Updated on July 8th, 2025 by Felix Martinez
The Dividend Kings comprise companies that have increased their dividends for at least 50 consecutive years. Many companies have evolved into giant multinational corporations over the decades, but not all of them.
You can see the full list of all 55 Dividend Kings here.
We also compiled a comprehensive list of all Dividend Kings, along with relevant financial statistics such as dividend yields and price-to-earnings ratios. You can download the full list of Dividend Kings by clicking on the link below:
Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (FMCB) has paid uninterrupted dividends for 90 consecutive years and has raised its dividend for 59 straight years. And yet, it has remained a relatively small company, with a market capitalization of approximately $719 million.
Despite its small size, the company has several factors working in its favor, and shareholders are likely to see solid returns. The stock’s 1.9% dividend yield is slightly higher than the broader market’s 1.2% yield, and there is room for more dividend raises down the road.
Business Overview
F&M Bank was founded in 1916. It operates 32 branches across California’s Central Valley and East Bay areas. F&M Bank is a full-service community bank, offering loans, deposits, equipment leasing, and treasury management products to businesses, as well as a comprehensive range of consumer banking products.
Despite operating just 32 branches, F&M Bank is the 15th largest bank lender to agriculture in the U.S. and has significantly grown its asset base. In fact, total assets have grown by 12.5% annually since 2012. Thanks to its prudent management, F&M Bank has exhibited remarkable resilience amid the pandemic and during previous downturns.
Source: Investor Presentation
Growth Prospects
As previously mentioned, F&M Bank has pursued growth through acquisitions over the last several years, following a long period of inactivity that dates back to the 1980s. It acquired Delta National Bancorp in 2016, thereby increasing the number of its locations by 4. Moreover, in late 2018, it acquired Bank of Rio Vista, thereby expanding its presence in the San Francisco East Bay Area.
F&M Bank has grown its earnings per share at a 15.2% average annual rate since 2014. With the surge in interest rates to nearly 23-year highs, F&M Bank has reported its highest profits to date this year.
Generally, higher interest rates are a tailwind for banks and individuals with substantial assets, which in turn earn higher returns. Moreover, when interest rates are high, the spread between banks’ lending rates and borrowing rates increases, thereby expanding their net interest margin, a key component of their earnings.
However, most banks have incurred a sharp contraction in their net interest margin since early last year due to high deposit costs amid intense competition among banks for deposits. Nevertheless, F&M Bank has outperformed its peers in this aspect, as it has maintained one of the widest net interest margins in the financial sector.
Overall, we expect F&M Bank to grow its earnings per share by approximately 5% annually over the next five years, driven by the consistent growth of its asset and loan portfolios, as well as a potential expansion of its physical locations.
Competitive Advantages & Recession Performance
F&M Bank is not a big bank — the company’s market cap is $676 million. Nevertheless, the bank has been a solid performer for a long time and remained stable during the last financial crisis.
F&M Bank’s net earnings declined minimally during the 2008-2009 recession, with profits dropping by about 10%. That greatly contrasts with the performance of most other banks during that time. Earnings per share during the Great Recession are below:
- 2007 earnings-per-share of $28.05
- 2008 earnings-per-share of $28.69 (2.3% increase)
- 2009 earnings-per-share of $25.57 (11% decline)
- 2010 earnings-per-share of $27.05 (5.8% increase)
Major banks suffered earnings declines of 80% or even more during the Great Financial Crisis. F&M Bank, with its focus on community banking rather than more speculative, riskier businesses, has been a much safer investment during those troubled times.
As F&M Bank has not made any changes to its business model since then, it is still exceptionally resilient to recessions, at least relative to most banks. It is thus one of the most resilient banks during all kinds of downturns.
The conservative management of F&M Bank results in slower growth during periods of economic expansion but yields higher long-term returns, thanks to the superior returns during rough economic periods when most banks see their earnings collapse. The prudent management of F&M Bank also helps explain its exceptional streak of dividend growth. Most banks operate with high leverage.
Consequently, their earnings slump during downturns, and thus these banks cannot sustain multi-year dividend growth streaks.
F&M Bank is a low beta stock. This means that the stock price does not decline significantly in a market downturn, which makes F&M Bank a relatively stable and non-volatile holding. This feature is particularly important during broad market sell-offs, enabling investors to avoid panic selling and maintain a long-term investment perspective.
Valuation & Expected Returns
Based on a share price of ~$991 and expected earnings per share of $125.00 this year, F&M Bank is trading at a nearly 10-year low price-to-earnings ratio of 7.9.
The stock has traded at an average price-to-earnings ratio of 12.6 over the last decade; however, we assume a fair earnings multiple of 11.9, given the stock’s small market capitalization. If F&M Bank reaches our fair value estimate over the next five years, it will enjoy an 8.4% annualized return gain, thanks to the expansion of its valuation level.
Total returns are also comprised of the growth of earnings per share and the dividends a stock pays. F&M Bank currently yields 1.9%, which is higher than the average dividend yield of 1.2% for the S&P 500.
Given 5% expected earnings-per-share growth, the 1.9% dividend, and an 8.4% annualized expansion of the price-to-earnings ratio, we expect F&M Bank to offer a 15.3% average annual return over the next five years.
Final Thoughts
Due to its small market cap, F&M Bank passes under the radar of most investors. This is unfortunate, as F&M Bank is an exceptionally well-managed company that has also begun to pursue growth aggressively in the last few years.
Thanks to its resilience in recessions, F&M Bank offers a compelling risk-adjusted expected return, making it an attractive candidate for those seeking exposure to the financial sector. The stock is rated a buy around its current price.
Additional Reading
The following articles contain stocks with very long dividend or corporate histories, ripe for selection for dividend growth investors:
- The High Yield Dividend Aristocrats List is comprised of the 20 Dividend Aristocrats with the highest current yields.
- The Dividend Achievers List is comprised of ~350 stocks with 10+ years of consecutive dividend increases.
- The High Yield Dividend Kings List is comprised of the 20 Dividend Kings with the highest current yields.
- The Blue Chip Stocks List: stocks that qualify as Dividend Achievers, Dividend Aristocrats, and/or Dividend Kings
- The High Dividend Stocks List: stocks that appeal to investors interested in the highest yields of 5% or more.
- The Monthly Dividend Stocks List: stocks that pay dividends every month, for 12 dividend payments per year.
- The Dividend Champions List: stocks that have increased their dividends for 25+ consecutive years.
Note: Not all Dividend Champions are Dividend Aristocrats because Dividend Aristocrats have additional requirements like being in The S&P 500. - The Dividend Contenders List: 10-24 consecutive years of dividend increases.
- The Dividend Challengers List: 5-9 consecutive years of dividend increases.
- The Complete List of Russell 2000 Stocks
- The Complete List of NASDAQ-100 Stocks