Thursday, August 29, 2019

Purpose of a Corporation

This article on Quartz at Work talks about recent business round table where CEO agreed that companies have a responsibility to society and not just to shareholders.

I have always felt that if you want to be in business for the long term, you have to look forward to more than just making money. The problem with stock companies is that it is not an owner running the business, but a manager. This has always been a problem for stock companies. Managers of business have always only looked to the short term.

Most business owners who want to be in business for the long term have realized that they must do right by their customers, employees, and communities and then money will be made for the long term. As shareholders in companies, we also have to buy into companies that behave well if we want to be long term investors.

Yes, some stock traders can make capital gains trading stock on the stock market, but most cannot. I think if you want to make money in the market you have to be a long term investor in good companies. So, I think this is a good thing that CEO’s at Business Roundtable have now recognized that their responsibility is not just making money for the stockholders, but that they have broader responsibilities. This attitude can only benefit stock companies in the long run and will also be great for shareholders in the long run.

On my other blog I wrote yesterday about Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (TSX-ATD.B, OTC-ANCUF) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Exchange Income Corp (TSX-EIF, OTC-EIFZF) ... learn more on Friday August 30, 2019 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

TC Energy

This is a recent report from Buy and Sell Daily Advice on a Dividend Growth stock I own and follow. This report is from the same company that puts out the Investment Reporter. Their reports always have good solid advice.

They talk about this company having significant debt. They also say that TC Energy remains a buy for further long-term share price gains and growing dividends that yield an attractive 4.6%. They expect that this dividend aristocrat will continue to raise its dividend each year despite its significant debt.

On my other blog I wrote yesterday about Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund (TSX-CHE.UN, OTC-CGIFF) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc (TSX-ATD.B, OTC-ANCUF) ... learn more on Wednesday, August 28, 2019 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Algonquin Power

Vivian Lewis on Money Show says that Algonquin Power (TSX-AQN, NYSE-AQN) is her Top Picks' for 2019 Mid-Year. This is a stock that I follow,

On my other blog I wrote today about Andrew Peller Ltd (TSX-ADW.A, OTC-ADWPF) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Badger Daylighting Ltd (TSX-BAD, OTC-BADFF) ... learn more on Friday, August 23, 2019 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

SNC Lavalin Group Inc

I have been reading news on SNC lately and none of it is good. The Investment Reporter has removed this stock from their Key Stock List and Issued a sell on the stock. There is a report on this here. The largest shareholder and a shareholder for lots of Quebec companies of Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec seems to be losing patience with this stock also. There is a report on this in the Financial Post. Victor Ferreira on Financial Post says analysts slash target prices and stock price fell 10%. SNC Lavalin is back in the news yesterday according to Mark Gollom on CBC Canada about the ethics report by Mario Dion.

For a replacement stock I looked at both Chartwell Retirement Residences (TSX- CSH.UN, OTC- CWSRF) and Sienna Senior Living Inc (TSX-SIA, OTC- LWSCF) and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX-BIP.UN, NYSE-BIP) because they are good dividend payers and this stock is in my RSP account. I will go with Chartwell Retirement Residences (TSX- CSH.UN, OTC- CWSRF), but there is not a lot of money involved here.

For my Trading account in which I have just 100 shares, I will sell these and put the money into Evertz Technologies (TSX-ET, OTC-EVTZF).

Sienna Senior Living Inc (TSX-SIA, OTC- LWSCF) seems to me to relatively expensive. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX-BIP.UN, NYSE-BIP) has a very complicated structure. Some of the accounting does not add up. I looked at what TD WebBroker has on their site. It is different from the financial statements, but they make sense. Actually, I am not really that pleased with any of these stocks.

On my other blog I wrote yesterday about Onex Corp (TSX-ONEX, OTC-ONEXF) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Evertz Technologies (TSX-ET, OTC-EVTZF) ... learn more on Friday, August 16, 2019 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

Speziale on Dividend Growth

Here is an interesting article by Robin Speziale on the power of dividend growth companies. Robin Speziale is the author of Market Masters and Capital Compounders. He writes occasionally in this blog.

Here’s Some of the Dividend Growth Machines (10* out of 70):
  • A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (AW-UN) 4.24%
  • Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP-UN) 4.69%
  • Calian Group (CGY) 3.30%
  • Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH-UN) 3.94%
  • Hydro One (H) 4.23%
  • Premium Brands Holdings (PBH) 2.35%
  • Restaurant Brands International (QSR) 2.88%
  • Royal Bank of Canada (RY) 3.92%
  • The North West Co (NWC) 4.42%
  • Waste Connections (WCN) 0.67%
On my other blog I wrote yesterday about BlackBerry Ltd (TSX-BB, NASDAQ-BBRY) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Onex Corp (TSX-ONEX, OTC-ONEXF) ... learn more on Tuesday, August 14 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Something to Buy August 2019

There is always something to buy in the stock market. On Tuesday, I put out a list of the stocks that I covered and showed what stock might be a good deal based on dividend yield. Now I am trying to categorize what sorts of stocks may be a good deal based on dividend yield.

The advantages to using dividend yield to judge how cheap or expensive a stock is, is that you are not using estimates or old data (like last reported quarter's data). You are using today's stock price and today's dividend yield.

For other testing, like using P/E Ratios and Price/Graham Price Ratios, you use EPS estimates or from the last reported financial quarter. When using P/S Ratios, P/CF Ratios or P/BV Ratios you are using data from the last reported financial quarter.

This system does not work well for old Income Trust companies. These companies had quite high Dividend Yields which will probably never be seen again. So, I started a column called VT (for Valid Test) and this applies to checking stock price using dividend yield. If it is not a valid test, I use N to show this. For these stocks, you might be better comparing the current dividend yield to the 5 year median dividend yield.

However, no system is perfect. But if you are interested in buying a stock a list of stocks cheap or reasonable using dividend yield data might be a good place to start.

Categorizing stocks is not as simple as it might seem. Every site you go to has categorized stocks a bit differently. I try to keep this as simple as possible. See Something to Buy August 2019 Spreadsheet to see what stocks are showing whether a stock is relatively cheap based on historical high dividend yields (P/Hi), historical average dividend yields (P/Ave), historical median dividend yields (P/Med) or on 5 year median dividend yields (P/5Yr). As in other spreadsheets, you can highlight a line or a number of lines for better viewing.

In the following notes I am only going to list stocks showing as cheap using the historical high dividend yields (P/Hi) and historical median dividend yields (P/Med).

I now follow 22 stocks in the Consumer Discretionary category. Three of these stocks (14%) are showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield and they are Leon's Furniture (TSX-LNF, OTC-LEFUF), Molson Coors Canada (TSX-TPX.B, NYSE-TAP) and Stingray Digital Group Inc (TSX-RAY.A). Dorel Industries (TSX-DII.B, OTC-DIIBF) has been removed from the list.

Nine (or 41%) of Consumer Discretionary are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Canadian Tire Corp (TSX-CTC.A, OTC-CDNAF), Dorel Industries (TSX-DII.B, OTC-DIIBF), Goeasy Ltd (TSX-GSY, OTC-EHMEF), Leon's Furniture (TSX-LNF, OTC-LEFUF), Magna International Inc. (TSX-MG, NYSE-MGA), Molson Coors Canada (TSX-TPX.B, NYSE-TAP), Pizza Pizza Royalty Corp (TSX-PZA, OTC-PZRIF), Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. (TSX-RET.A, OTC-RTMAF), and Stingray Digital Group Inc (TSX-RAY.A). High Liner Foods (TSX-HLF, OTC-HLNFF), and Richelieu Hardware Ltd (TSX-RCH, OTC-RHUHF) have been removed from the list.

I now follow 10 Consumer Staples stocks. No companies are showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. There is no change from last month.

Three stocks (or 30%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. These are Loblaw Companies (TSX-L, OTC-LBLCF), Metro Inc. (TSX-MRU, OTC-MTRAF) and Saputo Inc. (TSX-SAP, OTC-SAPIF). Empire Company Ltd (TSX-EMP.A, OTC-EMLAF), has been removed from the list.

I only follow three Health Care stocks. One stock (or 33%) of these stocks is showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. That stock is HLS Therapeutics Inc (TSX-HLS, OTC-HLTRF). There is no change from last month.

Three or 100% are cheap by the historical median dividend yield. The stocks are HLS Therapeutics Inc (TSX-HLS, OTC-HLTRF), Johnson and Johnson (NYSE-JNJ), and Medtronic Inc. (NYSE-MDT). There is no change from last month.

I follow 10 Energy stocks. Three stock or 30% are showing as cheap by the historical high dividend yield. They are Canadian Natural Resources (TSX-CNQ, NYSE-CNQ), Ensign Energy Services (TSX-ESI, OTC-ESVIF), and Suncor Energy (TSX-SU, NYSE-SU). There is no change from last month.

There are six stocks (or 60%) showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Canadian Natural Resources (TSX-CNQ, NYSE-CNQ), Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX-CVE, NYSE-CVE), Ensign Energy Services (TSX-ESI, OTC-ESVIF), Husky Energy (TSX-HSE, OTC-HUSKF), Mullen Group (TSX-MTL, OTC-MLLGF) and Suncor Energy (TSX-SU, NYSE-SU). There is no change from last month.

I follow 8 Bank stocks. None are showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. There is no change from last month.

Six stocks (or 75%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX-BNS, NYSE-BNS), Barclays PLC (LSE-BARC, NYSE-BCS), CIBC (TSX-CM, NYSE-CM), National Bank of Canada (TSX-NA, OTC-NTIOF), Royal Bank (TSX-RY, NYSE-RY) and Toronto Dominion Bank (TSX-TD, NYSE-TD). There is no change from last month.

I follow 14 Financial Service stocks. One stock is showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield and that is Power Corp (TSX-POW, OTC-PWCDF). There is no change from last month.

Eight (or 57%) stocks are showing cheap by the historical median dividend yield. These stocks are Accord Financial Corp (TSX-ACD, OTC-ACCFF), AGF Management Ltd (TSX-AGF.B, OTC-AGFMF), Alaris Royalty Corp (TSX-AD, OTC-ALARF), Chesswood Group (TSX-CHW, OTC-CHWWF), CI Financial (TSX-CIX, OTC-CIFAF), Element Fleet Management Corp (TSX-EFN, OTC-ELEEF), IGM Financial (TSX-IGM, OTC-IGIFF), and Power Corp (TSX-POW, OTC-PWCDF). CI Financial (TSX-CIX, OTC-CIFAF), have been added to the list. Equitable Group Inc. (TSX-EQB, OTC-EQGPF) has been removed from the list.

I follow 6 Insurance stocks. One or (17%) is showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield and that is Power Financial Corp (TSX-PWF, OTC-POFNF). Power Financial Corp (TSX-PWF, OTC-POFNF) has been added.

Five stocks (or 83%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. These stocks are Great-West Lifeco Inc. (TSX-GWO, OTC-GWLIF), Industrial Alliance Ins. and Fin. (TSX-IAG, OTC-IDLLF), Manulife Financial Corp (TSX-MFC, NYSE-MFC), Power Financial Corp (TSX-PWF, OTC-POFNF) and Sun Life Financial (TSX-SLF, NYSE-SLF). There is no change from last month.

I follow 32 Industrial stocks. Because I have so many and Industrial is not very descriptive, I have divided my Industrial stocks into 4 separate categories under Industrial. They are Construction, Industrial, Manufacturing and (Business) Services.

I have 6 Construction stocks. None are showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. There is no change from last month.

Three stocks or 50% are showing as cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Bird Construction Inc (TSX-BDT, OTC-BIRDF), SNC-Lavalin (TSX-SNC, OTC-SNCAF) and Stantec Inc. (TSX-STN, NYSE-STN). There is no change from last month.

I have 3 stocks I have left with the sub-index of Industrial. None are cheap by the historically high dividend yield. There is no change from last month.

Two stocks or 67% are showing as cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Finning International Inc. (TSX-FTT, OTC-FINGF), and Russel Metals (TSX-RUS, OTC-RUSMF). There is no change from last month.

I have 7 Manufacturing stocks. None are showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. This has not changed from last month.

Four stocks or 57% are showing as cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Exco Technologies Ltd. (TSX-XTC, OTC-EXCOF), Hammond Power Solutions Inc. (TSX-HPS.A, OTC-HMDPF), Intertape Polymer Group Inc. (TSX-ITP, OTC-ITPOF), and PFB Corp (TSX-PFB, OTC-PFBOF). There is no change from last month.

I follow 16 Services stocks. No stock is showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. Transcontinental Inc (TSX-TCL.A, OTC-TCLAF) has been removed from this list.

Six stocks or 38% are showing as cheap by historical median dividend yield. These stocks are Canadian National Railway (TSX-CNR, NYSE-CNI), Pason Systems Inc. (TSX-PSI, OTC-PSYTF), Ritchie Bros Auctioneers Inc. (TSX-RBA, NYSE-RBA), TECSYS Inc (TSX-TCS, OTC-TCYSF), Transcontinental Inc. (TSX-TCL.A, OTC-TCLAF) and Wajax Corp (TSX-WJX, OTC-WJXFF). TECSYS Inc (TSX-TCS, OTC-TCYSF) has been added to this list.

I follow 9 Material stocks. None are showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. This has not changed from last month.

Five stock or 56% are showing as cheap by historical median dividend yield. The stocks are Chemtrade Logistics Inc. Fund (TSX-CHE.UN, OTC-CGIFF), Hardwoods Distribution Inc. (TSX-HDI, OTC-HDIUF), Methanex Corp (TSX-MX, NASDAQ-MEOH), Stella-Jones (TSX-SJ, OTC-STLJF), and Supremex Inc (TSX-SXP, OTC-SUMXF). Barrick Gold Corp (TSX-ABX, NYSE-ABX) has been removed from this list.

I follow 10 Real Estate stocks. No stock is showing as cheap by historically high dividend yield. There is no change from last month. Two stocks (or 20%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Granite Real Estate (TSX-GRT.UN, NYSE-GRP.U) and Melcor Developments Inc. (TSX-MRD, OTC-MODVF). There is no change from last month.

I follow 4 of the Telecom Service stocks. No stocks are showing as cheap by historically high dividend yield. This has not changed from last month.

Four stocks (or 100%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. These stocks are BCE (TSX-BCE, NYSE-BCE), Quarterhaill Inc (TSX-QTRH, NASDAQ-QTRH), Shaw Communications Inc. (TSX-SJR.B, NYSE-SJR) and Telus Corp (TSX-T, NYSE-TU). This has not changed from last month.

I follow 8 Info Tech stocks. None are showing as cheap by historical high dividend yield. There is no change from last month.

Three stocks (or 38%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are Absolute Software Corporation (TSX-ABT, OTC-ALSWF), Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (TSX-CMG, OTC-CMDXF), and Sylogist Ltd (TSXV-SYZ, OTC-SYZLF). There is no change from last month.

I follow 6 of the Infrastructure type utility companies. None are showing as cheap by historical high dividend yield. This has not changed from last month.

Three stocks (or 50%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. They are), Enbridge Inc. (TSX-ENB, NYSE-ENB), Keyera Corp (TSX-KEY, OTC-KEYUF) and TC Energy Corp (TSX-TRP, NYSE-TRP). There is no change from last month.

I follow 11 of the Power type utility companies. Only ATCO Ltd (TSX-ACO.X, OTC-ACLLF) is showing as cheap by the historically high dividend yield. This has not changed from last month.

Three stocks (or 27%) are showing cheap by historical median dividend yield. Those stocks are ATCO Ltd (TSX-ACO.X, OTC-ACLLF), Canadian Utilities Ltd (TSX-CU, OTC-CDUAF), and Just Energy Group Inc. (TSX-JE, NYSE-JE). There is not change from last month.

On my other blog I wrote yesterday about Loblaw Companies Ltd (TSX-L, OTC-LBLCF) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Stingray Digital Group Inc (TSX-RAY, OTC-NONE) ... learn more on Friday, August 09, 2019 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk . The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Dividend Stocks August 2019

First, I want to point out that not all of the stocks I follow are great investments. I follow a diverse selection of stocks. There are some that I would never invest in personally. I follow a number of resource stocks even though I personally have little invested in this area. I follow what I find interesting and with resource stocks, I think it is important for Canadians to know what is happening in the resource area. On the other hand, I do follow of good number of great dividend growth stocks.

The theory is that you should use the dividend yield to see if a dividend stock is selling at a stock price that is relatively cheap. A stock price is considered cheap if it is selling at a dividend yield higher than the historical high yield or higher than the historical average yield or historical median yield. See my spreadsheet at dividend growth stocks that I just updated for August 2019.

On this list,
  • I have 10 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical high dividend yield,
  • I have 51 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical average dividend yield
  • I have 75 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical median dividend yield and
  • 88 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the 5 year average dividend yield.
When I did my list last list in July 2019,
  • I have 10 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical high dividend yield,
  • I have 53 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical average dividend yield
  • I have 78 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical median dividend yield and
  • 83 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the 5 year average dividend yield.
When I did my list in January 2014,
  • I had 9 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical high dividend yield,
  • I had 45 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the historical average dividend yield and
  • 39 stocks with a dividend yield higher than the 5 year average dividend yield.
If you had one share of each stock, total dividends last month would be $169.68. This month dividends would be $170.86 which is a reset figure after the changes noted below. It went down because a stock was deleted from the list. Of the stock that I follow 2 stocks has raised their dividends since last month

Equitable Group Inc. (TSX-EQB, OTC-EQGPF)
Molson Coors Canada (TSX-TPX.B, NYSE-TAP)

Of the stocks I follow, no stock has cut or suspended or terminated their dividends. There is a tension between needing money for investing in growth and paying dividends.

Most of my stocks started out as Dividend Payers. Currently 14 stocks are not paying any dividends and this would be some 9.03% of the stocks that I follow. Four of these stocks never had dividends, so 5.81% of the stocks I follow have suspended their dividends. The three stocks that never paid dividends are Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSX-BLD, NASDAQ-BLDP), Blackberry Ltd. (TSX-BB, NASDAQ-BBRY) and Trigon Metals Inc. (TSX-TM, OTC-PNTZF).

I am showing whether a stock is relatively cheap based on historical high dividend yields (P/Hi), historical average dividend yields (P/Ave), historical median dividend yields (P/Med) or on 5 year median dividend yields (P/5Yr). See these fields on the right side of the file. You can highlight a particular stock using your cursor to highlight the appropriate line.

There are always some stocks to buy because they are priced reasonably. There are always stocks to currently avoid because they are overpriced. Looking at dividend growth stocks that are selling at stock prices that give them a dividend yield above the historical median dividend yield are probably the best bet.

The stocks that are selling at prices that give them a dividend yield above the historical high yield could be good stocks to buy. However, these stocks may be selling so cheap because of current troubles, especially financial troubles and should be treated with caution. Do not forget that I have all the stocks I follow on this spreadsheet and some are much better investments than others.

You should always investigate a stock before you buy. Sometimes different stocks in certain sectors are just out of favour or the stock market is just in one of its declines. However, a stock may be relatively cheap because it has problems. That is why you should always investigate a stock before buying.

Looking at stock this way is equivalent to a stock filter. A main problem I know of is for the old income trusts. These companies have generally lowered their dividend yields forever and they will probably never get back to the old dividend yield highs they made as an income trust company. For these stocks, you might be better comparing the current dividend yield to the 5 year median dividend yield. I also started a column called VT (for Valid Test) and this applies to checking stock price using dividend yield. If it is not a valid test, I use N to show this.

Also, on some stocks I have a lot more information years in my spreadsheets than for other stocks. So, finding a stock on the list as "cheap" is only the first step in finding a stock to buy. This is the same with any other sort of stock filters that you can use.

The last thing to remember is that I have entering figures into a spreadsheet. I could put them in incorrectly, I can transpose figures and I can misread figures. This is another great reason why you should check a stock out before investing. As this is just a filter, it works better on some stocks than on others.

See my entry on my methodology in establishing the historical dividend yield highs and lows for the stocks that I cover. I have an entry on my introduction to Dividend Growth. You might want to look at my original entry on Dividend Growth Stocks. I have also written about why I like Dividend Growth companies.

On my other blog I wrote today about Ballard Power Systems Inc. (TSX-BLDP, NASDAQ-BLDP) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Loblaw Companies Ltd (TSX-L, OTC-LBLCF) ... learn more on Wednesday, August 7, 2019 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my website for stocks followed and investment notes. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter or StockTwits. I am on Instagram with #walktoronto.

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Dividend Income and Volatility

There are several places where you will face volatility if you decide to have your income from dividend stocks. First and probably the most volatility you will face is in the value of the stock. Secondly, your overall dividend growth will change from year to year. Thirdly, an individual stock can vary in how much they will pay in dividend. In any year one company can increase dividends and another company can cut them. Different companies are affected differently by any current economic situation.

The value of your dividend stock portfolio can be calm sometimes and swing wildly other times. This can also be true of individual stocks. I do not worry about bear markets because I know all stocks are going to go down no matter how good (or bad) that they are. Generally, dividend stocks do not go down as much as the markets do, but they do go down. In bull markets, your dividend stocks will probably not gain as much as the market. My dividend stocks are volatile, but tend not to be as volatile as the market

In the last 2 bear markets my portfolio went down 30%. This happens in bear markets. It is not a time to panic. If your stocks go down in a bear market, I would not worry. I worry if my stock takes a dive when there is no bear market. My first stop to try to get a sense of what is going on if a stock of mine takes a dive is Stock Chase.

The growth in dividends will change from year to year depending on the economic climate and what is happening in the sector your stock is in. I have found in bear markets is that my overall dividend growth will decline. Sometimes because of the overall slowdown of the economy my dividend increases are low.

The lowest increase I have had is 3.9% in 2014. The year of 2010 was a low growth year with only a dividend growth of 5.3%. It has been a long slow recover from the bear market and decline of 2008 and I have had some low dividend growth years. However, dividends tend to growth more than inflation. Also my overall rate includes by RIF accounts from which I am making withdrawals and therefore has lower dividend increases or negative increase.

If I look at my Trading Account, which is the one I use for my income, my dividend growth is better. The lowest growth was 5.1% in 2017. For the last three years my dividend income growth was 13.5%, 7.59% and so far this year 8.3%.

Some company will not cut or cancel dividends unless they absolutely have to. This is because dividend investors are an unforgiving lot. Stocks that cut or cancel dividends get hammered by the market. Some companies will keep their dividends flat for a number of years if they have some financial problems. They will hope that they can resolve the problems before they have to cut dividends. Other companies regularly declare what they believe that they can afford and ignore the market. Their dividends can go up and down over time.

Know your companies and understand what their dividend policies are. Some companies will say what their dividend policy is and others you will be able to tell what it is from past history.

But all this volitivity is just background noise. If you can ignore the noise you can do well with dividend stocks over the long term. The best advice is never panic. People lose money in the stock market because they panic and do the wrong thing. Sometimes they buy because they think that they need to buy now otherwise the price of the stock will get too high in the future to buy, or they panic and sell because their stock has plummeted in price and they are afraid of losing more money. Never buy or sell because of panic. That is how you lose money.

You need to know the companies you have invested in. If you are in for the long term, then at some point a company will have problems. Most of these problems are solvable. However, I have sold companies that I have had for years. The reason is always because I have lost hope that they will recover.

On my other blog I wrote yesterday about TECSYS Inc (TSX-TCS, OTC-TCYSF) ... learn more. Next, I will write about Savaria Corporation (TSX-SIS, OTC-SISXF) ... learn more on Friday, August 2, 2019 around 5 pm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. I do research for my own edification and I am willing to share. I write what I think and I may or may not be correct.

See my site for an index to these blog entries and for stocks followed. I have three blogs. The first talks only about specific stocks and is called Investment Talk. The second one contains information on mostly investing and is called Investing Economics Mostly. My last blog is for my book reviews and it is called Non-Fiction Mostly. Follow me on Twitter. I am on Instagram. Or you can just Google #walktoronto spbrunner8166 to see my pictures.