It’s easy to sell off some of your sleepy defensive dividend stocks, such as utility firm Fortis (TSX:FTS), so that you’ve got a bit more to put to work in some of the higher-upside names out there, specifically the artificial intelligence-leveraging tech companies. That said, chasing some of the high-momentum names could carry a greater level of risk, especially given the likelihood that the next stock market correction will see technology stocks take a harder hit on the way down.
Indeed, the tech plays tend to rise faster in bull markets. But they also stand to fall faster at the first signs of a market-wide panic. Now, it’s tough to say if there will be a growth scare at some point down the road. With central banks cutting rates, I think that staying the course with risk-on names in the portfolio (think your Tax-Free Savings Account) is a good move.
But let’s also not forget about playing a bit of defence. When it comes to winning the long-term game, a sound defence, I think, is a must. In any case, I think now is a great time to get some pretty low multiples on the steady dividend growers. In this piece, we’ll check in on one of the best low-beta dividend plays in the utility scene, Fortis, to see if it makes sense to buy today as the firm continues to move ahead with its steady growth plan over the next five years and beyond.
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So, where will FTS stock be in around five years?
My guess is quite a bit higher, especially as the firm’s five-year capital plan starts to drive cash flows to the next level, powering dividend growth in the 4-6% per year range every single year. Of course, a market correction or bear market could happen by 2030. Fortunately, I don’t think that FTS investors will lose all too much sleep, especially considering the low-risk growth profile and the low 0.32 beta, which entails the stock is less likely to follow behind the TSX Index.
Combined with a 3.56% dividend yield and some upside momentum (shares currently in the process of breaking out), which could be bolsterd by further rate cuts from the Bank of Canada and Federal Reserve in the U.S., and I view FTS stock as a great way to take some risk off the table while also being able to benefit from predictable, single-digit growth from here.
Once the five-year capital plan is done, I think Fortis could have another investment plan that follows to power more dividend growth. Indeed, with Fortis stock, you’re getting so much predictability, and come five years, I think Fortis will be the same great, risk-off investment that can be relied on for dividend growth and a modest amount of capital gains.
Fortis is a great long-term bet
It’s a solid name and one that I don’t expect to change all too much in five years from now. Perhaps a major wild card to watch for is whether the capital plans pay off more than expected. In such a scenario, I see further multiple expansion as warranted. At 20.7 times trailing price to earnings, FTS stock looks like a timely bet while most others focus on offence, not defence.
