UK Data
This is a dividend-focused strategy loosely on the "Growth & Income Winners" screen outlined by Kevin Matras in his book, entitled Finding #1 Stocks. The approach starts out looking for solid growth parameters then drills down to the best dividend payers of the group. In Matras' version, however, the primary filter is the US-focused Zacks Rank (a proprietary metric analysing analyst forecasts for i) Agreement, ii) Magnitude, iii) Upside Potential, Surprise). However, we simplify this to just look for a positive change in analyst forecasts over the last quarter instead. Matras envisages the top 7 by dividend yield, but with no more than 2 in each sector - although it's hard to find 7 such stocks qualifying on the UK market. more »
In 2012, the team at Soc Gen introduced their so called ‘SG Quality Income Index’ - an index that aims to track stocks with strong fundamentals and good yields. Many in the market now appreciate that both higher ‘quality’ stocks and higher yielding stocks tend to outperform, but according to the research note, stocks that share both qualities put together standout total returns that have averaged 11.6% per year since 1990, more than doubling the return of the global equity markets at a significantly reduced volatility. But what is more striking is the return of the portfolio from when the market topped in 2000 to 2012 - a sideways market and a genuinely miserable time for all. While the total return of stock markets has actually been negative in that time period, the Quality Income index almost tripled. Read the full article. more »
This is loosely based on AAII's Dividend (High Dividend Yield) Screen. As they note, screening for relative high dividend yield is essentially all about buying low and selling high but, to succeed at this strategy, it's important also to identify which which high yielding stocks have the strength to bounce back. The screen looks for a consistent dividend payment and dividend growth track record, as well as a payout ratio below 2/3rds, a dividend growth CAGR above 3% and a yield above the historical average.. more »
A dividend screen mirroring the famous "Dogs of the Dow" approach which selects the ten FTSE-100 stocks whose dividend is the highest fraction of their price. This version uses the consensus forecast dividend yield, rather than the historic yield. more »
This is a large-cap dividend focused screen, loosely based on the "Dividend Attraction" screen discussed by Kevin Matras in his useful book, "Finding Number 1 Stocks". It focuses on the added dividend security to be found amongst larger-cap stocks in a credit-constrained environment. In Matras' version, however, the primary filter is the Zacks Rank (a proprietary metric analysing analyst forecasts for i) Agreement, ii) Magnitude, iii) Upside Potential, Surprise). However, this version just uses the 3 month change in analyst forecasts instead. The other elements are: i) A market capitalisation above £1.5 bn, ii) Positive 5 Year Dividend growth, iii) Above Average Return on Equity, iv) Above Average EPS Growth and v) Price to Operating Cashflow. more »
This is a screen for companies that have paid increasing regular cash dividends for five or more consecutive years. It is inspired by the index run by Indxis, the Index Services unit of US player, Mergent. In addition to stipulating five or more years of increasing dividends, a stock must meet specific liquidity screening criteria. Furthermore, they must be companies with strong cash reserves, a solid balance sheet and a proven record of consistent earnings growth. You can read more here. more »
A dividend screen which envisages that an investor annually selects for investment the ten FTSE-100 stocks whose dividend is the highest fraction of their price. This version uses the historic/actual yield. Proponents of this strategy (or its US equivalent, the Dogs of the Dow) argue that blue chip companies do not alter their dividend to reflect trading conditions and, therefore, the dividend is a measure of the average worth of the company; the stock price, in contrast, fluctuates through the business cycle. more »
A combined value and income investing screen inspired by the writings of Stephen Bland on TMF (he also writes the Dividend Letter newsletter for MoneyWeek). It that starts by looking for: "P", i.e. a maximum Price to Earnings ratio of two-thirds that of the market (preferably much, much lower). It then looks for "Yield" preferably 50% above the market (although this is the most flexible criterion). "A" is for "Assets" as the screen looks for a Price to Book Value (P/BV) of under 1. Finally, no Debt is the last criterion, preferably with stacks of net cash. more »
A blue-chip focused screen focused on buying blue-chip stocks whose dividend yields are near the high of their historical ranges and selling when the dividend yield declines to historic lows. Geraldine Weiss was the founding editor of Investment Quality Trends - one of the longest-lived investment newsletters. According to a 2002 Forbes article, she has seven criteria in total (but the last criteria comprises a further six "blue-chips only" conditions). A stock: 1. Must be undervalued as measured by its dividend yield on a historical basis. 2. Must be a growth stock that has raised dividends at a compound annual rate of at least 10% over the past 12 years. 3. Is selling for two times book value or less. 4. Has a P/E ratio of 20-to-1 or below. 5. Has a dividend payout ratio in the 50% area (or less) to ensure dividend safety with room for growth. 6. Debt is 50% or less of total capitalization. 7. Meets all six of our Blue Chip Criteria: dividend raised five times in the last 12 years, carries an A rating from S&P, has at least 5 million shares outstanding, at least 80 institutional investors hold the stock, 25 uninterrupted years of dividends and earnings improvements in seven of the last 12 years. While it’s difficult to replicate this screen exactly for the UK market, we’ve produced a Geraldine Weiss-lite version along similar lines. more »
