State officials and business leaders have come from across the globe to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. There has been a palpable jump in optimism in comparison to the meeting in early 2017, as global growth appears to be back on track. President Trump, feared for his populist and protectionist rhetoric, has, for the most part, followed a mainstream conservative agenda in pursuit of deregulation and tax cuts in his first year.
U.S. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin also made a splash after advocating for a weaker dollar in a press briefing during the forum. This sent the U.S. dollar down, while commodities soared. As we ponder what 2018 will bring in terms of U.S. policy, we should take a look at some dividend-yielding stocks that should benefit from the current state of affairs.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD)
TD Bank stock has increased 1% in 2018 as of close on January 25. TD Bank has the largest U.S. footprint out of any major Canadian bank. It is likely that it will take a hit from the one-time charge on liquid assets held overseas, but in the long term the reduced corporate tax rate — from 35% to 21% — should be a huge boost. The bank last announced a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a 3.2% dividend yield.
CAE has dropped 1.8% in 2018. Shares have climbed 23.6% year over year. The aerospace manufacturer gets roughly 36% of its revenues from the United States. This means that U.S. tax reform should also bolster CAE going forward. In Q2 fiscal 2018, CAE saw operating profit jump to $109.3 million in comparison to $76.2 million in the prior period. The company announced a dividend payment of $0.09 per share, representing a dividend yield of 1.5%.
Fiera Capital Corp. (TSX:FSZ)
Fiera Capital is a Montreal-based asset management company that provides advisory and related services to institutional investors and private wealth and retail clients. The stock has increased 2.3% in 2018. The U.S. stock market has flourished, as the election of Trump sparked a Wall Street bonanza in anticipation of the revenues that would be produced by tax cuts. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 5,000 points in one year for the first time in its history.
In its 2017 third-quarter results, Fiera Capital reported that assets under management jumped 9% year over year to $123 billion. Revenues grew 31% year over year, and net earnings rose to $0.06 per share in comparison to $0.01 in Q3 2016. The company also announced an attractive dividend of $0.18 per share, representing a 5.4% dividend yield.
Nevsun Resources (TSX:NSU)
Nevsun is a base metals company headquartered in Vancouver. In the 2017 fourth quarter, Nevsun produced 207.8 million pounds of zinc and 18 million pounds of copper from the Bisha Mien in Eritrea. The spot price of zinc and copper has continued to show strength on the back of global growth at the start of 2018. Nevsun last offered a dividend of $0.01 per share with a 1.7% dividend yield.
