UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022

The UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022 are UK stocks that have increased or maintained their dividend for at least ten consecutive years. However, that fact alone does not qualify a stock as an UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrat. To be included on the list, a company must meet the following criteria:

• The company must be a member of the S&P Europe BMI domiciled in a eurozone country. The stock must also trade in Euros on a stock exchange in the eurozone.
• The stock must have increased or maintained its dividend stable for at least ten consecutive years. The yield cannot be greater than 10%. New index constituents must have a maximum of 100% dividend payout ratio. Existing index constituents must have a non-negative dividend payout ratio.
• The stock must have a market capitalization of at least $1 billion.
• The average daily value traded (ADVT) must be at least $5 million.
• During the quarterly rebalancing, the weighting of a single stock is capped at the lower of 5% or five times the stock’s liquidity weight.
• Each GICS sector weighting is capped at 30%. 
• Index weightings are based on yield.
• The weighting of each country is capped at 30%.
• Index constituents are reviewed for dividend suspensions (omissions) and cuts every month. If a stock announces a dividend suspension or cut, it is removed from the index and replaced by the highest-ranked stock that is not already in the index.

These criteria are very different from those used to determine the list of Dividend Aristocrats in the US, which must be in the S&P 500 Index and need 25+ years of increasing dividends. There are currently about 66 stocks in the US Dividend Aristocrats. This number is not capped. On the other hand, there are only 39 stocks in the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022 list as of November 30, 2022. But this is by design.

These criteria are also very different than the criteria used to determine the list of Canadian Dividend Aristocrats, which has smaller market capitalization and consecutive annual dividend increase requirements. The UK High Dividend Aristocrats 2022 are similar, though, in that the indices are both weighted by yield. 

These companies have survived periods of inflation, stock market crashes, global crises, and deep recessions but still met the criteria described above. Often these are the most prominent and typically well-known stocks in the UK with high yields. Hence, this list serves as a starting point for small investors seeking to research potential ideas for UK dividend growth stocks.

Performance Update of The UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022

The UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022 currently (as of November 30, 2022) has a dividend yield of about 4.05%. The average forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is approximately 14.77X, while the trailing P/E ratio is about 11.7X.

The mean market capitalization is roughly 16,579 GBP million (this section is in Great British Pounds), and the median market capitalization is approximately 5,882 GBP million. The market cap ranges between about 1,282 GBP million to 105,956 GBP million. The total market capitalization of the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats is approximately 646,562 GBP million.

In 2021, the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats provided a total return of 15.05%. This return was the highest return since 2019 and the third positive return in the past 5-year. The price return was 9.97%. However, this performance was relatively poor, considering the solid positive market returns of most US exchanges and indices.

Historical Performance

The chart below shows the historical performance over the trailing 10-years. In the past 10-years, the total annualized return was 4.23%, and over the past 5-years, it was 0.89%. The standard deviation over the past 10-years was 13.78% and over the past 5-years was 16.62%.

The table below shows the calendar year performance from 2012 to 2021.

Other Dividend Growth Stock Lists

For US stocks, I have previously provided the following lists:

• List of Dividend Kings in 2022
• List of Dividend Aristocrats in 2022
• List of Dividend Champions in 2022
• List of Dividend Contenders in 2022 
• List of Dividend Challengers in 2022
• Dogs of the Dow in 2022

For Canadian stocks, I have previously provided the following list:

• List of Canadian Dividend Aristocrats in 2022

Other dividend stock lists

• American Stocks Paying 100+ Years of Dividends

Details on the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022

The UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022 has a target of 40 stocks. In practice, the actual number is typically between 30 and 40 stocks. There are 39 stocks on the list as of this writing. 

There is also a proposal to adjust the monthly dividend review process. This change will take effect before the market opening on Monday, July 1, 2022. This change will affect the monthly dividend review on Friday, July 23, 2022.

UK Dividend Aristocrats Sector Breakdown

The sector breakdown for UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022 is seen in the chart below as of November 30, 2022. 

Stocks from the Financials sector have the most significant representation on the list of UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats at about 23.8%. The sector with the following highest representation is Real Estate at approximately 20.7%. The sector with the third-highest representation is the Industrials Sector at roughly 18%. The top three sectors make up that great majority of the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats at 62.5%.

Stocks in the Financial sector tend to have somewhat more volatile earnings and cash flows that depend on the stock market valuation and interest rates. However, the scale of large financial institutions let them pay a growing dividend over time.

Consumer staples tend to have stable earnings and cash flows. This tends to limit dividend cuts and suspensions during recessions and economic downturns. Furthermore, consumer staples stocks slowly grow revenue and earnings over time. In turn, this allows annual regular dividend increases. 

The Industrial sector is also cyclical, but many of these stocks tend to grow revenue and earnings over time, allowing them to maintain a stable dividend at the very least.

This sector breakdown is similar but not the same as the US Dividend Aristocrats list, which has Consumer Staples, Industrials, and Materials as the top three sectors.  

The sector breakdown is unlike the Canadian Dividend Aristocrats list, with Financials, Energy, and Industrials as the top three sectors.

Fund Performance Differences

As a group, some funds have exhibited lower annualized total returns than the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats index. For example, one fund has displayed lower annualized returns of 5.19% (after subtracting expenses) than the underlying index of 5.37% since inception. This difference is likely due to annualized tracking error, which is the difference between the fund’s price and the index’s price. However, this difference can also occur due to changes in the underlying index resulting in higher transaction costs for funds.

Note that there is some confusion between the actual index and some exchange-traded funds or ‘ETFs’ that use the index as the basis of stock selection. For example, at least one fund uses 7+ consecutive years of dividend growth as a criterion for inclusion instead of 10+ years of dividend growth.

List of Top 10 UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats 2022

The stocks with the top 10 weighting in the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats are listed below. Note that the weightings are based on dividend yield. The top 10 stocks in the list constitute about 45.67% of the UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats.

Stock	Weighting (%)
IG Group Holdings PLC	5.35
Legal & General Group	5.03
British American Tobacco PLC	5.01
Hargreaves Lansdown PLC	4.34
Unilever PLC	4.08
Intermediate Capital Group	4.01
National Grid PLC	3.88
Schroders PLC	3.68
Supermarket Income REIT PLC	3.40
Pearson PLC	3.31

Prior Year Lists and Articles

• UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats in 2021
• UK High Yield Dividend Aristocrats in 2020