5 Double-Digit Dividend Increases Coming In February

Add these five stocks to your income portfolio as they are set to boost their dividends by double-digits in February. The dividend increases will immediately boost your income stream and send the share price rallying.  

A dividend increase is one event that can help a share price rebound when the stock market is volatile. In the REIT sector, the common practice is to increase the dividend rate once a year and then pay the new rate for four quarters. I keep a schedule of what REITs raise dividends in each month and provide a list of pending increases each month. You can get a jump on a possible share price increase by buying these stocks a few weeks before the next dividend announcement.

I maintain a database of about 140 REITs to track yields and dividend changes. Out of that group approximately 90 have histories of dividend increases during the same month each year. Thirty five have not increased their dividend rates in recent years, if ever. Since many companies release their previous year fourth quarter earnings reports starting in February, next month should be a good one for payout increase announcements. Here are five companies that should announce meaningful boosts to the dividend rates earned by investors.

Last year data center REIT CyrusOne Inc. (NASDAQ: CONE) announced a 50% increase in its quarterly dividend rate. In 2014 the dividend was increased by 31%. Data center owning REITs are one of the faster growth areas of the commercial real estate business. CyrusOne differentiates itself by marketing its services to the full range of Fortune 1000 companies, rather than focusing on the name Internet focused brands. Through the first nine months of 2015 normalized FFO per share was up 26%. The 2015 dividend rate is 58% of the full year FFO guidance midpoint of $2.13 per share. A dividend increase of 25% to 30% seems probable. CONE typically announces the new dividend rate in early February, with a late March record date and mid-April pay date. The stock currently yields 3.4%.