February tends to be a slow month for dividends. Based on the timing of payments, I earn disproportionately less through this wintry period. All the same, every dollar earned and reinvested keeps the progress going.
Table of Contents
CAD Dividends
| Company | CAD Payments ($) | Div Increase (%) |
|---|---|---|
| RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI.UN) | 31.32 | 2.13 |
| Jean Coutu Group Inc. (PJC.A) | 29.51 | |
| Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN) | 4.80 |
Dividend Summary
My dividend income for the month of February amounts to a slim $65.63 CAD. Given that I only started tracking monthly dividend income last month, this is surprising to me to see. Of the 22 quarterly dividend payers in my portfolio, only one makes its payment in February. This comes in stark contrast to my January totals which rang the bell at $341.80 CAD and $13.36 USD. As a result, I expect next month to come in strong in similar fashion to January.
Even having noted the above, PJC.A is slated to be merged into Metro, Inc. (MRU) soon since the deal between these two companies was approved by shareholders recently.
The lone standout this month is the increase of 2.13% from REI.UN. I already earn a very healthy YOC above 12% based on my original purchase price and factoring the distributions I’ve reinvested over the years. While prior to the financial crisis–which is incidentally when I bought my shares–REI.UN had a solid dividend growth track record, it has only had once increase prior to this one which came in early 2013. It is nice to see the company get back to upping payments to unitholders.
Market Activity
I remarked in my January 2018 Portfolio Update that that had been a busy month for me with two stock purchases. February proved to be far busier with a 50% uptick in purchases. Okay, it was only an increase from two to three, but it’s still a trend in the right direction. I believe that the key to market success is to be a net accumulator of assets by conducting far more buys than sells and reinvesting the dividends over the long haul.
In keeping with my 2018 theme of doubling down on companies I already own, all three buys this month were in companies I already had a stake.
The first was for an additional 30 shares of Fortis Inc. (FTS) on the Toronto Stock Exchange in CAD. On the current $0.425CAD quarterly dividend, I expect this to generate $12.75 quarterly or $51.00 annually.
My second buy was for 35 shares of Canadian Utilities (CU) on the Toronto Stock Exchange in CAD. On the current $0.3933 CAD quarterly dividend which was just raised by 10%, I expect this to generate $13.77 quarterly or $55.06 annually.
My final purchase of the month was for 55 shares of Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd. (CSW.B) on the Toronto Stock Exchange in CAD. On the current $0.22 CAD quarterly dividend, I expect this to generate $12.10 quarterly or $48.40 annually. I had already bought some more CSW.B in January but then the price dipped another ~6% which just made the company even more attractive in my view.
Taken in aggregate, these three purchases are currently set to bring in $154.46 in annual forward income. It has been my goal to get out to a fast start in 2018. Making these acquisitions so early on sets the runway to have a successful year overall.
Conclusion
Taking monthly snapshots of my dividend income has already proven advantageous. I am confident that if I hadn’t begun paying closer attention to my portfolio on a regular basis in this way that I would not have already made five stock purchases to kick off the year.
Heading into March I haven’t set any expectations in terms of purchases I would like to make, but I remain financially and psychologically poised to opportunistically make the most of what the market offers up.
I would be curious to hear from any readers regarding how heavily (or lightly) weighted your portfolios are to the Feb-May-Aug-Nov quarterly dividend schedule and if you also experience monthly droughts as I have this time around.
Full Disclosure: Long REI.UN, PJC.A, CSH.UN, FTS, CU, CSW.B