The economic and political environment is a little crazy right now. It doesn’t hurt to add some low-risk stocks that pay stable dividends. If you are looking for some passive-income investments to add to your portfolio, here are four to buy today.
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An energy stock with 25 years of dividend increases
Canadian Natural Resources (TSX: CNQ) is one of Canada’s best dividend stocks. It has consecutively increased its annual dividend for 25 years. It has grown its annual dividend by a 21% compounded annual growth rate.
Being Canada’s largest energy producer, it is exposed to energy prices. However, it has established an industry low cost of production. This helps ensure its resilience through the market’s ups and downs.
Canadian Natural has excellent assets that have decades of energy reserves. This means it doesn’t need to spend a lot of capital to maintain or even grow its energy production.
You don’t need to be an energy expert to own this stock. You just need to enjoy passive income and let CNQ’s top-quality management team bring the returns to you. This stock yields 4.8% today.
A REIT with a reliable tenant base
First Capital Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX: FCR.UN) is another steady dividend stock to buy. It operates one of Canada’s largest urban-focused portfolios of retail properties. It is anchored by economically resilient businesses such as grocery stores, value stores, banks, medical offices, and pharmacies.
Its monthly stream of rent is quite predictable and reliable. The REIT’s well-located assets have been demanding high single-digit rental rate growth in the past few years.
Despite strong fundamental performance, it trades at a highly discounted valuation (as almost all REITs do right now). The REIT has significant development assets and a land bank that the market is not valuing.
If you can be patient in collecting a 5.3% dividend yield, you might see this stock start to recover as the market recognizes its value.
A sleep-well-at-night dividend stock
If you want a very safe stock, Fortis (TSX: FTS) is that. It is an incredibly boring business, but it is very safe. It has 51 years of consecutive dividend increases under its belt.
Nearly its entire business is regulated. That means it earns a government-approved rate of return on the utility assets it owns. It just means its earnings are highly predictable.
The company has an infrastructure investment plan that is expected to grow its rate base by 6.5% per year for the next five years. That should translate to more mid-single-digit dividend growth. It yields 4% right now.
An infrastructure stock with a nice dividend yield
Pembina Pipeline (TSX: PPL) is another safe and solid TSX dividend stock. Rather than produce Canadian energy, it stores, processes, and transports it. Given how essential this service is, most of its assets have contracts in place that ensure it earns a baseline return.
Pembina provides an essential service to its customers. In many instances, it is the only way they can get their energy product efficiently to market.
It is developing a major LNG export terminal in British Columbia. Given a potential tariff/trade war with the U.S., it could become a hallmark asset that diversifies end markets for Canadian producers.
Pembina stock yields 5.3% today. It recently recommenced a dividend-growth posture, so there is likely more income upside for patient shareholders.
