Dividend stocks are a great way for everyday investors to work towards achieving financial independence. For one, it could give investors a solid source of passive income, once their portfolio becomes large enough. But more importantly, because these kinds of portfolios aren’t built overnight, investors get to see their dividends grow with each passing year. That kind of positive feedback could be very enticing to many investors, helping them stay on top of things and adding more money into stocks.
The Canadian stock market offers investors many outstanding dividend stocks to choose from. In this article, I’ll discuss two of my favourite TSX dividend stocks. Both of these companies have long histories of paying shareholders and could continue to do so for many years to come.
The first dividend stock you should buy today
When looking for dividend stocks to hold in your portfolio, you first want to target companies that have shown an ability to raise their distribution over time. This is an important thing to keep in mind because investors should aim to construct a portfolio that can grow faster than inflation. With that said, Fortis (TSX:FTS) is an excellent stock to consider. For those that haven’t heard of this company before, you should know that Fortis provides regulated gas and electric utilities to more than three million customers.
Fortis has managed to increase its dividend distribution in each of the past 50 years. That gives Fortis the second-longest active dividend-growth streak in the country. Fortis has already announced its plans to continue growing its dividend through to 2028. It plans to do so at a rate of 4-6%. If I could only buy one dividend stock for my portfolio, it would likely be Fortis because of that long dividend-growth streak. Investors should really consider becoming shareholders in this company if they value a reliable distribution.
Another outstanding company for your portfolio
Sometimes, there are companies out there that are still very reliable dividend stocks even if they aren’t able to raise their dividends every year. In my opinion, these are good companies to bolster your dividend income, but they shouldn’t be the main source of passive income for investors. A perfect example of such a company would be Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS). This is one of Canada’s largest banks and a component of the Big Five. Among that group, it’s also the most internationally established.
Bank of Nova Scotia first started paying shareholders a dividend on July 1, 1833. Since then, the company has never missed a dividend payment. That represents 190 years of continued dividend distributions. Although Bank of Nova Scotia hasn’t been able to raise its distribution each year, that sort of dividend history is something that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Bank of Nova Scotia also offers investors a very attractive forward dividend yield (7.05%). That yield gives investors great bang for their buck.
