My Portfolio's Year in Review: What Worked, What Didn't, and Where the Value Is Now

Once a year I like to step back and look at the bigger picture.

Not just the current prices or the most recent dividend raises — but a real side-by-side comparison of where the portfolio stood twelve months ago versus where it stands today.

This post covers my 50 dividend growth stocks from September 2025 through August 2026. I'll walk through the portfolio restructuring I made earlier this year, which names drove the most price appreciation, who delivered the biggest dividend raises, and where I see the best value opportunities right now.

Let's get into it.

The Big Change: From 60 Stocks to 50

If you've followed this site for a while, you know I spent the past couple of years building a 60-stock portfolio. Earlier this year I made the decision to trim that down to 50.

The eleven names I removed were AMT, ED, ESS, GPC, MDT, NKE, NNN, O, PRU, SYY, and TXN. I added one name to replace them: Mastercard (MA).

Most of the cuts were REITs and slower-growth income plays — American Tower, Realty Income, NNN REIT, Essex Property Trust — along with companies where dividend growth velocity had slowed: Medtronic, Sysco, Texas Instruments, General Parts.

The goal was a more focused list. Less exposure to high-yield, low-growth names. More concentration in businesses with wide economic moats and a track record of meaningful dividend raises year after year.

One removal worth noting: Nike (NKE) was showing a +122% undervaluation signal at the time I cut it. That wasn't a valuation call — it was a quality call. The dividend growth story had stalled and I wasn't confident in the near-term trajectory. Sometimes cheap isn't enough.

Adding Mastercard fits the direction I'm taking the portfolio. Low current yield (0.61%), very low payout ratio (14%), and a long runway to keep raising the dividend for decades. It's a compounder, not an income stock — and that's exactly what I wanted to add.

Price Performance: The Winners and Losers

Looking at the 49 stocks that stayed in the portfolio across the full period, the spread in price performance was significant.

Caterpillar's 92% run is the obvious standout. I won't pretend I predicted that. But I will say that CAT is now comfortably the most expensive stock in the portfolio by yield — sitting about 49% above what I'd consider fair value based on its historical yield. That's not a reason to sell, but it's a reason to be patient about adding more.

Target's 55% gain is the one I'm most satisfied with. Back in September 2025, TGT was showing a +68% undervaluation signal — one of the deepest value readings in the entire portfolio at the time. The yield-based signal worked exactly as it's supposed to. Target went from bargain territory to slightly overvalued in twelve months.

That's DGI working.