DGI For The DIY

[EricL]

According to Fastgraphs, over the last 20 years LEG has provided an annual ROR of just 6.3%, over the last 10 years, 6.0%.

Here are the dividend growth rates according to David Fish's CCC spreadsheet.
10YR = 8.7%
5YR = 10.1%
3YR = 3.8%
1YR = 3.7%
Most Recent = 3.5%

While the stock has a nice yield, I didn't like the consistent decline in the growth rate and the fact the company had weak earnings and forward guidance I decided to go another direction. If I was closer to retirement it probably would have been a hold for me over some of my lower yielding stocks, but with another 20+ years until retirement I think I can do better.

As for $1000 per trade rather than $500, it's something I considered but I'm comfortable paying the $8.95 per trade at $500. With a 50 stock portfolio I haven't had much trouble finding stocks I want to buy more of. Prices often swing more than 2% in any given day and waiting another 2 months to make a buy is another quarter's worth of dividends I'm missing out on. I understand the concern about transaction costs, but I don't feel in this situation its hurting me much.