The Canadian Companies That’ve Been Quietly Raising Their Dividend Payouts

For investors seeking a combination of income and dividend growth, these stocks deserve a closer look, especially on market corrections.

Kay Ng

Author Bio

Kay graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and furthered her studies in financial markets, finance, and financial accounting. She began investing in dividend stocks in 2008, turning an early interest into a lasting passion. Over the years, Kay has refined her investment approach to focus on high-quality businesses, using fundamental analysis and valuation to identify long-term investment opportunities. Her investment research and articles have been featured in The Motley Fool, Sure Dividend, and Seeking Alpha. Outside of investing, Kay enjoys playing the piano, from popular songs learned by ear to challenging classical compositions. Her favourites include Fantaisie-Impromptu by Frédéric Chopin and La Campanella by Franz Liszt.

Education

Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Computer Science, University of British Columbia
Further studies in financial markets, finance, and financial accounting

Areas of Expertise

Dividend stocks, fundamental analysis, company valuation, quality investing, long-term investing, business fundamentals, and identifying investment opportunities in high-quality companies.

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Favorite Investment Quotes

“The best way to measure your investing success is not by whether you’re beating the market but by whether you’ve put in place a financial plan and a behavioral discipline that are likely to get you where you want to go.” — Benjamin Graham “A market downturn doesn’t bother us. It is an opportunity to increase our ownership of great companies with great management at good prices.” — Warren Buffett

Published June 14, 8:15 pm EDT

When investors think about Canadian dividend-growth stocks, the usual names often dominate the conversation. Long-time dividend raisers such as Fortis have earned their reputation through decades of steady increases. However, some lesser-known companies have also been rewarding shareholders with consistent dividend growth. Two Canadian stocks that have quietly increased their payouts for roughly five consecutive years are AltaGas (TSX: ALA) and MTY Food Group (TSX: MTY).

For investors seeking a combination of income and dividend growth, these under-the-radar companies deserve a closer look.

dividends grow over time — Source: Getty Images

AltaGas: Growing dividends backed by stable cash flows

AltaGas is a North American energy infrastructure company with a business model built on stability and growth. Its regulated utility segment serves about 1.6 million residential, commercial, and industrial customers across the mid-Atlantic and midwestern United States. This business generates dependable, rate-regulated cash flows and accounts for more than half of the company’s operations.

At the same time, AltaGas benefits from growth opportunities through its midstream segment, which gathers, processes, and exports natural gas and liquefied petroleum gases (LPGs) such as propane and butane from Western Canada to premium Asian markets.

This balanced business model has helped support consistent dividend growth. Over the last five years, AltaGas has delivered a dividend-growth rate of approximately 5.5%. Management expects that trend to continue, forecasting annual dividend growth of 5% to 7% through 2030. That outlook is supported by ongoing asset optimization, disciplined capital allocation, strategic growth projects, and continued balance-sheet improvement.

The market has taken notice. The stock has surged roughly 125% over the last three years, reflecting strong LPG export growth, reliable utility earnings, and successful debt-reduction efforts. While the shares appear close to analyst fair-value estimates and currently offer a modest yield of about 2.4%, long-term investors may still find AltaGas attractive for its combination of dividend growth and business momentum. That said, it’d probably be a safer buy on market corrections.

MTY Food Group: An overlooked dividend grower

MTY Food Group operates a very different business, but it has also quietly built a growing dividend streak. The company franchises and operates more than 80 restaurant brands across over 7,000 locations worldwide. Its asset-light, franchise-focused model generates recurring royalty and fee income, helping produce resilient cash flow.

MTY’s portfolio includes well-known brands across multiple dining categories, while its revenue is diversified across the United States, Canada, and international markets. Growth has historically been driven by acquisitions of restaurant concepts that can be expanded using MTY’s operational expertise and established infrastructure.

Recently, the consumer discretionary stock has faced pressure from softer consumer spending and portfolio rationalization efforts. During the first quarter, the company closed 90 locations while opening 52 new ones as it exited weaker franchise relationships. Although these challenges have weighed on investor sentiment, MTY’s profitability and cash generation remain resilient. For example, compared to a year ago, in the first fiscal quarter, it experienced a revenue decline of 6% and normalized adjusted EBITDA, a cash flow proxy, was essentially flat.

Importantly for income investors, management continues to demonstrate confidence through dividend increases. The company’s most recent dividend hike, announced in January, was 12%. With shares trading about 11% below the analyst consensus price target and offering a yield of roughly 3.6%, investors are being paid to wait for growth to reaccelerate.

Investor takeaway

While many investors focus on Canada’s most famous dividend-growth stocks, AltaGas and MTY Food Group are quietly building impressive dividend records of their own. AltaGas offers stable cash flows and a clear path to continued dividend growth, while MTY combines an attractive yield with the potential for a business recovery. For investors seeking lesser-known Canadian companies that are steadily raising their dividends, both stocks warrant consideration.