After a slow start to the New Year, the first quarter becomes the busiest time of the year for dividend increase announcements, starting, as usual, around Groundhog Day.
The number of announcements for all Champions, Contenders, Challengers, and Near-Challengers expected in the next 11 weeks has risen to a staggering 221 now, up from just 109 last month and a peak of 146 in my mid-October articles. (The latest numbers are even up from the 186 around Groundhog Day 2017.)
As mentioned previously, 2018 should be a banner year for new Champions, as there are more than a dozen companies with current streaks of 24 years, while the Contenders will be replenished by a similar number of companies adding to their current 9-year streaks, and there are over 100 companies ready to become Challengers in the next 12 months.
The table below coincides with the usual "forward look" of about 11 weeks for this article. Based on last year's announcements, I'm expecting the following companies to announce dividend increases between now and the anniversary of the Ex-Dividend Date of their previous increase.
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