Dividend Increases and Tips

 

I always think of February as the worst of the winter here on the East Coast of Canada with March getting better. Although St. Patrick's Day can bring on a decent snow storm some years. Like a tradition.

February didn't disappoint being all over the news with an Arctic air blast sending temps down to -40 C with the windchill factor and there was plenty of northerly wind on Saturday, the 4th of Feb. Like the flip of a switch, milder weather today. System shocker for yours truly ... always was with drastic swings in temperature.

In my last post I mentioned Enbridge (ENB) will have an ex-dividend date of Feb 14. Chocolates and/or roses for your sweetie on that day. Top it off with dinner out and that could be a $100+ day with today's inflated prices but we only live once I say.

Enbridge announced it will raise it's quarterly dividend to 0.88750 from 0.8600, a 3.2% increase for the year. Those increases add up when holding a building number of ENB shares.

BCE; Bell Canada, another top stock in Canada in the telecom sector, which goes ex-dividend in March also raised it's quarterly dividend to 0.9675, a 5.2% increase.

Another alternative to invest in Enbridge is via Middlefield's ENS (Class A) split share fund (E Split Corp.)with a current 0.13 monthly dividend per share. ENS started in June of 2018

As always, I just write about my Picks and decent possibilities as add-ons and there are a lot out there to consider, adding some to my Watchlist as I go and scrapping others where not funded yet. Not recommendations, just what works for me

In closing for today while Bitcoin and Ether have been kind of flat the last few days, an article about tips, timing purchases/trades and more with stocks from Matt. Good advise.

10 Tips for your BTSX Portfolio

Courtesy of enbridge.com (click to enlarge)

February Top Picks for 2023

 

The first month of 2023 is almost history already and I haven't updated here much this month due to family matters with two unexpected passing's in December and keeping up with part-time work that gets to more into the full-time hours depending on the work schedule. Anyway, life goes on and I usually think back to the good times in my family's lives. More to come to cherish in the future.

If your a holder or "hodler" of Bitcoin and/or Ether, you've seen a nice jump in price of these coins with another unpredictable "up" cycle. Is it short term or a lengthy Bull cycle? No one knows of course and the jumps in price are totally unexpected with all the bankruptcies and collapses of some big name Exchangers. Investors look to make money so it seems institutional outfits and Whale investors decided it's time for a boost to start the year.

Personally, I enjoy Trading the Crypto pairs like BTC/USD and ETH/USD so resumed that after a hiatus since November/2022 after the prices dropped and too narrow a gap in high and low prices for awhile. Flat and down ...  in other words.

Stocks also began a swing up in 2023 and those investors that bought stocks with depressed prices in 2022 are seeing some decent gains now, depending on sectors. That Warren Buffet thing ... feel greedy when most are in fear and sell.

Taking a Big Bank in Canada ... Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) for example. Buying BNS on December 16, 2022 for $65.06 per share/unit; Price today is $70.97 CAD each. That's over a $5 jump in each share bought plus the cash dividend of $1.03 each share/unit paid out on the 27th of January.

That can put a smile on an investors face but that's current and only realised if sold but I'm into long term and try to buy low when the opportunity rises

The old investor masters like Buffet and Graham and many more have experienced ups and downs many times during their lives so it can be wise to read and listen to what they have to say about the stock markets.

February will be ex-dividend dates for 2 stocks I build on and they are Enbridge (ENB) and Fortis Inc. (FTS) which fall on Valentines Day. ENB is in the BTSX portfolio for 2023 and both companies pay handsome cash dividends. 

MFC, Manulife Financial Corp has a current dividend yield of 5.05% that's also going ex-dividend in the latter part of February.

 All 3 stocks have increased their dividends over the last 10 years but I still consider the risk factor and check up on their financials/news every time I decide to buy more.

I always look forward to the next month to size up stocks and crypto along with the good and bad news which makes them swing in price.