Dividend Aristocrats have become “abnormally cheap”

U.S. companies with a track record of raising dividends have become “abnormally cheap,” according to Andrew Garthwaite, a global strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG. Garthwaite endorsed the so-called dividend aristocrats in a report Thursday. Valuations of the S&P 500 Index’s aristocrats relative to the U.S. stock benchmark fell as much as 5.5% from a high on May 13 through Thursday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The decline is based on forward price-earnings ratios, which Garthwaite cited in the report.