Lowe's Companies (LOW) will raise its quarterly dividend by 9.1 percent to 60 cents per share in the third quarter of 2020. Last year Dividend Aristocrat Lowe's hiked the dividend by 14.6 percent to $0.55 per share, marking the 58th consecutive year of dividend increases by the home improvement retailer.

Because of COVID-19 Lowe's did not announce its annual dividend hike in the previous quarter like it has been doing traditionally for years. Shareholders received five quarterly payments of 55 cents per share before this latest dividend hike was announced three months later than in the previous years.

The next dividend is payable November 4, 2020, to shareholders of record as of October 21, 2020. A new annualized dividend rate of $2.40 per share yields 1.5% at a stock price of $161.72

Lowe's has declared a cash dividend every quarter since going public in 1961 and will now pay approximately $455 million in dividends to shareholders on a quarterly basis. Lowe's announced this latest dividend hike in a press release dated August 21, 2020: "Based on our confidence in our continued, broad-based business momentum and robust cash flow generation, we are pleased to announce a nine percent increase in our dividend today," said Marvin Ellison, Lowe's president and CEO.  "This increase reflects our commitment to delivering strong shareholder returns through our disciplined capital allocation program."

For Lowe's this 9.1 percent dividend hike is the smallest in many years, just like other US Companies and especially many Dividend Aristocrats that are slowing or delaying dividend growth because of COVID-19. Lowe's had been raising the dividend by double digits every year since 2010 and is one of the Dividend Aristocrats with the highest average dividend growth rate based on the last five years. The 5 year CAGR for Lowe's, a dividend hike star in the last couple of years, is now 16.5 percent.

Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a home improvement retailer. The company operates home improvement and hardware stores in The United States, Canada and Mexico. The Canadian Stores include RONA Inc., acquired by Lowe's in 2016. The company's customers include homeowners, renters, and professional customers. Lowe's was founded in 1946, incorporated in North Carolina in 1952 and has declared a cash dividend every quarter since going public in 1961.