Dividend Stocks
Dividends can produce as much as a third of your total return over long periods, and you can even retire on dividends.
There are 4 key stock dividend dates that are involved with dividend payments:
1- The Declaration Date is several weeks in advance of a dividend payment—it’s when company’s board of directors sets the amount and timing of the proposed payment.
2- The Payable Date is the date set by the board on which the dividend will actually be paid out to shareholders.
3- The Record Date is for shareholders who hold the stock before the payable date and receive the dividend payment. That date is set any number of weeks before the payable date.
4-The Ex-Dividend Date is two business days before the record date and it’s when the shares begin to trade without their dividend. If you buy stocks one day or more before their ex-dividend date, you will still get the dividend. That’s when a stock is said to trade cum-dividend. If you buy on the ex-dividend date or later, you won’t get the dividend. The ex-dividend date is in place to allow pending stock trades to settle.
We think very highly of stocks that have been paying dividends for five or more years, at TSI Network. Many of these stocks fit in well with our three-part Successful Investor philosophy:
1- Invest mainly in well-established companies;
2- Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities);
3- Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.
[text_ad use_category="243"]
Read More
Close
TRANSCANADA CORP. $36 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 578.0 million; Market cap: $20.8 billion; SI Rating: Above average) operates over 59,000 km of pipelines that transport natural gas, mainly from Alberta to markets in central and eastern Canada. The company also operates gas pipelines in the United States and Mexico. This business supplies 55% of TransCanada’s total revenue. The remaining 45% comes from its electrical power operations. TransCanada owns or holds interests in over 20 power plants in Canada and the United States. TransCanada continues to expand its power business. This includes its investment in the partnership that runs Ontario’s Bruce nuclear power plant. TransCanada owns 31.6% of the Bruce B complex, which consists of four working reactors....
CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $55 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 473.4 million; Market cap: $26.0 billion; SI Rating: Above average) operates a freight rail network across Canada, and in parts of the U.S. In the three months ended June 30, 2008, CN’s earnings fell 11.0%, to $459 million from $516 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings fell just 5.9%, to $0.95 from $1.01, on fewer shares outstanding. The company’s U.S. operations supply about 20% of its revenue, and the high value of the Canadian dollar cut CN’s earnings in the latest quarter by $0.05 a share. Revenue grew 3.5%, to $2.1 billion from $2.0 billion a year earlier. Higher volumes of grain, coal and petrochemicals helped offset lower shipments of lumber and automobiles. CN’s operating ratio weakened to 66.3% from 60.0% a year earlier, due to higher fuel costs. CN’s earnings should grow to $3.49 a share in 2008, and the stock trades at 15.8 times that estimate. The $0.92 dividend yields 1.7%....
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $61 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 155.1 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; SI Rating: Above average) transports freight over a rail network between Montreal and Vancouver. It also connects to major hubs in the United States. Due to rising fuel costs and lower shipments of automobiles and forest products, CP’s earnings in the second quarter of 2008 fell 13.4%, to $0.97 a share from $1.12 a year earlier. These figures exclude non-recurring items. Revenue was unchanged at $1.2 billion. CP’s operating ratio (regular operating costs divided by revenue — the lower, the better) rose to 79.4% from 74.7%. The company now aims to improve its long-term efficiency by increasing average train speeds, sharing more tracks with other railways and reducing waiting times in terminals....
DUNDEE CORP. $13 (Toronto symbol DC.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 74.6 million; Market cap: $969.8 million; SI Rating: Average) is a holding company with subsidiaries in three main areas: wealth management, real estate and resources. Its main asset is its 49% stake (63% voting interest) in DundeeWealth Inc., which offers wealth management services and owns the Dynamic family of mutual funds. DundeeWealth manages $63.1 billion worth of assets. DundeeWealth recently completed its purchase of a 60% interest in Toronto-based pension fund manager Aurion Capital Management. It also acquired an 89% interest in BHR Fund Advisors, a Philadelphia-based mutual fund manager and distributor. The two purchases broaden Dundee- Wealth’s investment management capabilities, and diversify its sales distribution network. In the three months ended June 30, 2008, Dundee Corp.'s earnings fell sharply, to $0.08 a share from $0.20 a year earlier. Revenue fell 8.5%, to $286.1 million from $312.6 million....
HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $35 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 34.5 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; SI Rating: Average) is the parent company of Home Trust Company, a federally regulated trust company. It provides financial services such as chequing accounts, mortgages and credit cards. Home Capital is more risky than Great-West and IGM Financial. That’s because it focuses on customers that usually have trouble meeting the stricter lending requirements of larger banks. But we feel its strong growth prospects help offset this risk. The company now aims to spur its growth by offering traditional mortgages. While that puts it in direct competition with the big banks, Home Capital feels this move will strengthen its position among mortgage brokers....
IGM FINANCIAL INC. $45 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 263.5 million; Market cap: $11.9 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s largest independent mutual fund company, with $118.2 billion in assets under administration. Power Corp. controls 55.9% of IGM’s shares. The company has three main divisions. Investors Group sells funds through its own network of over 4,000 financial advisors. Mackenzie Financial sells its funds through independent brokers. IGM also owns 74.5% of IPC Financial, whose 540 advisors provide a range of wealth management services. IGM recently agreed to buy Saxon Financial Inc. for $287 million. Saxon provides wealth management services to individuals and institutions, and had $13.4 billion in assets under management at June 30, 2008. Saxon’s exclusive relationship with the Canadian Medical Association, holders of 30% of Saxon, also adds to its appeal....
GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $32 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 894.4 million; Market cap: $28.6 billion; SI Rating: Above average) is Canada’s largest insurance company, with assets under administration of $392.8 billion. The company also provides retirement planning and wealth management services. Power Corp. controls 70.6% of Great-West’s shares. The company recently sold its U.S. health care business for $1.3 billion. This business faces strong competition from larger insurers, whose size lets them negotiate better terms with medical service suppliers, so selling it made sense. The cash will help Great- West fund last year’s purchase of struggling U.S.-based mutual fund manager Putnam Investment Trust. Putnam increases Great-West’s exposure to volatile stock markets. However, the acquisition gives it an opportunity to market its products to Putnam’s large client base....
TELUS CORP. (Toronto symbols T $40 and T.A $39; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 335.6 million; Market cap $13.4 billion; SI Rating: Above average) provides local and long distance telephone service to 4.3 million customers in Alberta, British Columbia and Eastern Quebec. This business supplies about 29% of Telus’s revenue. The company also operates a national wireless communication network with 5.8 million subscribers. The wireless business accounts for 47% of its revenue. The remaining 24% of Telus’s revenue comes from providing Internet service to individuals and businesses. It has 1.1 million high-speed Internet subscribers....
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. $11 (Toronto symbol MFI Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 126.9 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest food processing company. Its products include fresh and prepared meats and poultry, mostly under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands. It also makes fresh and frozen bakery products through 89.8%-owned Canada Bread Co. Ltd. Maple Leaf is currently in the middle of major restructuring that will see it focus on more-profitable packaged meats and meals. In the past two years, it has sold its animal feed operations and scaled back its hog-processing operations. The company is also investing heavily in new plants and equipment. It will probably take Maple Leaf another few months before it starts to realize the full benefits of its plan. Meanwhile, sharply higher prices for grains and energy continue to hurt its profitability. Exports account for about 30% of the company’s sales, and the stronger Canadian dollar also makes its products more expensive outside of Canada.Maple Leaf’s sales rose from $4.2 billion in 2003 to $5.6 billion in 2005, but fell to $5.2 billion in 2007. Earnings before unusual items grew from $0.04 a share (total $83 million) in 2003 to $0.59 a share ($201 million) in 2005. Earnings fell to $0.38 a share ($173 million) in 2006, but improved to $0.51 a share ($199 million) in 2007....
Canada Bread Co., Ltd. $60 (Toronto Symbol CBY Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 25.4 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; SI Rating: Above average) makes a wide variety of baked goods such as bread, bagels and rolls. It also makes specialty pasta and sauces. Major brands include Dempster’s, Olivieri, and Olafson’s. Canada Bread accounts for about 30% of Maple Leaf’s sales. Thanks partly to acquisitions, Canada Bread’s sales rose from $1.2 billion in 2003 to $1.5 billion in 2007. Earnings before one-time items rose from $1.61 a share (total $63 million) in 2003 to $3.31 a share ($129 million) in 2007. Innovative products that take advantage of growing interest in healthy eating are also helping to expand Canada Bread’s earnings. For example, the company has developed a new bread that contains inulin, a fibre that improves digestion. Premium products like this generate higher profit margins for Canada Bread than its regular products....