dividend

A dividend is a cash payout that serves as a way for companies to share the profits they’ve accumulated through their operations. These payouts are drawn from earnings and cash flow paid to the shareholders of the company. Commonly these dividends are paid quarterly, although they may also be paid annually or even monthly as well. A dividend can produce as much as a quarter of your total return over long periods. Some good companies reinvest profits instead of paying a dividend. But fraudulent and failing companies hardly ever pay a dividend. So if you only buy stocks that pay dividends, you’ll automatically stay out of almost all the market’s worst stocks. For a true measure of stability, focus on companies that have maintained or raised their dividends during recessions and stock market downturns. These firms leave themselves enough room to handle periods of earnings volatility. By continually rewarding investors, and retaining enough cash to finance their businesses, they provide an attractive mix of safety, income and growth. Dividends are an important contributor to your long-term gains, and dividend-paying stocks tend to expose you to less risk than non-dividend-payers. That’s why the majority of your stocks should be dividend-payers at all times. As you get older and closer to retirement, you should raise the proportion of dividend-paying stocks in your portfolio, to cut risk and improve the stability of your investment results. To maximize your investment returns with the least risk, follow TSI Network and use our three-part Successful Investor strategy:

  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; Utilities);
  3. Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.

Discover how to put an extra strength in your portfolio with our specific advice on how to identify high-quality dividend stocks. It’s all in our newly updated report, Dividend Paying Stocks: How High Dividend Stocks Can Supercharge Your Income Investing. And it’s yours FREE!

Read More Close

Thanks to a new cost-cutting plan, Transcontinental’s shares have rebounded nearly 40% since falling to $10 in November 2023. While the company remains vulnerable to an economic slowdown, it stands to gain as inflation eases and interest rates start to decline, possibly later this year....

BANK OF MONTREAL $124 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol BMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 713.0 million; Market cap: $88.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bmo.com) completed its $13.8 billion U.S....

LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $135 is a buy. Canada’s largest food seller (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 316.4 million; Market cap: $42.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) recently purchased 10 Freightliner eCascadia electric trucks, which increased its total to 14....
We continue to believe there’s room for most investors to hold aggressive stocks, which typically are more leveraged (with more debt) and volatile than conservative stocks.


Still, to cut your risk, you should limit aggressive stocks to no more than 20% of your total portfolio....
FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $221 is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (Toronto symbol FSV; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 44.6 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.firstservice.com) has two main businesses: FirstService Brands (54% of revenue) offers a wide variety of property management services through several franchised businesses, including Paul Davis Restoration and CertaPro Painters; and FirstService Residential (46%) provides property management services such as collecting monthly condominium fees and maintenance services.


In 2023, FirstService spent $547.2 million on acquisitions of smaller firms (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S....
Royal Bank now plans to complete its acquisition of HSBC’s Canadian operations in March 2024. That $13.5-billion purchase enhances Royal’s domestic operations. Moreover, costs savings from the elimination of overlapping operations should also spur earnings.


Banking regulators have toughened lending standards and mortgage stress-test levels in the past few years, and that has helped keep Royal’s loan writeoffs low....
Last year, Canada saw the listing of 164 new ETFs. This month we highlight two of the most successful new launches in 2023. The first is an balanced ETF, while the second invests in technology companies with a covered call strategy.


PURPOSE ACTIVE BALANCED ETF $21.61 (Toronto symbol PABF) invests in a diverse set of asset classes through ETFs as follows: fixed income (41%), North American equity (28%), international equity (20%), and gold (4%)....
The Chilean economy will likely emerge from recession in 2024, further reducing joblessness and lifting wages. Consumer purchasing power will improve as inflation falls. Longer-term, as the world transitions to greener technologies, the global demand for copper, lithium, and renewable energy should rise....
Smaller firms can sometimes generate higher returns than their larger counterparts, but they are often riskier, less liquid, and may underperform for long periods. One way to offset some of the risk is to focus on ETFs that hold top-quality small-capitalization companies.


Here’s a look at three ETFs that meet that criteria....
BMO COVERED CALL CANADIAN BANKS ETF $17.30 (Toronto symbol ZWB) holds shares of Canada’s six largest banks (CIBC, TD Bank, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Royal Bank and National Bank).


The fund started up in January 2011....