Continuous dividend growth
Continuous dividend payout is the number of recent years, represented as an integer value between 1 and 7, without interruption in which the dividends paid by a company have increased.
For instance, if the dividend payouts over the last six years were $100, $90, $80, $80, $80, $90, $100, the continuous dividend growth number would be 3. In this scenario, the dividends increased from $80 to $90 to $100 without any reductions, showing three consecutive years of dividend growth.
Investors use the continuous dividend growth metric to assess the company's commitment to enhancing shareholder value through a consistent pattern of increasing dividend payments over time. A higher continuous dividend growth number reflects a sustained trend of dividend growth, which is often viewed positively as a demonstration of financial stability and management's confidence in the company's future prospects.