The ProShares S&P MidCap 400 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (CBOE: REGL) is one of the leaders among mid-cap dividend exchange traded funds (ETFs).
REGL, which recently turned four years old, follows the S&P MidCap 400 Dividend Aristocrats Index. That is the dividend aristocrats offshoot of the widely followed S&P MidCap 400 Index The fund recently added some new mid-cap dividend names to its roster, solidifying its roster at 52 members. To be eligible for inclusion in REGL and the underlying index, mid-cap stocks must have dividend increase streaks of at least 15 years.
Four of REGL’s new holdings have dividend increase streaks of 15 to 24 years. That quartet includes Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (HCSG), MSC Direct Industrial Co., Inc. (MSC), Omega Healthcare Investors, Inc. (OHI) and Toro Co. (TTC). Three of those four stocks are industrial names while Omega Healthcare is classified as a real estate stock.
REGL allocates almost 20% of its weight to the industrial sector, its second-largest sector weight behind financial services.
REGL’s other new addition, nVent Electric Plc (NVT), is also an industrial stock. That company is one of nine REGL components that have dividend increase streaks of 35 to 44 years. Seven of the fund’s components have dividend increase streaks of at least 45 years.
Over a long-term horizon, though, mid-caps have outshined the competition. Since 1996, the S&P MidCap 400 generated an average annual return of 10.4%, compared to 7.3% for the S&P 500 and 9.7% for the SmallCap 600.
REGL, which is up 12.28% year-to-date, has a dividend yield of 1.76%, or 54 basis points higher than the yield on the S&P MidCap 400 Index.
Fourteen of the ETF’s holdings have dividend increase streaks of 25 to 34 years. The utilities and materials sectors combine for 23.39% of REGL’s weight. The weight average market capitalization of the fund’s holdings is $5.46 billion.
For more information on middle capitalization stocks, visit our mid-cap category.
