Today I looking at three FTSE-listed stars set to deliver stunning dividend growth.
Think outside the box
With Britain’s internet shopping craze still clicking through the gears, I reckon Tritax Big Box (LSE: BBOX) is in the box seat to enjoy splendid long-term earnings growth, and in turn keep churning out monster dividends.
Boosted by a strong market outlook, Tritax has hammered out two further blockbuster acquisitions in recent weeks, the firm hoovering up the distribution centres of Argos and Brake Bros for £74.7m and £25.2m respectively.
This follows the purchase of 11 sites in 2015, moves “which further diversified the portfolio by geography, tenant and building size” and consequently provided Tritax’s profits forecasts with that little bit extra security.
With rental incomes expected to keep surging, the City expects earnings to rise 7% and 4% in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
Consequently, last year’s 6p per share reward is anticipated to rise to 6.2p in the current period and to 6.4p next year. These figures yield an eye-watering 4.6% and 4.7%, smashing the FTSE 100 forward average of 3.5% by some distance.
Shopping star
Having gotten its progressive dividend policy back on track in 2015, I expect payouts at Marks and Spencer (LSE: MKS) to keep spiralling higher, too.
It is true that ‘Marks and Sparks’ still has plenty of work in front of it to get its misfiring Womenswear items flying off the shelves again — like-for-like sales of its clothing and home products fell a further 2.7% during January-March.
But there is still plenty of reason to be optimistic, in my opinion. Marks and Spencer’s products remain a hit with shoppers on foreign shores, while back at home surging demand for its edible products — combined with the positive effect of its revamped M&S.com website — should help to bolster the top line.
The number crunchers expect Marks and Spencer to lift a predicted 19p per share dividend for the year to March 2016 to 20p in the current period, underpinned by a chunky 5% earnings rise and yielding a terrific 4.8%.
And the yield moves to 5.1% for next year, a forecast 7% earnings rise predicted to drive the payout to 21.3p.
A financial favourite
With new business flowing in from across the world, I believe Aviva (LSE: AV) is also a strong bet for those seeking excellent dividend growth.
Aviva saw new business values gallop 24% in 2015, to £1.19bn, driven by rampant progress in the UK and Asia. And the company is bolstering its global presence to keep revenues moving higher — indeed, the insurer raised its stake in its life insurance joint venture in India, from 26% to 49%, just last week.
On top of this, income chasers should take great confidence from Aviva’s robust balance sheet, the result of massive restructuring in recent years. The company’s Solvency II ratio clocked in at an excellent 180% as of December.
With earnings at Aviva expected to keep on surging — indeed, the bottom line is expected to more than double in 2016 — the City has pencilled in a dividend of 23.6p per share, up from 20.8p last year and yielding a formidable 5.5%.
And the yield jumps to a lip-smacking 6.2% for 2017, with predictions of a 26.6p reward supported by a projected 9% earnings rise.
