Finding an ASX dividend share paying out a healthy dividend yield is one thing on the ASX. But finding a company that manages to consistently and generously raise its annual dividend payouts to investors is another.
Long-term income investors know that the best way to build generous dividend income is by finding rising dividends, not just high ones.
So with that in mind, let's discuss two ASX dividend shares that have grown their shareholder payouts by 20% in five years.
2 dividend shares that have hiked payouts by 20% since 2017
Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)
Rural Funds Group is an agriculture-focused ASX real estate investment trust (REIT). It invests in a variety of farmland assets and passes on the rental income from said assets to its investors. At present, it owns interests in a variety of agricultural products, including almonds, beef, macadamias and vineyards.
Rural Funds targets a 4% growth rate for its annual dividend distributions. Back in 2017, it doled out a quarterly dividend distribution of 2.41 cents per unit. But back in October, Rural Funds paid its investors its latest quarterly distribution which was worth 11.72 cents per unit. That's a five-year increase of 21.58%.
Rural Funds shares have dipped over 2022, as you can see below:
This has helped push up Rural Funds' dividend distribution yield to the 4.76% we see today.
APA Group (ASX: APA)
Next up is ASX gas pipeline operator APA Group. APA has one of the steadiest dividend graphs on the ASX, helped in part by reliable rental income from the use of its gas pipeline network.
In 2017, this company doled out 43.5 cents per share in dividend income. In 2022, APA has paid its shareholders a total of 53 cents per share in dividends. That represents a five-year growth rate of 21.84%.
The APA share price is a bouncy one, as is evident below:
The current share price gives APA shares a trailing dividend yield of 4.8% right now.
