Each week as I search for a company that is a dividend machine, I am impressed with the size of the universe of stocks from which to pick.
Upon completion of my 2011 dividend machine project, I elected to continue the project of searching for dividend machines in 2012. I wondered; would I simply find the same stocks as I did in 2011?
Stocks move in and out of the universe of available stocks all the time. A company moves into the group if their stock price goes down but they maintain their history of dividend increases and now the yield is equal to or greater than 3%. Some companies move out of the group due to price increases and their yield is no longer equal to or greater than 3%. Sometimes I miss a good stock in spite of looking for them all the time.
This week the first stock I found that meets my four dividend machine criteria is ABM Company. I did not run across this company during the past 22 months of this project.
ABM is in the sanitation business. Different from Waste Management’s focus on trash management, ABM has a diverse group of businesses that do things like clean buildings.
The table displayed bellowed presents the fundamentals that clearly show ABM is a dividend machine.
ABM Co (ABM)
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Price when profiled
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$18.79
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Last 4 Qtrs Earnings
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$0.98
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Last 4 Qtrs Dividend
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$0.58
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Current Dividend Yld
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3.08%
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No. of Years increased
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47
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Debt/Equity ratio
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31.00%
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I found no calls on ABM, although it carries a beta of greater than one. Therefore, if you use ABM as one of the companies for the income producing portion of your portfolio, you will get about a 3% yield that increases every year even during bad times. If you own it by October 2, 2012 you will receive the quarterly dividend of $.1450 on November 5, 2012. At today’s price of $18.79, ABM’s yield is 3.08% . ABM has been in business since 1909 and has raised the dividend every year for forty seven years. Their D/E ratio is only 31%.
Only you can decide if this is a good stock to buy.
Very Truly Yours,
