Wow, the first month of 2020, one-twelfth of the year, is over and done. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the weather has been largely grey, dreary, and wet from frequent rain. A typical January here. One month into the new year, the stock market and general economy are doing quite well. There’s a lot of buzz about a recession coming in 2020, but so far so good. However, the recent news about the corona virus coming out of Asia is putting some grey clouds on the economic horizon. Hopefully, like previous pandemic concerns (SARS, avian flu), this one will fizzle out. Keep your fingers crossed!

With January now done, let’s do the numbers and see how my dividend payouts added up for the month:

AWP $ 44.00
AWP $ 44.00
BGY $ 33.80*
CHW $ 21.00*
CIK $ 22.50*
CLM $ 41.69
CODI $144.00
DHY $ 28.88
EAD $ 9.44
EDF $ 45.00*
EXG $ 92.40*
NCV $ 36.75
NRZ $160.00
PFN $ 36.00
PNNT $171.00
RA $ 35.82
USA $ 46.75
ZTR $ 33.90
TOTAL $1,038.97

* Includes Return of Capital

Another $1K month! Yeah! That makes this month my third highest month of dividend income (#1 being January 2019’s $1053.54 and the #2 spot being October 2018’s $1040.42). However, this month is something of a fluke, thanks to the boost from the delayed payouts of AWP and USA coming in January instead of December. Given my selling off over half of my RA shares in the past few months, this will probably be my last $1K month for some time. Hopefully I can resume investing and recover my previous monthly highs, but the future is uncertain right now.

Regarding postponed payouts, EHI didn’t pay out in January but will in February so next month should see a small boost as well.

There was only one dividend cut in January, with CLM cutting its dividend from $0.2053 per share to $0.1853 (a -9.74% cut). That amounts to a $4.50 per month cut. A minor, but perceptible cut.

I also sold off 60 shares of RA for $21.5712 per share in early January, then later 40 shares at $21.935 per share as I needed the cash. Again.

Overall, January was a great month that did unexpectedly well.

Image Credit: jarmoluk (pixabay.com)