Consecutive Periods of Uninterrupted Dividend Payout
The ConsecutivePeriodOfUninterruptedDividendPayout function is designed to help dividend-focused investors quickly determine how many consecutive periods (quarters or years) a stock has remained consistent in paying out dividends. By analyzing a stock’s dividend payment history, you can assess reliability, detect patterns, and compare across multiple dividend-paying stocks—all directly within Excel using MarketXLS.
Why Use This Function?
- Quickly identify a reliable dividend stock’s streak of uninterrupted payments.
- Make better decisions on potential dividend income stability and reliability.
- Compare dividend consistency among different symbols to balance your portfolio.
- Verify if a company has paused or cut its dividends recently.
- Avoid deep manual checks by leveraging real-time or up-to-date dividend history data from MarketXLS.
Real-World Scenarios Where This Function Shines:
- Dividend Growth Investing: Spot companies growing or holding dividends steadily.
- Retirement Planning: Evaluate stable dividend streams for retirement income.
- Dividend Reinvestment (DRIP) Strategies: Ensure reinvestments come from a consistent payout track record.
- Long-Term Income Holders: Track longtime dividend aristocrats or challengers.
How to Use in Excel
Simply type the function into an Excel cell as shown below. MarketXLS handles the underlying data retrieval for you.
=ConsecutivePeriodOfUninterruptedDividendPayout(Symbol, periods)
- In any blank cell, type “=” followed by “ConsecutivePeriodOfUninterruptedDividendPayout”.
- Provide the stock’s ticker symbol, enclosed in quotes (or reference another cell containing the symbol).
- Provide the number of periods you want to look back for consistent dividend payouts (e.g., “5y” for five years, “8q” for eight quarters).
- Press Enter to instantly see the number of consecutive periods for which the stock has maintained a positive dividend payout.
Parameters Explained
Parameter | Description | Example Values | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Symbol | The ticker symbol of the dividend-paying stock. | "AAPL", "MSFT" | Must be a valid stock ticker. If invalid or missing, function returns "NA". |
periods | The number and type of periods to analyze. Must end in 'y' for years or 'q' for quarters. | "5y", "10y", "4q" | A “y” suffix checks annual data (years), and a “q” suffix checks quarterly data. |
• Passing a shorter range (e.g., "1y") may indicate only a few dividend payment data points.
• Passing a larger range (e.g., "10y") will check for interruptions within a longer historical span.
Example Usage
Basic Examples
-
Checking 3 Years of Dividend Consistency
=ConsecutivePeriodOfUninterruptedDividendPayout("AAPL","3y")
This will show how many of the last three annual periods had uninterrupted positive dividend payouts for Apple. -
Checking 4 Quarters of Dividend Consistency
=ConsecutivePeriodOfUninterruptedDividendPayout("MSFT","4q")
Returns the number of quarters (out of the last four) that Microsoft paid a dividend without skipping or reducing payment to zero. -
Referencing Cells for Input
Suppose cell A1 has "AAPL" and cell A2 has "5y". Then:
=ConsecutivePeriodOfUninterruptedDividendPayout(A1, A2)
This helps automate calculations and easily change parameters.
Advanced Scenarios
-
Comparing Multiple Stocks
By placing different ticker symbols in separate rows (e.g., "AAPL", "XOM", "T"), you can set up a quick comparison for consecutive dividend payouts across a group of dividend-focused companies. -
Combining with Other Excel Functions
Use IF statements or conditional formatting to highlight any stocks dropping below a certain streak threshold. For example:
=IF(ConsecutivePeriodOfUninterruptedDividendPayout("KO","5y")<5, "Dividend Cut Risk", "Stable Dividend") -
Portfolio-Level Checks
For multiple stocks listed in a portfolio sheet, you can drag the formula down to automatically calculate each stock’s dividend streak. This provides a quick snapshot of your portfolio’s overall dividend stability.
Common Questions and Troubleshooting
-
Why Do I Get “NA”?
- Invalid Symbol: Make sure the ticker is correct and publicly traded in the US market.
- License Issues: Check if your MarketXLS license is valid.
- Incorrect Period Parameter: Ensure you used ‘y’ for years or ‘q’ for quarters at the end of your period argument (e.g., "5y", not just "5").
-
How Are Consecutive Dividends Measured?
- The function checks each period’s positive dividend payout (DPS) data. If the dividend in a period is zero or missing, the streak ends.
-
Edge Cases
- Passing “1y” or “1q” might result in 1 (if that single period had a non-zero dividend) or 0 if no dividend was paid.
- Stocks that only recently started paying dividends could return a short streak.
- If your date range is too large (e.g., "20y") for a newer stock, fewer actual data points may be available, but the function will return the correct uninterrupted streak from the data that exists.
Remember:
- This function is especially useful for quick data-driven decisions on dividend reliability.
- Double-check your Symbol and periods for accuracy.
- Combine with other MarketXLS functions for advanced dividend analysis or to build robust trading and investing dashboards.