Dividend Aristocrats Performance in 2021

• The Dividend Aristocrats gained 7.34% in December 2021 and outperformed the broader S&P 500 which jumped 4.48%.
  
• In total, the Dividend Aristocrats gained 25.99% in 2021, underperforming the S&P 500 index by 2.72%.
• The Dividend Aristocrats are a select group of currently 65 S&P 500 stocks with 25+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
• By showing the recent performance of the Dividend Aristocrats, some active dividend growth investors may be able to identify relative bargains.

 

---

 

The S&P 500 index (SPY) returned almost 29%, despite the ongoing pandemic, record inflation, and looming rate hikes. The Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) were for the third year in a row not able to keep up with the S&P 500 index. However, in the long run, this dividend growth strategy is still showing a better performance.

Historical Performance

The current 10-years annualized return is 15.41% for the Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) versus 16.55% for the S&P 500.

So, good to keep in mind that over a time period of 30 years and multiple recessions, the dividend aristocrats’ strategy has outperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 2% per year.

The current dividend yield is 2.24% well above the 1.27% for the S&P 500 index.

 

Dividend Aristocrats performance in 2021

 

Gains for the Dividend Aristocrats were very good in the month of December with 60 constituents producing positive returns and only 5 constituents with negative returns.

The table below lists all 65 constituents, including the three 2021 dividend aristocrats IBM, NextEra Energy & West Pharmaceutical Services, sorted by indicated dividend yield, and lists price returns over trailing last month, and full-year 2021.

Here is what happened in December:

• Hormel Foods (HRL) returned 17.90% in December based on reporting strong Q4 double-digit sales growth in every segment.
• AbbVie (ABBV) closed the year up with a return of 17.45% in December.
• Laggards in December are Albemarle (ALB), Target (TGT), and Medtronic (MDT). Wells Fargo has downgraded MDT to Equal Weight from Overweight
• AT&T, Exxon Mobil, and IBM are still the top-3 highest dividend yield payers.

The above-presented performance and earnings data on the Dividend Aristocrats could assist active dividend growth investors to find some bargains for the long run.

Here is what happened in 2021:

• The Dividend Aristocrats gained 25.99% in 2021, while the S&P 500 index returned 28.71%.
• 57 Dividend Aristocrats delivered a positive price return while only 8 stocks were down for the full-year 2021.
• Leaders in 2021 were Nucor (NUE), West Pharmaceutical Services (WST), and Lowe (LOW).
• Laggards were especially AT&T (T) due to the dividend impact of the spinoff of Warner Media and its merger with Discovery. Also, Clorox (CLX), and VFC ended the year lower.