Global Dividends Hit Record In Q1: 5 Top-Ranked Picks

Global dividends reached a first-quarter record of $244.7 billion, marking a 10% rise from the prior-year quarter, per the Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index. The growth was driven by record payouts in the United States and Canada.

U.S. dividend hit a high of $113 billion in the first quarter as almost 80% of companies augmented their payouts from the year-earlier period. A favorable currency translation, tailwinds from the tax reform and an overall strong first-quarter earnings season led to the surge.

The move was no surprise for the United States. The one-time repatriation tax on about $2.5 trillion in offshore earnings and lower tax rates were long-expected to beef up dividends under the new tax scheme enacted at the start of the year. The magnitude of Q1 dividend payments at U.S. companies is showing signs of managements’ confidence in the new tax system.

In Europe, excluding the UK, dividends grew 3.9% on an underlying basis, while Asia-Pacific, which excludes Japan, was an underperformer with a 3.1% decline in payouts. In the UK, underlying payouts rose 4.2%. Emerging markets saw enhanced payouts thanks mainly to special dividends.

Guidance for 2018

Janus Henderson projects global payouts to touch a record $1.36 trillion in 2018, representing year-on-year growth of 6% in underlying terms. Though Australia gave a downbeat performance in Q1 due to stock-specific issues, the region should rebound on a full-year basis. Janus Henderson is optimistic on emerging markets and Asia too.

A senior Index Analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices expects 2018 to see a 5.5% year-over-year uptick of dividend payouts (on the basis of the ongoing declared dividend rates for the S&P 500), up from 2.3% at year-end 2017.

Things are expected to pick up in Europe too. The second quarter is seasonally crucial and stockholders may see a much wider range of industries and European countries adding to global dividend payments in Q2 than Q1.

Stock Picks

Against this backdrop, we would like to highlight five stocks that have a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy), a five-year historical dividend growth rate of at least 10%, dividend yield 3.5% or more and this year’s estimated growth rate of at least 10%. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings LLC (NYSE:CQH)

The company owns and operates liquefied natural gas terminal.

Zacks Rank: #2

Five-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 82.26%

Dividend Yield: 7.27%

This Year’s Forward Estimated Growth Rate: 324.84%

BG Staffing Inc (NYSE:BGSF)

The company is a national provider of temporary staffing services across a diverse set of industries.

Zacks Rank: #2

Five-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 49.22%

Dividend Yield: 4.78%

This Year’s Forward Estimated Growth Rate: 33.17%

PacWest Bancorp (NASDAQ:PACW)

It is a bank holding company with one wholly owned banking subsidiary, Pacific Western Bank.

Zacks Rank: #1

Five-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 19.14%

Dividend Yield: 3.71%

This Year’s Forward Estimated Growth Rate: 25.88%

Las Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE:LVS)

The company is a hotel, gaming, and retail mall company headquartered in Las Vegas, NV.

Zacks Rank: #1

Five-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 17.54%

Dividend Yield: 3.85%

This Year’s Forward Estimated Growth Rate: 19.13%

Seagate Technology Plc (NASDAQ:STX)

The company offers a portfolio of hard disc drives, solid state drives and solid-state hybrid drives.

Zacks Rank: #1

Five-Year Historical Dividend Growth Rate: 12.44%

Dividend Yield: 4.48%

This Year’s Forward Estimated Growth Rate: 29.61%

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