Image: Flickr user Simon Cunningham.
Investors love dividend stocks that raise their payouts year after year. Fortunately, some companies try to make their dividend increases at the same time each year, and smart investors can anticipate when a dividend increase is due and get in before an announcement comes. To help you jump the gun and get an edge over your peers, let's take a look at three dividend stocks that are likely to raise their dividends very soon.
Accenture could accentuate the positive with its payout
Consulting company Accenture (ACN 0.46%) has done a good job of riding the wave toward technological advancement, with solid profits stemming from its work in helping clients use technology more effectively and efficiently. Along the way, Accenture has rewarded its shareholders, and it currently has a 10 year streak of dividend increases going back to when it made only a single payout each year. Now, Accenture makes semi-annual dividend payments, and it's likely to give its latest news on the dividend front later this month. Investors will want to see if Accenture can do better than its 10% increase last year.
As we've seen with many global companies, Accenture's latest earnings results took a hit from the strong U.S. dollar, with the consultant dealing with especially strong headwinds in Europe. Yet when you take out the impact of currencies, Accenture is doing a good job of growing its revenue, and the company boosted its earnings guidance amid even better conditions than it expected. Investors can be reasonably confident that Accenture will extend its dividend-increase streak within the next month or so.
AmerisourceBergen could keep making its dividend healthier
The healthcare industry has seen a lot of progress recently, with reform efforts reinvigorating the space. Drug distributor AmerisourceBergen (COR -0.55%) has put together a decade-long track record of annual dividend increases, with last year's boost of more than 23% showing just how successful the company has been lately.
AmerisourceBergen's recent success comes largely from its partnership with drugstore chain giant Walgreens Boots Alliance, with the alliance having allowed AmerisourceBergen to grow its sales dramatically by introducing a whole new set of customers to its ranks. In particular, Alliance Boots' European presence gives geographical diversity to AmerisourceBergen's business, and in an industry that relies on high volumes of low-margin sales, access to Walgreen remains an essential component of the company's long-term strategic vision and overall chances of success. Investors have some time here, as AmerisourceBergen typically waits until early November before moving forward with a bigger payout.
Texas Instruments could calculate a dividend boost
For calculator and chip giant Texas Instruments (TXN -1.23%), though, the wait might not be as long. The tech company has an 11-year streak of rising dividend payouts, and it typically makes its move in late September. With a 13% hike last year, investors can hope to see the yield move back above the 3% mark after the increase comes.
Some investors have been nervous about Texas Instruments, as weakness in the overall semiconductor chip market has hit many stocks even harder than TI has seen. Yet unlike many tech companies, TI has remained resolutely in favor of repatriating profits it earns overseas, preferring to take an upfront tax hit in exchange for the financial flexibility that having cash inside its U.S. subsidiaries gives the company. As a result, Texas Instruments has used extensive financial assets both for dividend payments and for share buybacks, and the tech company expects to continue to do so well into the future.
Dividend investors rely on rising payouts during bull markets, and these three companies have consistently found ways to raise their dividends even during the toughest of times. There's no guarantee that they'll maintain their streaks, but each of these three stocks has done a good job of rewarding investors for their loyalty with dividend growth over time.
