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!

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This month, we highlight two actively managed ETFs from Middlefield Group that were recently converted from closed-end funds.


MIDDLEFIELD INNOVATION DIVIDEND ETF $11.43 (Toronto symbol MINN) invests in companies that derive a major portion of their revenue from products or services related to major technological innovations.


The ETF is actively managed and discloses its full portfolio only every six months although the top holdings are available more frequently....
Australia’s economy looks set for steady expansion this year. Pent-up spending and faster wage growth should spur household spending and domestic consumption. Meanwhile, the country’s resource-heavy export sector will benefit from sustained global demand for commodities and the reopening of borders....
The recent market downturn has been especially hard on riskier stocks—and all three of these ETFs are down considerably from their 2021 highs. But the best of the stocks these ETFs hold are at the forefront of innovative industries or segments that still have considerable growth prospects....
CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO., $144.79, Toronto symbol CNR, remains a buy.

CN operates Canada’s largest railway. Its 32,200-kilometre network stretches across the country. It also travels down through the U.S. Midwest, connecting Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

With the March 2022 payment, CN raised its quarterly dividend by 19.1%....
J.P. MORGAN CHASE & CO., $112.61, New York symbol JPM, remains a buy.

The stock lets investors tap the largest banking firm in the U.S., with its total assets of $3.95 trillion as of March 31, 2022.

The bank has passed the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest stress test, which measures how financial firms would cope with a jump in unemployment, falling stock prices and other unfavourable developments.

However, Morgan will have to set aside more capital as a buffer against a possible recession....
TD BANK, $84.77, (Toronto symbol TD; Shares o/s: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $152.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.td.com) is a buy. The bank now expects to complete its $13.4 billion U.S. acquisition of Tennessee-based First Horizon Corporation (New York symbol FHN) in early 2023....
IBM, $141.86, is still a buy. The company (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 899.4 million; Market cap: $127.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.7%) is one of the world’s largest computer companies, with operations in over 175 countries.


Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, IBM is now winding down its Russian operations.


The company has not yet said how much this move will impact its earnings....

CENOVUS ENERGY, $26.18, remains a buy for long-term gains. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $51.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.cenovus.com) has agreed to buy the 50% of the Sunrise oil sands property in northern Alberta that it doesn’t already own from U.K.-based oil giant BP plc (New York symbol BP).


In exchange, Cenovus will pay $600 million in cash, plus up to an additional $600 million over the next two years....
The shares of oil and gas stocks remain high as the U.S. and other economies recover—and with the Ukraine conflict. We continue to recommend that most investors maintain some exposure to the oil and gas industry as part of a balanced portfolio. But to cut risk, you should stick with producers that have positive cash flow even in times of low energy prices....
IMPERIAL OIL LTD., $63.54, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 636.7 million; Market cap: $40.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 2.1%; www.imperialoil.ca) has completed its plan to buy back $2.5 billion of its common shares through a Dutch auction process.


Under the plan, Imperial repurchased 32.47 million (4.9% of the total) of its shares at $77.00 a share....