Adding some great high-yield dividend stocks to your portfolio can make the difference between retiring comfortably or needing to work several years longer. Fortunately, the market gives us plenty of income stocks to choose from.
Here are some of those high-yield dividend stocks to buy now to hold for decades.
Start with a defensive pick that offers a juicy income
Enbridge (TSX:ENB) is the first stock that investors should consider right now. This high-yield dividend offers a juicy yield of 7.52%, making it one of the better-paying options today.
That yield means investors dropping $35,000 into Enbridge can expect to generate a first-year income of over $2,640. Even better, Enbridge has provided investors with annual bumps to that dividend going back three decades and expects to continue that tradition.
In other words, Enbridge is a great buy-and-forget option. But can it continue to generate revenue that allows for that juicy high-yield dividend?
Enbridge is best known for its massive pipeline network that transports huge amounts of crude and natural gas. The pipeline generates the bulk of Enbridge’s revenue, and the sheer volume involved makes it a defensive gem.
In addition to its pipeline business, Enbridge also boasts a renewable energy business and natural gas utility.
The renewable segment comprises over 40 facilities located across Europe and North America. That includes solar and wind elements. Additionally, those facilities are subject to long-term regulated contracts, making them incredibly defensive options for investors. Over the past two decades, Enbridge has dropped over $9 billion into the segment.
Turning to Enbridge’s natural gas segment, the company boasts the largest natural gas utility in North America with seven million customers. This too makes Enbridge a great defensive stock to consider.
Despite that appeal. Enbridge has traded down over the trailing two-year period by over 15%. This fact alone makes it a superb time to pick up a great high-yield dividend stock.
How about a telecom with an insane yield?
It would be nearly impossible to mention high-yield dividend stocks without mentioning BCE (TSX:BCE). BCE is one of the largest telecoms in Canada, as well as one of the most defensive stocks to consider right now.
Telecoms are great long-term investments thanks to their defensive business models. In short, they provide subscription-based offerings that have become increasingly necessary in recent years. This includes wireless and home internet connections, which have increased in importance since the pandemic started.
In addition to its core subscription-based business, BCE also offers a large media segment that provides an alternative source of revenue for the company. But despite that appeal, the stock has tumbled to new lows over recent weeks.
In fact, as of the time of writing, BCE is trading at levels not seen for a decade. At the same time, that dip has swelled BCE’s quarterly yield to an insane 8.58%. Using that same $35,000 example noted above, investors can expect an income of just over $3,120.
And like Enbridge, BCE has provided investors with annual upticks to that juicy dividend for over a decade. Interestingly, BCE has paid that dividend without fail to investors for well over a century.
Will you buy these high-yield dividend stocks?
Both Enbridge and BCE offer investors a defensive package that can provide both growth and income for decades. Even better, they both trade at decent discounts over the longer term despite offering that defensive appeal.
In short, both BCE and Enbridge would do well as a small part of a larger, well-diversified portfolio.
