Going with Experience in a Ghastly Trend

 

October, 2023 is ending scary for those investors into decent Canadian stock dividend yields with a sea of red like last week, bloody looking.

It will test some investor's risk appetite while trying to keep the inner mind chatter down... No, I'm not selling, I think to myself and tend to read more posts from the experienced who have been through the ups and downs before and carry on for the long term.

The Connolly Report since 1981 on dividendgrowth.ca. Well worth the $50 CDN life time subscription cost and others like Your Ever Growing Income by Henry Mah.

Holding stocks for the long term and gaining with compounding dividend cash payments is behind what Tom and Henry write about while seeking price appreciation over the years. 

I make my own decisions about the stocks to hold and keep up on the news about them. Yesterday I bought more Emera, EMA and read over the Fortis, FTS 3rd quarter report which shows increased net earnings and earnings per share are up compared to 2022's 3rd quarter report. 

Fortis, FTS has an ex-dividend date of November 16th, 2023 with a payment date of December 1, 2023.

Lifeco type financial stocks are on my radar coming up in mid to latter November with ex-dividend dates. Manulife Financial, MFC and Sun Life Financial, SLF.

What topic comes up a lot lately in the financial news and Blogs? Enbridge, ENB, which has morphed into mainly 50/50 Pipelines and Natural Gas between Canada and the US, while taking on more debt recently. The companies dividend rate hike has slowed lately making some eyebrows and moustaches twitch nervously. Kind of like a slow flashing yellow caution light?

Some figure the stock will split in two... Pipelines and Gas and will be in good shape while others figure a possible dividend cut or ENB will slow future increases even more. 

A lot of "ifs" and it's up to a holder of the stock to decide what to do. It is a huge company but as they say ... not too big to fall. Currently, I'm in between buying more ENB or holding for now and wait for further news/developments to come.

I prefer 'no noise' stocks like Fortis I mentioned but one always needs to be prepared for the worst with the stock world and have an alternate stock/ETF in mind for a possible troubled stock sell.

 

Staying Invested for October, 2023

 

Stay invested and one can't time the Markets sticks in my mind looking at the short term market swings but with long term goals and compounding dividends.

However, with the constant media noise about inflation and interest rates depressing many an equity stock and those that pay dividends ... I feel it's a good time to Buy while stock prices are down on those I'm interested in when other investors are selling ... moving cash over to so called "safe havens". GIC's, high interest savings accounts and gold.

Nothing new there with the up and down cycles of the Markets in the past ... the fear and greed thing driving many an investor.

It looks like possible further hikes have gone more to central banker talk about how long will we keep interest rates at this high level? Be a lot of media discussion about that going forward I'm sure.

Besides investor concerns when companies take on more debt at higher interest rates, costing more money to operate and Banks dealing with bad loans/mortgages that will probably increase heading into 2024, central bankers and interest rates are the biggest downers for now and weigh on the Markets in my opinion.

It's the middle of October and with the top five banks ... Royal Bank (RY-T) and Bank of Montreal (BMO-T) have ex-dividend dates on the 26th and 27th for this month with current dividend yields of 4.71% for RY and 5.34% for BMO. I figure they are decent buying opportunities while their stock prices are down and flat currently

Those banks and others will be releasing earnings reports in the next few weeks for the past quarter. I don't expect much difference from the last earning reports except probably directing more money to cover possible loan defaults. Better days ahead when central bankers decide to slowly drop rates, which could take awhile unfortunately.

Doing some research and googling, there are several Canadian ETF's that hold all these top banks plus more financials but besides the lure of enticing cash dividends, I wouldn't expect much ETF price appreciation for now but some will increase over time eventually such as BMO's ETF ... ZWB.

The Final Quarter for 2023

 

The cooler evenings here on the east coast of Canada are most welcome starting October with humidity levels falling off. The cooler stock market is not what investors went to see in their portfolios lately but as long as dividends are being paid by Holdings, it's patience with me as I wait for most stock values to recover once again.

Meanwhile, it's a mix of fear taking hold for some and selling while others buy at lower prices looking for more gains in the future. The big five Banks in Canada, for example are expected to rebound next year after the 2023 adjustment to interest rates staying higher for longer. But, as always, these are predictions.

It's good to see the dividend increases from Fortis (FTS) with 50 consecutive years and Emera (EMA) with 31 years so far and 4-6% increases for the next few years in their recent news releases. That keeps me motivated and continue to accumulate shares in these utilities.

Emera (EMA) has an ex-dividend date for Halloween with payment on the 15th of November.

Emera Approves Increase in Common Dividend

Company Release - 9/20/2023

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- On September 20, 2023 the Board of Directors of Emera Inc. (TSX: EMA) approved an increase in the annual common share dividend to $2.87 from $2.76 per common share and extended its dividend growth rate target of four to five per cent through 2026.

“Today’s dividend increase is in line with our dividend growth rate target of four to five per cent and reflects our continued confidence in our assets, our strategy and the strength of our business,” said Scott Balfour, President and CEO of Emera Inc. “We remain focused on executing a balanced energy transition that drives value for our customers and generates reliable returns for our shareholders.”

As always, some great articles being posted by Bloggers and Investors on my right sidebar. How they increase dividends over time with patience looking at the long term by staying in the Market.

The stock market history has shown that overall, the final quarter in the year is more positive compared to say ... how September ended for example. Interesting to see if that's still a trend.