If you’re in search of a stock with a high and safe dividend yield to add to your portfolio, then you’ve come to the right place. Let’s take a closer look at two with yields over 3% that you could buy right now.
Rogers Communications Inc.
Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX:RCI.B)(NYSE:RCI) is one of Canada’s largest diversified communications and media companies, providing a broad range of products and services to consumers and businesses across the country.
Rogers pays a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, representing $1.92 per share on an annualized basis, and this gives its stock a lavish 3.4% yield today.
It’s of the utmost importance to always confirm the safety of a stock’s dividend before making an investment, and you can do this with Rogers by checking its cash flow. In its fiscal year ended on December 31, 2016, its free cash flow (FCF) totaled $1.71 billion, and its dividend payments totaled just $988 million, resulting in a sound 57.9% payout ratio.
Investors must also note that Rogers has raised its annual dividend payment 11 times in the last 12 years, with its streak ending at 11 consecutive years in 2016, but I think its steady FCF growth, including its 1.7% year-over-year increase to $1.71 billion in 2016 and its projected 2-4% growth in 2017, could allow it to begin a new streak in 2017.
CT Real Estate Investment Trust
CT Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:CRT.UN), or CT REIT for short, is one of Canada’s largest owners and managers of commercial real estate. Its portfolio consists of 303 predominantly retail properties located across every province and two territories that total approximately 24.7 million square feet of gross leasable area.
CT REIT currently pays a monthly distribution of $0.05833 per unit, representing $0.70 per unit on an annualized basis, which gives its stock a rich 4.5% yield at today’s levels.
You can easily confirm the safety of CT REIT’s 4.5% yield by checking its cash flow. In its fiscal year ended on December 31, 2016, its adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) totaled $0.862 per unit, and its distributions totaled just $0.68 per unit, resulting in a rock-solid 78.9% payout ratio.
In addition to offering a high and safe yield, CT REIT is quickly becoming one of the REIT industry’s best distribution-growth plays. It has raised its annual distribution every year since its initial public offering in 2013, resulting in three consecutive years of increases, and its 2.9% hike that took effect last month has it positioned for 2017 to mark the fourth consecutive year with an increase.
I think CT REIT’s distribution growth will continue going forward too. I think its consistently strong AFFO growth, including its 9.8% year-over-year increase to $0.808 per unit in 2015 and its 6.7% year-over-year increase to $0.862 per unit in 2016, will allow its streak of annual distribution increases to continue for the foreseeable future.
Which should you buy today?
I think both Rogers Communications and CT REIT represent great long-term investment opportunities, so take a closer look at each and strongly consider initiating positions in at least one of them today.
