VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF

VSDA

Market cap $238M

VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF warrants a sell rating due to weak growth prospects among its top holdings, risking future dividend growth. VSDA's top holdings, including Altria, T. Rowe Price, and Franklin Resources, face stagnating revenues, high payout ratios, and competitive pressures. Compared to peers, like VIG and DGRW, the fund lags in total returns, dividend sustainability, and long-term capital appreciation potential.

VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF markets itself as a dividend growth ETF, but the underlying holdings show little to no earnings growth. Many of the ETF's top stocks face stagnating or negative earnings growth trends and increasing dividend payout ratios. VSDA's monthly payouts may mask weak fundamentals and declining dividend safety, but I'm not buying it.

VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF boasts a 23% 5-year dividend growth rate and 17% CAGR, with uninterrupted growth since inception, making it a standout for investors seeking high-growth dividend ETFs. Since its inception, VSDA has rivaled the total returns of SCHD and DGRO, while its rising yield, enhancing the appeal for dividend-focused investors. With low overlap with SCHD and DGRO and a unique screening methodology, VSDA's focus on early-stage dividend growers, which adds diversification and alpha potential to dividend growth focused portfolios.

The VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF (VSDA) has underperformed its peers over the past five years, despite consistent dividend growth. VSDA's portfolio lacks significant exposure to high-growth sectors like technology and communication services, impacting its overall returns. The fund's valuation is in line with peers, but its higher expense ratio and lower trading volume are notable drawbacks.

VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF is based on an index that screens large- and mid-caps for dividend growth potential and quality (i.e., capital efficiency and earnings stability). VSDA beat a few of its peers in the past but failed to outcompete the market. VSDA has a high-quality equity mix dominated by mega-caps.

VSDA employs a relatively complex system to select 75 U.S. securities with strong dividend growth track records. Its expense ratio is 0.35%, and the ETF manages $275 million in assets. The approach results in a stronger portfolio than the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF. My analysis reveals nearly all of VSDA's fundamental metrics are superior. The Fund now trades at 19.38x forward earnings and yields 2.40% at current prices. It also features stronger earnings growth, and its constituents are on an average 35-year dividend growth streak.

VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF rivals Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF and iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF in the space of uninterrupted double-digit dividend growth ETFs.

VictoryShares Dividend Accelerator ETF (VSDA) focuses on large-cap stocks with a history of dividend growth. High dividend growth is a high quality factor that tends to outperform during bear markets. However, as a single factor ETF, the VSDA ETF may experience volatile relative performance, making it difficult to recommend as a long-term buy.