4 Stocks Yielding up to 9.7% to Buy in January

As a dividend investor, I’m always on the lookout for stocks that can boost my portfolio’s returns and, after a recent search of several industries, I came across four with high and safe yields of 4-10%. Let’s take a quick look at each, so you can determine if you should invest in one of them today.

Rogers Sugar Inc. (TSX: RSI)

Rogers Sugar is one of Canada’s leading producers of sugar and sugar products. Its offerings include granulated, icing, cube, yellow, brown, and liquid sugars, as well as specialty sugars and syrups, and these products are marketed under the Lantic and Rogers trade names.

Rogers pays a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, representing $0.36 per share annually, giving it a 5.7% yield.

In addition to being a high yielder, Rogers is known for being a very reliable dividend payer; it has paid out a regular annual dividend of at least $0.34 per share since it converted to a conventional corporation in January 2011, which includes one increase of 5.9% in 2012 to its current quarterly rate.

I think the sugar titan’s consistently strong generation of free cash flow, including $37.65 million in fiscal 2015, $44.83 million in fiscal 2016, and $40.63 million in fiscal 2017, will allow it to continue to maintain its current annual dividend rate for decades.

Corus Entertainment Inc. (TSX: CJR.B)

Corus Entertainment is one of Canada’s largest diversified communications and entertainment companies. Its portfolio of multimedia assets includes 45 specialty television channels, 15 conventional television stations, 39 radio stations, and a content business, as well as digital assets and publishing companies.

Corus pays a monthly dividend of $0.095 per share, representing $1.14 per share annually, giving it a 9.7% yield.

Foolish investors should note that the media giant has raised its annual dividend payment 13 times in the last 14 years, including a streak of 13 consecutive years that ended in fiscal 2017, and I think its very strong growth of free cash flow, including its 55.5% year-over-year increase to $292.66 million in fiscal 2017, could allow it to start a new streak in fiscal 2018.

Choice Properties Real Est Invstmnt Trst (TSX: CHP.UN)

Choice Properties is one of Canada’s largest diversified REITs. Its portfolio currently consists of 546 properties primarily focused on supermarket- and drugstore-anchored shopping centres, standalone supermarkets, and standalone drugstores, which total about 44.1 million square feet and are located across every province.

Choice Properties currently pays a monthly distribution of $0.06167 per unit, representing $0.74 per unit annually, and this gives it a 5.6% yield.

Like Corus, Choice Properties has been growing its distribution, but it has an active streak of annual increases; 2017 marked the second consecutive year in which it had raised its annual distribution, and I think its strong growth of funds from operations, including its 5.5% year-over-year increase to $0.79 per unit in the first nine months of fiscal 2017, will allow this streak to continue in 2018 and beyond.

Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. (TSX: INE)

Innergex Renewable Energy is one of the world’s largest owners and operators of run-of-river hydroelectric facilities, wind farms, and solar photovoltaic farms. Its portfolio currently consists of 54 facilities with an aggregate net installed capacity of 1,124 megawatts located across Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia, Canada, France, and Idaho, U.S.

Innergex currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, representing $0.66 per share annually, which gives it a yield of about 4.6%.

Like Choice Properties REIT, Innergex has an active streak of annual dividend increases; 2017 marked the fourth straight year in which it had raised its annual dividend payment, and its 3.1% hike in February 2017 has it on track for 2018 to mark the fifth straight year with an increase.

I also think that the renewable energy producer’s very strong cash flow generating ability and its $1.1 billion acquisition of Alterra Power Corp., which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018 and be accretive to its distributable cash flow upon completion of some of Alterra’s projects, will allow it to continue to deliver dividend growth to its shareholders for many years to come.