Happy New Year! I hope you had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. December is over and what a wild ride it was! My dividend investing portfolio’s value dropped as much as 20% in the past three months, so it has been something of a stomach churning experience. Ugh! But if one has the cash, it’s been a target rich environment for buying bargains. When the market is down, dividend investors are always on the prowl for better yields from quality investments.
So how were my dividend payouts for December? Well, let’s do the numbers and see how December shaped up
BGY $ 33.80*
CHW $ 21.00*
CIK $ 22.50*
CLM $ 47.30
DHY $ 33.25
DMF $ 10.50
DSM $ 19.25
EAD $ 9.73
EDF $ 45.00*
EHI $ 24.40
EHI $ 24.40
EXG $114.00*
FGB $148.75
HQL $ 73.50
NCV $ 45.50
OIA $ 4.10
PFN $ 36.00
PFN $ 31.50
RA $ 69.85
VFL $ 15.00
ZTR $ 33.90
TOTAL $863.23
* Includes Return of Capital
$863.23 is better than normal, as the last month of the quarter is usually a low performer for me and is typically in the mid $600s to very low $700s (at best). But thanks to FGB’s delayed November dividend payout arriving in December, it gave the month a nice boost. This was expected, but there were some surprises in store for me in December.
First, the bad surprises. AWP didn’t pay out this month, just like in September. This reduced December’s dividend income total by $55.00. Hopefully, the payout will occur in January, which will give that month a nice boost.
Also, there was a dividend cut in December. DHY reduced its dividend from $0.02 per share to $0.019 (-5.0%). That amounts to a $1.75 reduction of my projected average monthly dividend income. A small nick.
Next, the good surprises. PFN paid out twice in December. First at its regular $0.08 per share payout, and then again at $0.07 per share. EHI paid out twice in December as well, giving me an extra $24.40. Nice! These two extra payouts were pleasant surprises and served to help mitigate the impact from AWP’s non-payout and DHY’s dividend cut.
Despite the market’s turmoil, a minor dividend cut, and a missed dividend payout December was a surprisingly good month (I had low expectations for December). Given that I usually experience dividend cuts in the early months of the year, I have a feeling that the market’s volatility may mean more dividend cuts than normal as 2019 unfolds.
Happy New Year and may 2019 bring you greater dividends!
Image Credit: jarmoluk (pixabay.com)
Happy New Year DQ! Despite the market turmoil, you still a had great month! That is $863 for doing nothing! Congrats! 🙂 Keep it up!
Happy New Year Dividend Dynasty! Having a surprisingly good December certainly takes the edge off the unease that accompanies the market’s dramatic drop during the past three months. Yep, making money for doing absolutely nothing is pure awesomeness! Passive income ALWAYS puts a smile on one’s face. 🙂
Hi John,
Happy New Year!
The power of the snowball… is the Force!
ciao – leguf
Happy New Year Carlo! Yep, the snowball just keeps growing despite the fact that I haven’t put fresh cash into my portfolio for the past 18 months. Stock buys have been completely funded by dividend income, so this is pure compounded growth. When the numbers are large enough, a dividend investing portfolio can become self-sustaining and injecting cash becomes unnecessary (unless one wants to boost the growth rate even further).