(BFM Bourse) – The “dividend aristocrats” of the tricolor, a term designating companies that have managed to increase their dividend each year for at least ten years, were already not very numerous before the global coronavirus pandemic, they are now only 3.
Health crisis requires, the French “dividend aristocrats” are now an endangered species. Several big names in the quotation – L’Oréal and Hermès (stable dividends in 2020 compared to 2019 after respectively 27 and 19 years of uninterrupted increases), LVMH (decrease in 2020 after 14 consecutive increases) or even TotalEnergies and Dassault Systèmes (decreases in 2021 after 20 consecutive increases) – have in fact left this very select club for the past two years. Danone was also forced to cut its dividend last year for the first time since 1990 – however, the food giant was not strictly speaking an aristocrat as it had, among other things, kept its dividend stable between 2013 and 2014.
If the distinction is above all honorary, being part of the “club of aristocrats” still sends a clear signal to investors as to the ability of a company to deliver profitable growth over the long term. In this sense, these stocks are often prized by investors, even more by those with a long investment horizon.
Among the smaller stocks, Ipsos (down in 2020 after 20 years of growth) and SEB (down in 2020 after 14 consecutive increases) were also excluded from this prestigious group, which is now made up of only 3 companies: the giant pharmaceutical Sanofi and the lesser known Pharmagest, which develops IT solutions for the pharmaceutical industry, and Rubis, specializing in energy storage and distribution infrastructures.
Another 65 “artistocrats” in New York
The prize goes to the last city, managed to increase its dividend for the 26th consecutive year, bringing it to 1.80 euros per share in 2021 against 0.21 euros per share in 1995, to the delight of its shareholders. for a long time. Sanofi has increased its share every year since 2001 (from 0.32 euros in 2000 to 3.20 euros per share in 2021), while that of Pharmagest has jumped from 16 euro cents per share in 2003 to 95 cents last year.
Confined to Paris, this club remains relatively large in New York, since it still hosted no less than 65 S&P companies at the end of June 2021 according to data compiled by Sure Dividend – even though it must have increased its dividend over the past 25 years. last years to be part of the aristocrats of Wall Street, when 10 years is enough on the tricolor market.
Among these 65 values, the longevity record is jointly held by Dover Corp (fluid technical systems and refrigeration equipment) and Genuine Parts (automotive parts). In terms of dividend yield, the telecoms operator AT&T dominates the ranking with an average increase of 6.9% over the last 32 years. The 3M conglomerate also has a particularly impressive track record with an average growth of 3.0% in its dividend over the past 62 years.
Quentin Soubranne – © 2022 BFM Bourse