Here is the dividend income report for May, 2017.
The monthly dividend income came out to $531.68. The yearly income total for 2017 through the end of the month was $2346.62.
The income for May, 2016 was $436.85, and the yearly income for 2016 through the end of May was $2059.52.
There is not a whole lot to report this month. Just rolling along and making money.
I did get a WGL payment. I think there will be three more before the acquisition by AltaGas is complete.
I know that last month I said it was not an argument against DGI that WGL was being bought out. A counter might be that after the buyout, I will no longer be getting that money from WGL. That is true. But that also is not an argument against DGI in my opinion.
Generally, nobody acquires a company that is not profitable. I know I am always saying price is not as important to DG investors as it is to other investors, and that is true, but that does not mean I am against taking a capital gain when I have to. I spent $974 on WGL when I first bought it. When I got the payout from WGL on May 1, my shares were worth $2,942.17, for a gain of $1967.77, which I can then use to buy another DG stock.
And as to why I would take a capital gain “when I have to”, my goal is to buy DGI stocks and use them as an income stream for years, ideally for the rest of my life. Buying low to sell high sounds nice, but does not always work. It tends to stop working when people need it to work the most, like the dot com bubble or the meltdown during the Great Recession. People tend to need a higher price the most when they are least likely to get it. Then they truly understand free markets. I don’t care if you paid $80/share for a stock that is now selling at $40/share. Why should I pay you $80 when everybody else is selling at $40? I don’t care if you owe the bank $350K on your mortgage and you put a deck on your house and redid your bathroom. If all the houses in your area are going for $300K, that’s what you’re getting. End of story.
We saw a lot of stocks go down in price during those two meltdowns yet still increase their dividends. DGI performs better in a crisis than the capital gains/buy-low-sell-high model that most people go by. It might not always work, but the last two times things fell aprt it worked better. Past performance may not guarantee future results, but I would rather rely on patterns than dreams.
Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each May from 2011 through 2017:
| Month | YTD | Amount | 3MMA | 12MMA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-05 | $2346.62 | $531.68 | $553.90 | $530.30 |
| 2016-05 | $2059.52 | $436.85 | $479.79 | $477.37 |
| 2015-05 | $1803.11 | $361.99 | $411.92 | $402.51 |
| 2014-05 | $1411.19 | $280.01 | $304.77 | $306.30 |
| 2013-05 | $1141.24 | $242.65 | $260.91 | $288.11 |
| 2012-05 | $1268.97 | $258.15 | $257.13 | $270.51 |
| 2011-05 | $1114.84 | $266.55 | $233.03 | $194.61 |
Here are the stocks and the income amounts for May, 2017:
- ABM Industries Inc: $9.88
- AT&T: $52.64
- Verizon: $61.70
- WGL Holdings Inc: $18.09
- Clorox Co: $47.19
- Air Products & Chemicals Inc: $64.07
- Lowe’s Cos Inc: $19.42
- Colgate-Palmolive: $45.49
- Hormel Foods Corp: $16.77
- Northwest Natural Gas Co: $29.43
- Procter & Gamble: $42.36
- Texas Instruments: $54.84
- Eaton Corporation: $69.80
“Where There Are People Money May Be Made” by Adriaen van de Venne (1589 – 1662), available here, assumed allowed under Fair Use.
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