Do I Smell A Bargain At The Dividend Factory Outlet?

Back in early January (2014) I wrote an article on Tanger Factory Outlets (NYSE:SKT) and my analysis of the "pure play" outlet REIT was summed up as follows:

Tanger is in a strong overall condition to grow its dividend and that of course should enhance overall shareholder returns.

I added,

There is no doubt that this Carolina-based REIT is a blue-chip and like any "wide moat" brands, Tanger has been able to withstand the competition for over two decades (as a public company) and quite simply, I consider Tanger a "wealth-compounding" machine.

I have yet to put my hands on shares of Tanger Factory Outlets. As I wrote in a previous article, even Warren Buffett has owned Tanger, yet I have been hesitant to pull the trigger, primarily because of the relatively expensive share price.

However, I may be getting closer to my goal, since Tanger is trading at $35.85 per share (just $3.00 higher than my Target in January). Here's how the shares have performed over the last 90 days (compared with the peer group):

Even a better indicator than price is dividend growth. Last week Tanger announced that its Board had approved an 18.8% increase in the annual dividend on its common shares from $0.96 per share to $1.14 per share. That's precisely what I have been looking for - an undervalued stock with strong operating performance. Here's how that compares to the peers (estimates for 2015):

Keep in mind that Tanger's dividend boost is the 22nd consecutive annual dividend increase - a feat that many REITs could not pull-off (due to the Great Recession). There are just a handful of others that could successfully manage the risk of the economic crisis, yet Tanger delivered.