The Lemon Fool

Breelander wrote:

Arborbridge wrote:I think you should try again. Those critics might have gone quiet (it goes in phases - even fashions in moderation change ....

Let's see how the Christmas report goes down then.....

Usually very well, as I remember it.


Arb.

daveh wrote:

Looks like I first bought in 2008. They then had a large rights issue which I tail swallowed and this seems to have massively increased my holding without me spending any more cash. I then seem to have purchased more during 2011 and 2012 at between 200 and 250p/share and I took up the 2017 rights at 345p/share, before top slicing in 2018 and 19.

My dividend history shows a cash dividend decrease of ~1/3 between 2008 and 9 with small increases in 2010 and 11 and then an almost 6 fold increase in 2012 (in cash terms) most of that seems to be accounted for by the share purchases made in 2011 and 2012 when it was yielding between 5.8 and 7.3%. So it looks like I made some very well timed purchases signalled by the high yield. The SGRO holding is showing an 836% gain, my best performing share by a long way.

Sadly, I missed out on Segro which might have been a good partner for my B. Land holdings back in the day when I had two representatives of each sector. I don't remember the reasons, but something about Segro put me off at the time and I never revisited. Looking at the yield, far too late now.
As regards trimming: the need to do so would be a fine thing! It hardly happens to me, which probably says much about my stock picking. I've trimmed Diageo and Astrazeneca once each. Some shares have been self trimming - like Carillion

Arb.

tjh290633 wrote:This is an optional action. I am still holding on to Compass, for example, whose yield has fallen below 2%. On the other hand, I dumped BG. when its yield fell to about 1%.

I do not consider Segro to be near the disposal level as yet.

TJH

Could you tell us more about the "optional" decision part? I assume the reasoning might be "the dividends keep going up so I'm happy to stick around for a while rather than take the risk of swapping out". But who do you balance that with your feeling about wanting to "rachet up" the dividends, bearing in mind you could probably double the payout by changing.


Arb.

TUK020 wrote:

daveh wrote:For the shares I set a max holding size of 2x median (4.9% at the moment). Shares close to that value are disallowed from top ups and shares well above that value I would think about trimming. I've top sliced SGRO twice once last year at 644 and once this year at 728 and it still keeps going up.

DaveH,
I bought a minor stake in SGRO, and have watched the s.p. climb steadily. It is not a big enough stake to warrant top slicing, and I am very unsure as to what, if anything, to do about it.
Do you have a price or yield target at which you would unload the entire stake?
tuk020

I'm rather Dorisian and don't do much fiddling with the portfolio. For shares that are growing the share price well ahead of the dividend I just top slice if they become too large a % of the portfolio, I've not planned on cutting them entirely. I've not wanted to miss out on the occasional shares that really outperform as those are what balance the Carrillions in my portfolio. So far SGRO is my only top slice.

For shares that have cut there dividend entirely I've generally kept these and hoped they will eventually come good. Some I've even added to at low prices when their yield is back in HYP territory and growing again (eg Lloyds and even recently RBS). So far most have returned to paying some dividend and the capital is on the mend (eg TSCO, LLOY) some have performed really well and the dividend and share price is well ahead (eg PSN). I've got a couple of shares that looked like they were never going to pay much (MAB and RBS) that were/are too small to be worth selling. Though even RBS has finally started to get its act together and is paying a dividend and MAB gives shareholders 20% off at their restaurants and pubs which I have actually started to use occasionally and last year I got more off a group meal than the shares are worth (which just says how small the holding is).

Arborbridge wrote:

tjh290633 wrote:This is an optional action. I am still holding on to Compass, for example, whose yield has fallen below 2%. On the other hand, I dumped BG. when its yield fell to about 1%.

I do not consider Segro to be near the disposal level as yet.

TJH

Could you tell us more about the "optional" decision part? I assume the reasoning might be "the dividends keep going up so I'm happy to stick around for a while rather than take the risk of swapping out". But who do you balance that with your feeling about wanting to "rachet up" the dividends, bearing in mind you could probably double the payout by changing.


Arb.

The ratcheting effect normally comes from topping up actions and trimming overweight shares. Full disposals are a very rare event, except for takeovers and the likes of Cattles and Carillion.

You are right about the shares which both rise rapidly and increase their dividends at a high rate. Often they drop below the trigger level of yield, only to rise back above it when the next dividend is announced. It is persistent behaviour which leads to a continuing fall in yield which makes me sell out. I certainly would not set the trigger point at or near the market yield.

TJH

Just to add to that, the last two shares sold for low yield were Indivior in June 2018 and RSA in March 2014. There was a wholesale disposal in 2009-10, following the 2008 hiatus.

Stagecoach went in March 2008 at 258p, with a yield of 1.65%. The yield did creep back up towards 3.5%, as the price fell to about 170p, then the price rose again over 300p, putting it out of consideration.

TJH