This TSX Stock Could Pay You While You Wait

Tariff-driven volatility can make dips feel brutal, and a monthly payer like Slate Grocery REIT can keep cash flowing while you wait.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio

Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband.

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Favorite Investment Quote

“October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published February 17, 9:00 pm EST

| More on: SGR.UN

Key Points

Slate Grocery owns U.S. grocery-anchored centres, so tenant demand is usually steadier than discretionary retail.
Its leasing spreads and occupancy look healthy, but cash coverage is tight, with AFFO sometimes not fully covering distributions.
The high yield is tempting, yet it only works if rent growth holds and financing costs don’t stay punishing.

Tariff chaos can make every market dip feel personal, and that’s when a monthly dividend can help you recover without trying to time anything. If trade threats squeeze confidence and send stocks swinging, you can feel stuck watching red days pile up. A monthly payer keeps cash arriving anyway. You can reinvest, average in when prices look ugly, and stay focused on income instead of headlines. So, let’s look at one stock to consider on the TSX today.

dividend stocks bring in passive income so investors can sit back and relax — Source: Getty Images

SGR

Slate Grocery REIT (TSX:SGR.UN) looks built for that mood as it owns U.S. grocery-anchored shopping centres. Grocery traffic tends to stay steadier than discretionary retail, since people still buy food and essentials even when budgets tighten. That makes rent collections feel less dependent on perfect consumer sentiment, and leases do the heavy lifting.

Over the last year, the story has leaned on leasing momentum and resilient demand for essential-goods space. In its third quarter (Q3) of 2025, the real estate investment trust (REIT) completed 417,145 square feet of leasing at a 14.4% total leasing spread, and new leasing spreads hit 34.8%. Portfolio occupancy sat at 94.3% at the quarter’s end. Those numbers suggest tenants still signed deals and paid higher rents, even with macro noise in the background.

The latest year-end update kept the picture steady, but it also showed why you still have to watch the details. In the fourth-quarter and full-year 2025 results, portfolio occupancy landed at 94.4% and net asset value sat at $13.65 per unit. The dividend stock also reported weaker anchor and junior-anchor new leasing square footage in the period, which hints that deal flow can slow even when demand stays healthy.

Looking ahead

Now for the part income investors care about: payout support. In Q4 2025, Slate Grocery reported funds from operations (FFO) of US$14.927 million, or US$0.25 per unit, and adjusted FFO (AFFO) of US$11.704 million, or US$0.19 per unit. FFO payout ratio was 86.9%, while AFFO payout ratio was 110.8%. That gap matters, as AFFO acts like the closer proxy for cash available to pay distributions.

Q3 2025 showed a different flavour and helps you avoid judging the business on one quarter. Rental revenue rose to US$53.313 million from US$52.325 million, and net operating income (NOI) increased to US$42.992 million from US$41.897 million. FFO per unit was US$0.27, and AFFO per unit was US$0.21, with an AFFO payout ratio of 99.9%. Coverage looked tight, but far closer to even than the year-end quarter.

The 2026 outlook mostly comes down to rent growth and the cost of money. If leasing spreads stay positive, the dividend stock can keep nudging income higher as space rolls over. If interest rates ease, REIT sentiment can improve because financing feels less punishing, and valuation multiples can lift. For now, investors can pick it up trading at a reasonable 16.6 times earnings, with a 7.5% dividend yield. That alone can bring in ample income with just a $7,000 investment.

COMPANY	RECENT PRICE	NUMBER OF SHARES	ANNUAL DIVIDEND	ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT	FREQUENCY	TOTAL INVESTMENT
SGR.UN	$15.22	459	$1.18	$541.62	Monthly	$6,985.98

Bottom line

So, could this dividend stock be a buy for others who want to get paid while they wait for the market to calm down? It could, if you want monthly income tied to essential retail, and if you accept that AFFO coverage can wobble quarter to quarter. The bear case is real, however. If rates stay stubborn and cash coverage stays tight, the unit price can stay moody. If you buy it, treat the yield as a tool and keep the position size sensible.