Market volatility is hard to watch, but it can give investors a chance to buy great TSX dividend stocks at discounted prices for a self-directed Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) portfolio focused on dividend income and total returns.
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Royal Bank of Canada
Royal Bank (TSX: RY) trades near $162 per share at the time of writing compared to $180 in early December. Investors who missed the 2024 rally can now buy RY stock on a decent pullback.
Royal Bank is Canada’s largest financial institution, with a current market capitalization of nearly $230 billion. The bank operates a balanced portfolio of business groups, including retail banking, commercial banking, wealth management, capital markets, and insurance, among others. Canada and the United States contribute the bulk of the earnings, but Royal Bank has extensive operations beyond North America as well.
The bank’s $13.5 billion acquisition of HSBC Canada in 2024 added 780,000 new customers and gave Royal Bank a boost in being able to provide commercial clients and affluent retail customers with more international banking and wealth management options.
Royal Bank generated strong fiscal 2024 results in a year that proved to be challenging for some of its peers. The bank is very profitable and has adequate capital on hand to ride out a downturn while still maintaining the firepower to make additional strategic acquisitions that might become available.
Investors who buy RY stock at the current level can get a dividend yield of 3.65%.
Canadian Natural Resources
Canadian Natural Resources (TSX: CNQ) trades near $40 per share at the time of writing compared to $53 a year ago. In 2025, the stock is down about 8%, even after the recent bounce from the 12-month low of around $35.
CNRL produces oil and natural gas. It has a diverse asset base with oil sands, conventional heavy oil, conventional light oil, and offshore oil reserves, along with an extensive Canadian natural gas portfolio. CNRL tends to be the sole or majority owner on the assets. This gives management the flexibility to move capital around the portfolio to capitalize on the best market opportunities.
CNRL isn’t afraid to make large acquisitions to boost production and reserves. The company spent US$6.5 billion in late 2024 to buy Chevron’s assets in Canada. The company took on some extra debt to pay for the cash purchase, which might be why the stock saw added selling pressure in recent months as oil prices continued to slide.
In the long run, the Chevron deal should be a winner for shareholders. CNRL raised the dividend by 7% when the purchase closed. The board already increased the dividend again in 2025, marking the 25th consecutive year of dividend hikes. Investors who buy CNQ stock at the current level can get a dividend yield of 5.8%.
The bottom line on top RRSP stocks
Royal Bank and CNRL are industry leaders paying good dividends that should continue to grow. If you have some cash to put to work in a self-directed RRSP, these stocks deserve to be on your radar.
