I'm certainly not saying they should increase. I've always found that if a company stops increasing the dividend there's always a reason. Either they are having major problems or they've changed their mind and want to use their cash flow in other ways. Two other companies in my own portfolio that have done this are Rogers and Shaw Communications. No dividend increase, then no fresh investment funds from me.AltaRed wrote: ↑14 Oct 2017 11:37If they did increase this year, it would be a reason to actually sell them, not buy them. It would be stupid for them to bleed even more cash on those subscription receipts (to help pay for the acquisition) until that money is actually doing something for them. Indeed, I think it is counter-productive to the existing business that so much cash is being paid out on what is, so far, just a loan 'anticipating a purchase'.
Sometimes a company will basically lie to their investors and increase their dividend even when they are having major problems. A good example would be Home Capital Group which I dumped before Buffett came on the scene. Funny enough the whiz kids at Mawer sold their shares about the same time as I did.