The markets have been mediocre this year, and investors are likely looking for some stability without having to compromise much in the way of returns. Although that can be a bit of a challenge, there are great investment options still out there that can help your portfolio earn strong returns that don’t involve you having to take on significant risk.
The three stocks listed below will provide you with growth, dividends, and stability and could be great long-term pillars for your portfolio.
Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX: TD)(NYSE: TD) is as blue-chip a stock as you’ll find on the TSX and is arguably the best bank stock you can invest in. TD has produced strong results for investors over the years with its share price rising more than 75% over the past five years. Even in the past 12 months, TD’s stock has been up 14% and has strongly outperformed the TSX during that time.
With a lot of diversification, TD offers investors some great stability, as it’s not overly exposed to the Canadian economy. In addition, the stock pays investors a solid 3.6% yield that will likely continue to rise over the years. In five years, payouts have grown by 65% for a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6%. TD is one of the better dividend-growth stocks that you can invest in, and you can rest assured that payouts aren’t in any danger of being cut.
Being a bank stock hasn’t slowed down its growth either, with TD’s most recent quarter showing net revenues being up 3% year over year, and rising interest rates could help that number increase in future quarters.
Fortis Inc. (TSX: FTS)(NYSE: FTS) is another great growing dividend that you can put in your portfolio for years and just sit back and watch the cash pile up. Currently, Fortis pays dividends of 3.9%, and those payouts have grown 37% over the past five years for a CAGR of 6.5% during that time.
The utility company has a lot of recurring customers, which gives it a lot of stability in its top line. In only one of the past five quarters have revenues dipped below $2 billion, and the company has averaged a solid 13% profit margin.
Acquisitions have helped the company grow, and since 2013 sales have more than doubled. However, there’s still a lot of opportunity for Fortis to continue to increase its market share in the years to come.
Magna International Inc. (TSX: MG)(NYSE: MGA) pays a much more modest dividend of ~2%, but this stock is a buy for its growth potential. The company is working on developing self-driving technologies that could be sold to manufacturers, and it recently entered an agreement with Lyft that would see the two companies work together on a multi-year project.
Automation and self-driving stocks are getting a lot of hype these days, and as we see the industry continue to progress, stocks like Magna’s will see a lot of upside. In the past year, the stock has risen 35%, and at a price-to-book ratio of around two and it trading at a multiple of just 13 times earnings, Magna still has a lot of value at its current share price.
