Dividend Aristocrat VF Corporation (VFC) will increase its quarterly dividend by 2.1 percent to 49 cents per share in 2020. This follows a dividend hike of 11.6 percent to $0.48 per share last year by the Timberland and Vans manufacturer and will mark 48 consecutive years of dividend increases.

The next dividend will be payable on December 20, 2019, to shareholders of record on December 10, 2019. A new annual dividend rate of $1.96 per share yields 2.5% at a stock price of $76.

Last year the dividend was lowered from 51 cents to 43 cents following the separation of VF’s Jeanswear organization Kontoor Brands. Since Kontoor Brands (KTB) also initiated a quarterly dividend earlier this year the total dividend payment to VF Corporation was unchanged compared to the situation prior to the separation of the Jeanswear activities. This means that theoretically VF will remain a Dividend Aristocrat, with 2019 marking the 47th consecutive year of annual dividend increases, if we adjust the dividend for the Kontoor spin-off.

VF Corp now pays an estimated $764 million annualy in dividends. This year's dividend hike just announced is the smallest since 2009 and 2008, with 1.7 percent increases announced in both years during the financial crisis.

V.F. Corporation (VF) is a manufacturer of branded lifestyle apparel, footwear and accessories. VF’s businesses and brands are organized into categories including Outdoor & Action Sports, Imagewear and Sportswear. The company's brands include The North Face, Vans, Timberland, Dickies, Eastpak, JanSport and Bulwark. VF Corporation was founded in October 1899 as the Reading Glove and Mitten Manufacturing Company and went public in March 19, 1951 as Vanity Fair. Its namesake brand was divested in 2007 when VF sold the intimate apparel business.