Dividend increases this week: 6 companies are raising their dividend payouts. These announcements signal financial strength and management confidence.
Companies that regularly raise their dividends demonstrate financial strength and management’s confidence in future prospects. Dividend increases signal reliable cash flow generation and thoughtful capital allocation. This week’s selections all have a proven track record of annual dividend growth, with each company maintaining at least 5 years of consecutive increases.
A few highlights from this week’s list:
- Average dividend increase: 8.9% (median: 9.6%)
- Average dividend streak: 21.3 years (median: 14.5 years)
My strategy focuses on buying, holding, and adding to positions in companies that raise their dividends annually and have the potential to outperform relevant benchmarks over time.
Why Dividend Increases Matter
Why pay attention to dividend increases? They reveal companies with strong cash generation and confident management teams. Raising dividends shows a company can balance shareholder returns with growth investments, a sign of quality leadership. History shows dividend growers often outperform, and increasing payouts help your income maintain its purchasing power over time.
How I Create the Lists
Additionally, the information presented here is the result of combining multiple data sources: the U.S. Dividend Champions spreadsheet provides the universe of companies I review, and then upcoming dividend announcements. This combination joins data on companies with a track record of consistent dividend growth and the timeliness of their dividend increases. It’s important to note that every company on this list has a minimum of 5 years of dividend growth history.
To be considered for this list, a company must offer higher total annual dividends. Although a company might not increase its dividend every calendar year, its overall annual dividend can still grow.
What Is the Ex-Dividend Date?
The ex-dividend date is when you must own shares to qualify for an upcoming dividend or distribution. To be eligible, you must have bought the shares by the end of the preceding business day. For instance, if the ex-dividend date is Tuesday, you must have acquired the shares by the market close on Monday. If the ex-dividend date falls on a Monday (or a Tuesday following a holiday on Monday), you must have purchased the shares by the previous Friday.
Dividend Streak Categories
Here are the definitions of the streak categories that I’ll use throughout the piece.
- King: 50+ years.
- Champion/Aristocrat: 25+ years.
- Contender: 10-24 years.
- Challenger: 5+ years.
| Category | Count |
| King | 1 |
| Champion | 0 |
| Contender | 2 |
| Challenger | 3 |
This Week’s Dividend Increases
The data is sorted by the ex-dividend date (ascending) and then by the streak (descending):
| Name | Ticker | Streak | Forward Yield | Ex-Div Date | Increase Percent | Streak Category |
| Cincinnati Financial Corporation | CINF | 66 | 2.35 | 24-Mar-2026 | 8.05% | King |
| Best Buy Co., Inc. | BBY | 22 | 6.11 | 24-Mar-2026 | 1.05% | Contender |
| Bank First Corporation | BFC | 6 | 1.52 | 25-Mar-2026 | 11.11% | Challenger |
| Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. | ELS | 22 | 3.25 | 27-Mar-2026 | 5.44% | Contender |
| Valmont Industries, Inc. | VMI | 7 | 0.77 | 27-Mar-2026 | 13.24% | Challenger |
| Korn Ferry | KFY | 5 | 3.64 | 27-Mar-2026 | 14.58% | Challenger |
Understanding the Data
Streak: Years of dividend growth history are sourced from the U.S. Dividend Champions spreadsheet.
Forward Yield: The payout rate is calculated by dividing the new payout rate by the current share price.
Ex-Dividend Date: This is the date by which you must own the stock to receive the dividend.
Increase Percent: The percent increase.
Streak Category: This is the company’s overall dividend history classification.
Show Me the Money
Here is a table that shows the new and old rates and the percentage increase. The table is sorted by ex-dividend day in ascending order and dividend streak in descending order.
| Ticker | Old Rate | New Rate | Increase |
| CINF | 0.87 | 0.94 | 8.05% |
| BBY | 0.95 | 0.96 | 1.05% |
| BFC | 0.45 | 0.50 | 11.11% |
| ELS | 0.52 | 0.54 | 5.44% |
| VMI | 0.68 | 0.77 | 13.24% |
| KFY | 0.48 | 0.55 | 14.58% |
Additional Metrics
Here are additional metrics related to these companies. Some data points include yearly pricing action and the P/E ratio. The table is sorted the same way as the table above.
| Ticker | Price | 52W Low | 52W High | PE Ratio | % Off Low | % Off High |
| CINF | 160.20 | 123.02 | 174.27 | 16.55 | 30% Off Low | 8% Off High |
| BBY | 62.87 | 54.99 | 84.99 | 15.61 | 14% Off Low | 26% Off High |
| BFC | 131.93 | 93.00 | 153.00 | 14.62 | 42% Off Low | 14% Off High |
| ELS | 66.36 | 58.15 | 69.28 | 50.25 | 14% Off Low | 4% Off High |
| VMI | 401.06 | 250.07 | 487.58 | 24.78 | 60% Off Low | 18% Off High |
| KFY | 60.48 | 58.95 | 78.50 | 149.73 | 3% Off Low | 23% Off High |
Tickers by Yield and Growth Rates
I’ve organized the table in descending order, allowing investors to prioritize the current yield. Additionally, the table includes some historical dividend growth rates. I’ve also incorporated the “Chowder Rule,” which combines the current yield with the five-year dividend growth rate.
| Ticker | Yield | 1 Yr DG | 3 Yr DG | 5 Yr DG | 10 Yr DG | Chowder Rule |
| BBY | 6.11 | 1.3 | 4.3 | 12.0 | 15.2 | 18.1 |
| KFY | 3.64 | 29.3 | 49.7 | 35.2 | 19.7 | 38.8 |
| ELS | 3.25 | 7.6 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 10.8 | 11.9 |
| CINF | 2.35 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 6.5 | 10.0 |
| BFC | 1.52 | 28.6 | 25.5 | 17.6 | 13.7 | 19.1 |
| VMI | 0.77 | 10.0 | 7.1 | 8.9 | 5.8 | 9.7 |
Stock Returns Analysis
My investment strategy focuses on identifying stocks that consistently outperform the market and grow their dividend payouts over time. For broad exposure to U.S. equity markets, excluding the REIT sector, I recommend the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD). SCHD features strong historical performance, offers a yield that exceeds that of the S&P 500, and consistently delivers increasing dividends. With over $70 billion in assets, it’s an incredibly popular dividend-growth ETF. The ten-year dividend growth rate is one of the four key factors that SCHD tracks in its index.
For more detailed information about stock return calculations for these companies, you can use our Stock Return Calculator with SCHD (our benchmark) pre-loaded for a 10-year analysis. Click here to analyze SCHD and CINF, BBY, BFC, ELS, VMI, KFY.
The table below shows total return, CAGR, and key risk metrics for this week’s tickers over a common period (March 2016 through March 2026), with dividends reinvested. SCHD is included as our benchmark so you can see how each name has performed and how much risk was taken relative to a popular dividend-growth index.
| Ticker | Total Return % | CAGR % | Max Drawdown % | Volatility % | Sharpe | Sortino | Beta |
| BFC | 511.76 | 19.88 | 39.78 | 31.42 | 0.55 | 0.61 | 0.66 |
| VMI | 260.96 | 13.71 | 48.87 | 31.02 | 0.36 | 0.37 | 0.97 |
| CINF | 229.68 | 12.69 | 58.14 | 28.74 | 0.35 | 0.35 | 0.92 |
| BBY | 173.96 | 10.62 | 52.58 | 37.96 | 0.21 | 0.22 | 1.15 |
| SCHD | 167.98 | 10.37 | 33.37 | 16.70 | 0.47 | 0.45 | 0.80 |
| KFY | 150.18 | 9.62 | 67.07 | 35.47 | 0.20 | 0.20 | 1.16 |
| ELS | 141.07 | 9.21 | 41.46 | 28.90 | 0.23 | 0.19 | 0.66 |
Stock Returns Analysis
Using SCHD as the benchmark, over this period it delivered a 167.98% total return, or about 10.37% compounded annually. Its max drawdown was 33.37% and volatility 16.70%, a solid baseline for dividend-growth investing. SCHD’s beta of 0.80 indicates it tends to move with less swing than the broader market.
Investment highlights:
- Bank First Corporation led with 511.76% total return (more than double SCHD) and 19.88% CAGR, with Sharpe and Sortino ratios that beat the benchmark.
- Valmont Industries, Inc. also delivered standout returns: 260.96% total return and 13.71% CAGR.
- Cincinnati Financial Corporation: 229.68% total return and 12.69% CAGR.
These three are where I would take a look for any next steps. While this is not investment advice, I personally look for the best of the best to add to my portfolio for individual holdings.
Using SCHD as a benchmark helps separate names that have historically rewarded shareholders from those that have not. We call out only the best risk-adjusted performers that beat the benchmark; for the rest, an index fund may be the better fit. The table gives you a clear snapshot of total return, growth rate, and risk to support further due diligence.
Feel free to share your thoughts or questions in the comments. Do your due diligence before making any investment decisions.
