State of My Dividends Q3 2010

Today, I am updating my spreadsheet on my stocks for stock I own and dividend increases for the 3rd quarter of 2010, see dividends. For all my stocks, I have shown in the “10” (for 2010) column, if a company has actually increased their dividend yet for the current year of 2010. In the “div” column preceding, I show the percentage increase in the dividends for the company’s financial year ending in 2010.

For the third quarter of this year, I have had 5 companies that changed their dividends (these dividends are in blue to distinguish them from changes that occurred in the first and second quarter). Since I do dividend calculations based on the applicable company’s financial year, I have also started columns for 2011. There are changes shown 2011 because when a company increases or decreases its dividend part way through their financial year, the total dividends for the following financial year will also be affected.

The first stock to discuss is AltaGas Ltd. This stock used to be AltaGas Income Trust. Since the new tax rules come in for Income Trust companies, this company has been planning to change to a corporation and decrease its payout. The changed occurred on July 8th 2010. The old payout was at the rate of $.18 a unit per month to the new dividend structure of $.11 a share. I knew about this change when I purchased shares (or units) in this company in May 2009. At that time, I thought that this stock would make a good addition to my portfolio.

This certainly is not the only Income Trust Company that will decrease their dividends when changing to corporation. See my spreadsheet. Even with the dividend decrease, at the current stock price of $21.97, I have a dividend yield on this stock of 7.9%. Prior to the change to a corporation, there were also lots and lots of insider buying, although I must admit that a lot of analysts were not keen on this stock. I do not know why.

The next company to discuss is Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust. This is a REIT and has a habit of increasing their dividends at a rate very close to inflation. Some REITs do a bit better than this, but most REIT increases seem to be at this level. REITs are never good dividend increasers, but I think it is a good idea to have some in your portfolio for diversification. I see not problem when the increases in dividend is at the rate of inflation. See my spreadsheet.

The next stock I have that increased their dividends in the 3rd quarter is Computer Modelling Group Ltd, a (relatively) small Tech company. They increased that dividend by some 5.5%, but because it was done half way through the year, my total dividends from this company in 2010 will only increase by 2.8%. However, this will change the dividends I receive in 2011 also, so my dividends in 2011 will be 2.7% more than in 2010. This is the smallest increase in dividends for this company since they started paying dividends in 2004.

For this company, I will receive, in 2010, 2 dividends at $.18 per share and 2 dividends at $.19 for a total of $.74 per share, an increase of 2.8% over the $.72 of dividends I received in 2009. If I receive four dividends of $.19 per share in 2011 or a total of $.76 per share, my dividends in 2011 will be 2.7% higher than in 2010. This company also has a habit of giving out special dividends payments when they can afford to. I have already received in June of this year, a special dividend of $.17 per share. See my spreadsheet.

Tomorrow, I will talk about my other dividend increases for this 3rd quarter.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website for stocks followed and investment notes. Follow me on twitter.