Meet the 3 New Dividend Aristocrats for 2025
Let's analyze the latest members of this exclusive 25-year club.
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Every year, Standard & Poor's updates its list of the Dividend Aristocrats, a group of stocks in the S&P 500 Index that have raised their dividends for at least 25 years.
For 2025, there are three new additions to the Dividend Aristocrats list, bringing the total amount to 69.
Let's discuss the new Dividend Aristocrats in greater detail.
New Dividend Aristocrat #1
Eversource Energy ES is a diversified holding company with subsidiaries that provide regulated electric, gas, and water distribution service in the Northeast U.S.
The company’s utilities serve more than 4 million customers after acquiring NStar’s Massachusetts utilities in 2012, Aquarion in 2017, and Columbia Gas in 2020. Eversource has delivered steady growth to shareholders for many years. Over the last 10 years, the average EPS growth rate is almost 6%.
On November 4, Eversource Energy released its third-quarter 2024 results for the period ending September 30, 2024.
For the quarter, the company reported a net loss of $118.1 million, a sharp decline from earnings of $339.7 million in the same quarter of last year, which reflects the impact of the company’s exit from offshore wind investments.
The company reported a loss per share of $0.33, compared with earnings per share of $0.97 in the prior year.
Earnings from the Electric Transmission segment increased to $174.9 million, up from $160.3 million in the prior year, primarily due to a higher level of investment in Eversource’s electric transmission system.
We expect the company to grow its EPS by 6% per year on average over the next five years. The company has a good earnings track record and will benefit from rate hikes, transmission investments, and clean energy initiatives.
Eversource Energy continues to progress towards its updated investment goal of $23.7 billion in various projects, including transmission and electric distribution, during the 2024 to 2028 time frame.
The company has a long history of paying dividends and has increased its payout for 26 consecutive years. In February 2024, the quarterly dividend increased by 5.9% from $0.6750 to $0.7150 per share. On January 29, 2025, it approved a quarterly dividend of $0.7525 per share, payable on March 31, 2025, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 4, 2025.
Over the last five years, the average annual dividend growth rate is 6.0%. Eversource’s target for yearly dividend growth is 5% to 7%.
ES has a current dividend yield of 5.2%.
New Dividend Aristocrat #2
Erie Indemnity ERIE is an Erie, Pennsylvania-based insurance company. It has established itself in life insurance, auto, home, and commercial insurance. The company’s history dates to the 1920s.
Erie Indemnity reported its third-quarter earnings results on October 31. Revenues totaled $999 million during the quarter, which was 16% more than the same quarter the previous year.
Revenue growth was driven by higher management fee revenues (for policy issuance and renewal services) to a large degree, which rose by 19% year over year. Administrative services fee revenue grew 6%.
Investment income was up substantially on a year-over-year basis during the quarter, which can be explained by tailwinds from higher interest rates.
Erie Indemnity generated GAAP EPS of $3.06 during the third quarter, which was up by 20% year over year.
The current estimate for 2024 EPS is $11.50, which would be the best year in Erie Indemnity’s history.
Erie increased its EPS by 11% annually between 2014 and 2023. Like other insurance companies, Erie Indemnity has a sizable float — cash that it has received through premiums and that it needs to invest.
The company’s financial results are dependent on market rates, such as Treasuries.
With interest rates rising in the recent past, Erie Indemnity experienced a big profit increase in 2023, and another big increase is expected for the current year.
Recently, Erie Indemnity has achieved appealing revenue growth, and we believe that revenues should grow in the foreseeable future. We believe that Erie Indemnity should be able to grow its profits at a mid-single-digit pace throughout the coming years.
Growing revenues are one growth driver, while further increases in investment income could have a positive impact on the company’s profit growth as well.
In December, the company agreed to increase the regular quarterly cash dividend from $1.275 to $1.365 on each Class A share. This represents a 7.1% increase in the payout per share over the current dividend rate.
ERIE shares currently yield 1.4%.
New Dividend Aristocrat #3
FactSet Research Systems FDS, a financial data and analytics firm founded in 1978, provides integrated financial information and analytical tools to the investment community in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia-Pacific.
The company provides insight and information through research, analytics, trading workflow solutions, content and technology solutions, and wealth management.
On December 19, FactSet Research Systems announced Q1 2025 results, reporting non-GAAP EPS of $4.37 for the period, beating market consensus by $0.09 while revenue rose 4.9% to $568.7 million.
FactSet Research Systems kicked off fiscal 2025 with solid, yet measured growth in Q1, reporting GAAP revenues of $568.7 million, a 4.9% year-over-year increase. The revenue boost was driven by strong performance across its wealth management, asset owner, and institutional client segments.
Organic Annual Subscription Value (ASV), a key performance metric, rose 4.5% to $2,258.8 million, reflecting sustained demand for FactSet’s financial data and analytics solutions.
Earnings per share offered a mixed picture. GAAP diluted EPS edged up 1.3% to $3.89, while adjusted diluted EPS rose 6.1%, supported by revenue growth and lower employee compensation costs.
FactSet reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 guidance, including projected GAAP revenues of $2.29 billion–$2.31 billion and adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $16.80–$17.40.
FactSet has grown its EPS by an average compound growth rate of 10.3% over the last 10 years. The company’s investments and improved product offerings could lead to significant margin expansion in the following years.
FDS has increased its dividend for 25 years and shares currently yield 0.9%.
At the time of publication, Ciura had no positions in any stocks mentioned.