Growth and Yield with Insurance

 

We've already had record breaking temps and rainfall in the Atlantic provinces. Winds from a warming ocean and tropical heat from down south are keeping uncomfortable humidity levels up for weeks. Hurricane season is coming soon and some hurricanes will probably sustain more power moving up into the east coast of Canada. These intense storms usually slow up some coming into colder North Atlantic waters.

With the top dividend paying stocks I own, I'm looking to further build on Fortis (FTS.TO) with an ex-dividend date in mid August, 2023. FTS is also a holding in an ETF I mentioned in my last article, BMO's ZWU and other popular Canadian utility focused ETFs out there.

In the first half of August, Enbridge (ENB.TO) has an ex-dividend date on the 12th. Always wise to double check these ex-dividend dates. I'm a monthly "dollar cost averaging" buyer so I keep track of these dates being in the accumulation stage which I'll probably stay in well into the future.

In the second half of August, some of my top financial/insurance companies of interest like Manulife Financial (MFC.TO), Sunlife (SLF.TO) and Great-West Life (GWO) comes to mind with GWO having the best 1 year return plus a current yield of 5.18%.

In Crypto land where I just focus on BTC and ETH, the US has shot down spot BTC ETF applications for years. That could change where Blackrock, one of biggest stock ETF providers has submitted an accepted application by the SEC. Time will tell if it's approved and will that boost BTC's price as retail and Wall Street types buy? It could but that virtual coin/token world is volatile and no one can call it only guess although the word is some are stockpiling funds/BTC to go all in if Blackrock is a go. 

A July 2023 Utility

 

Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia ...  Emera Incorporated (EMA.TO) is a utility I have in my stock portfolio and pays a dividend yield of 5.17% at this time. 

Emera is also a Dividend Aristocrat that meets the requirements to be in that list along with 5 years or more of dividend increases. EMA has an ending July ex-dividend date and going back a couple years, they have hiked their dividends in the fall. Hopefully that will continue this year.

EMA pays a quarterly dividend and can also be found in the Holdings list of some popular ETFs that pay monthly such as BMO's ZWU ... BMO Covered Call Utilities. A low cost ETF at under $11 CAD at this time but boasts a 7.82% yield. It holds some of the top utilities in Canada and the US. 

EMA (D = Paid Dividends) Showing 2014 -2023

For a long term holder like me ... utilities/telco, banks, pipeline are what I build on. 

Foundation stocks? Probably a good name for them while I research and add other sectors. Can't go wrong with railroads in transportation for example.

These all have a higher weight percentage in the 56 holdings in Vanguard's popular VDY ... Canadian High Yield Dividend Index, which came on the scene in November of 2012. Over 2 billion invested so far. All in one managed package or go with individual stocks picks from that list which many an investor does.

Bank Stocks and ETFs in July, 2023

 

Starting on the 2nd half of 2023 being July, it's another quarterly "ex-dividend" month for some of Canada's top banks. TD, Royal Bank and BMO come to mind. Their stocks are currently undervalued while the Bank of Canada continues to play their higher interest rate cards. Stopping at a 5% interest rate for 2023? Nobody knows.

The inflation factor is falling and below 4% currently they say but if anything, I'm paying more for goods as the months past so somethings amiss.

Doing some quick math when focusing on dividends, I can bring in more cash dividends by buying an equal amount of certain finance focused, high yield ETFs that pay monthly but adds up to more over a quarter or 3 months than what the Banks payout to shareholders. 

However, the trade off is: By buying individual Bank stocks, there are no management fees and dividends will probably continue to increase over the years plus there's also growth to consider with the bank stocks over time. 

I say "probably" with the dividends but more than likely to increase. With ETFs there are management fees and depending on the ETF, there are some high yield dividends available for those that have a taste for additional risk. 

There are several but BMO's ZWB.TO comes to mind. Hold all the top banks plus ZEB (Equal Weight Banks ETF) with a 7.70% yield and pays a monthly cash dividend. 

I prefer to buy individual stocks to hold long term but it all depends on an investor's budget when it comes to the more expensive stocks in the market place.