Can you name an asset you bought for investment purposes but have no plans to sell it in your lifetime? The most obvious answer is property. A property can give you rental income that will keep growing as the economy grows and income increases. Many invest in property for their retirement income. While no stock can replace a physical property, a magnificent Canadian dividend stock can give monthly passive income.
A magnificent dividend stock is down 6.2%
CT REIT (TSX: CRT.UN) stock is down 6.2% year to date as the Canadian property market is seeing a correction. The 5% interest rate has made borrowing expensive and slowed the house-buying activity. While some markets are on the road to recovery, some are still settling down. This decline in property prices reduced the fair market value of CT REIT’s property portfolio. The portfolio comprises retail stores mostly occupied by the parent company, Canadian Tire.
Hence, any decision around interest rate impacts CT REIT’s stock price. But this dip is an opportune time to buy and hold this magnificent dividend stock. Here’s why.
Three reasons to buy and hold this dividend stock forever
We started with the topic of buying a property you will never sell because the investment objective is to earn rental income.
When it comes to rent, a retail store earns higher rent than a housing property. A landlord can earn 3-5% of their property value as rent, depending on the location and market conditions. But CT REIT adds the stock element. Hence, you can use the current dip in the stock price to lock in a yield of 6.57%.
You can earn such a high distribution yield without legal and maintenance work. CT REIT takes care of these expenses and even develops and expands stores to earn a higher rent.
Lastly, having a strong tenant like Canadian Tire reduces the risk of delayed rent or lower occupancy. CT REIT enjoys 99.1% occupancy with a 1.5% increase in annual rent.
How to build your rental income with this dividend stock
If you are buying a property for investment, you will have to shell out at least half a million, which is the life savings of many Canadians. And even after you buy the property, you have to spend on interiors and building maintenance. But with CT REIT, you can start investing $500 a month and get a monthly payout from next month onwards.
Now, the REIT also offers a dividend-reinvestment plan (DRIP) wherein it reinvests your monthly payout to buy more units of CT REIT. And the REIT will continue to increase distribution by 3%, adjusting your income for inflation.
| Month | CT REIT Distribution per share | CT REIT stock price on 1st of every month | Total Investment | Number of shares | Dividend income |
| Jan-24 | $0.07485 | $14.65 | $528.31 | 414.34 | $31.01 |
| Nov-23 | $0.07485 | $13.62 | $525.43 | 378.27 | $28.31 |
| Oct-23 | $0.07485 | $12.65 | $522.34 | 339.70 | $25.43 |
| Sep-23 | $0.07485 | $13.69 | $519.50 | 298.40 | $22.34 |
| Aug-23 | $0.07485 | $14.56 | $516.84 | 260.46 | $19.50 |
| Jul-23 | $0.07485 | $15.23 | $514.31 | 224.96 | $16.84 |
| Jun-23 | $0.07485 | $15.09 | $511.38 | 191.19 | $14.31 |
| May-23 | $0.07232 | $15.02 | $508.93 | 157.30 | $11.38 |
| Apr-23 | $0.07232 | $16.09 | $506.65 | 123.42 | $8.93 |
| Mar-23 | $0.07232 | $16.03 | $504.37 | 91.93 | $6.65 |
| Feb-23 | $0.07232 | $16.7 | $502.20 | 60.47 | $4.37 |
| Jan-23 | $0.07232 | $16.45 | $500.00 | 30.40 | $2.20 |
Here’s how compounding works: if you started investing $500 every month in CT REIT’s DRIP, your total investment in a year would be $6,160, and your unit count would be 414 units.
You can make up for the last 12 months by investing $6,000 now when the stock is trading at $13.74. You can buy 437 units with a lower amount and get a monthly payout of $32.71 from April onwards. That is the benefit of buying the dip.
Investor takeaway
And when the property price appreciates, so will the unit price of CT REIT. Unlike a property, you can sell only a few units of CT REIT from your portfolio if you need a large amount. And the units are easier to sell than a property. The rental income is taxable, but this dividend income can become tax-free by investing through the Tax-Free Savings Account.
