With the stock market struggling to rally in this uncertain economic environment, investors can buy high-quality stocks for the long haul at prices below their long-term average. And if you’re looking to add dividend stocks to your portfolio, you can buy them at lower prices than normal and lock in a higher yield than normal.
As stocks sell off, their yield naturally rises. So, there is a tonne of opportunity for investors to boost their income significantly by buying high-quality dividend stocks now while they trade at a discount.
These four stocks all offer higher yields than normal. Furthermore, each of these stocks is on the Canadian Dividend Aristocrat list — stocks known for offering consistent increases to the dividend year in and year out.
If you’re looking to boost your income and add top dividend stocks to your portfolio, here are four of the best to consider today.
A top Canadian utility stock
One of the best dividend stocks to buy in Canada and hold long-term, especially in the current environment, is Fortis (TSX:FTS), the massive utility stock with 49 straight years of dividend increases.
Fortis is an excellent dividend stock because utilities are some of the most reliable businesses you can invest in. The services they offer are essential and regulated by governments, which helps make their revenue, earnings, cash flow and future growth highly predictable.
That’s why a stock like Fortis is such an excellent long-term investment and why it’s constantly increasing its dividend each year.
And if you buy Fortis today, you can lock in a yield of more than 4.1%, which is above its 10-year average dividend yield of 3.8%.
A top telecommunications stock to buy for dividend income
Another excellent dividend stock to consider adding to your portfolio today is BCE (TSX:BCE), the massive telecommunications stock.
BCE is ideal. While BCE is not as safe as an ultra-low-risk utility stock like Fortis, the services it provides are also highly essential, making BCE one of the best defensive stocks you can buy.
Furthermore, the stock is a cash cow. With so many long-life assets spread across Canada that require only minimal maintenance expenses, BCE is constantly earning tonnes of free cash flow, allowing it to simultaneously invest in future growth while paying an attractive and consistently growing dividend.
Today, the stock offers a yield of more than 6.8%, which is significantly higher than its 10-year average of 5.4%. Furthermore, in just the last five years, BCE has increased its dividend by over 28%.
If you’re looking for a top Canadian dividend stock to buy now, BCE is easily one of the best investments to consider.
A top Canadian retail stock to buy for dividend income
Although many of the best dividend stocks to buy are in defensive industries like utilities or telecommunications, one retail stock that looks appealing for passive-income seekers is Canadian Tire (TSX:CTC.A).
Canadian Tire is one of the best-known brands in Canada. It’s grown exceptionally well both by acquisition and organically over the last decade and continues to have tonnes of potential going forward.
Furthermore, Canadian Tire’s consistent use of technology to help drive sales has been key to its performance as of late. Not only is it leveraging its ultra-popular loyalty program and its mobile app to drive more traffic in its stores, but its high-quality e-commerce platform was also one of the main reasons why it performed so well through the pandemic, particularly for a retail stock.
Plus, since Canadian Tire has been operating so well and is consistently profitable, it offers an attractive dividend that continues to increase each year.
And with the stock off its highs like many companies across Canada, investors can buy the retailer today while it offers a yield of roughly 4%, well above its 10-year average of 2.5%.
And if you like Canadian Tire, another option to consider is CT REIT: the real estate investment trust that Canadian Tire is a majority owner of and the primary tenant accounting for roughly 90% of its revenue.
Right now, CT REIT offers a yield of 6%, which is above its five-year average of 5.4%, making it an ideal dividend stock to buy today.
