The weakness we have seen in many top dividend stocks has been a blessing in disguise.
It has brought to us numerous opportunities to get into some high-quality stocks that are now trading with very high dividend yields.
Here are three stocks that will help with your retirement income needs (and wants!).
Enbridge Inc. (TSX: ENB)(NYSE: ENB) has fallen 23% in the last year after a difficult 2017 that was mired in uncertainty. This has created a very attractive entry point for investors, and a stock that is currently yielding a very nice 6.32%.
The concerns have been twofold: How will the company maintain its dividend plus provide funding for future capital expenditures and projects?
With management reiterating its commitment to its $3 billion asset sale program by mid-2018 as well as a mixture of issuing equity and other hybrid securities for the other half of the funding needs, the market eagerly awaits the announcement of the completion of the asset sales.
Investors can feel reassured though, as the company has reaffirmed its 2018 guidance, calling for a 21% increase in EBITDA to $12.5 million and 10% annual dividend growth to 2020.
Lesser-known NorthWest Health Prop Real Est Inv Trust (TSX:NWH.UN) is another attractive opportunity for dividend income.
With a current dividend yield of 7.23%, NorthWest is characterized by low-risk, steady growth.
With 2017 behind it, NorthWest is benefiting from an infrastructure portfolio that will see the completion of numerous development projects, which will drive cash flows and net asset value higher.
In 2017, the company saw a 40% increase in its asset base to $5 billion, $330 million in equity financings, $872 million in acquisitions, $103 million in development, and $200 million in dispositions.
And 2018 will see the fruits of this investment in the business. NorthWest continued to leverage its high-quality, global, diversified portfolio of healthcare real estate properties located throughout Canada, Brazil, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand.
An investment in Northwest is an investment in the aging population. Investors have rarely gone wrong by increasing their exposure to this growing market.
Altagas Ltd. (TSX: ALA) has been hit this year along with the rest of the market and utilities stocks, but much more so. It has dropped a whopping 16% year to date in what could only be called an unwarranted move.
With a dividend yield of over 9%, this stock will pay you to wait for resolution of the issues that have plagued it — namely, the funding of the WGL acquisition and the timing of the close.
But we should remember that the company is motivated to close this deal and move on with things, as WGL’s high-quality assets and market position will bring Altagas many growth opportunities as well as significant earnings and cash flow accretion.
At the end of the day, the company is seeing strong operational momentum, as evidenced by fourth-quarter results that showed normalized cash flow from operations that was 4% higher than the same period last year, with a very healthy payout ratio of well under 60% and good liquidity.
