Seniors once relied on GICs and high-interest savings accounts to supplement their pension income.
Those days are long gone, and investors are now turning to dividend stocks to provide additional funds, but equities come with risk, and many of the former dividend darlings have slashed their distributions.
Fortunately, retirees can still find companies with attractive and growing payouts.
Here are the reasons why I think Inter Pipeline Ltd. (TSX:IPL) and BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE)(NYSE:BCE) are solid choices right now.
Inter Pipeline
Inter Pipeline transports 35% of Canada’s oil sands production and 15% of western Canadian conventional oil output. It also owns a natural gas extraction division as well as a growing liquids storage business in Europe.
At first glance, investors might think the stock is a risky pick given the current oil environment, but Inter Pipeline is performing very well and shareholders are reaping the rewards.
Funds from operations hit a record $211 million in Q4 2015, up 32% compared with the same period in 2014. Strength in the oil sands and bulk liquids operations drove most of the growth with year-over-year gains in funds from operations of 62% and 79%, respectively.
The conventional oil group is benefiting from continued growth in the Viking light oil play. This has offset slowdowns in other areas and resulted in Q4 throughput that was flat compared with the previous year. However, funds from operations were up in the quarter, hitting a record $51.45 million.
The natural gas extraction business had a tough 2015, but the Q4 numbers were pretty much in line with the previous year.
Inter Pipeline recently raised its monthly dividend by more than 6% to 13 cents per share. The distribution offers a yield of 6.2%.
The stock isn’t as cheap as it was a month ago, but there is still some good upside potential on a continued recovery in the oil sector.
BCE
BCE has long been a favourite of pensioners, and there is no reason for that trend to change.
The company enjoys a dominant position in the Canadian telecom market and continues to invest billions in its state-of-the-art infrastructure to ensure it stays on top.
The overall business has changed quite a bit in recent years with the acquisition of media and retail assets, and BCE now generates revenue all along the media and communications value chain.
In fact, any time you send a text, check your email, listen to the weather report, download a movie, or watch the news, there is a good chance one of BCE’s products or services is involved.
BCE recently increased its dividend by 5%, and investors should see the payout continue to rise with gains in free cash flow. The current quarterly distribution of $0.6825 per share yields 4.6%.
