashed with the pandemic-led recession.

STAG’s Lackluster Growth

STAG’s small increase wasn’t unexpected, as the company continues to work in lowering its payout ratio. The problem is that the company isn’t growing earnings very fast, as its AFFO of $1.69 in 2020 was just $0.03 higher than the $1.66 it earned in 2017.

Analysts are predicting 3.5% growth going forward, but that’s been the same story for the last several years. Analysts say growth is coming, but it just doesn’t seem to materialize.

This is a company that I’ve been patient with, but my patience is starting to wear thin. Another year of low growth and I may start looking for a replacement.

Recent Dividend Growth Articles

I’ve gotten just one article published so far this year, which was my 2020 Dividend Portfolio Review.

This article highlighted the 9.9% returns and 10% income growth in the portfolio driven by strong performances from my technology and consumer discretionary holdings.

I also discussed a big change to the portfolio, as I’ve transitioned it from automatic dividend reinvestment to a pooled dividend with directed purchases. I’m excited about this change, as it will allow me to be more active in buying stocks, and let me take advantage of dips to buy what is “on-sale” in the current market.

Other good reading I’ve come across was from FerdiS, who is one of my favorite current authors on Seeking Alpha.

He recently starting posting regular updates on upcoming ex-div dates for companies in the US Dividend Champions list. He also provides weekly posts about recent dividend increases, and shares his rankings for the Dividend Aristocrats.

He’s definitely worth a follow for anyone looking for current ideas on dividend stocks to buy.

Closing Thoughts

It’s now less than two weeks to go until my wife and I welcome our new little one to the family. This means that my already busy schedule is about to rev up just a bit more. I’m going to do my best to keep up with monthly updates, but reality is that my posting will continue to be sporadic in the coming months.

If you don’t already, you’re welcome to follow me on Twitter or Facebook, where I post more regular thoughts on the market, and whatever else interests me. Feel free to drop me a line there with any comments or questions.

Hope you are all doing well as we quickly approach spring. Best wishes, and Happy Investing!