Written by Robin Brown at The Motley Fool Canada
Whether stocks are soaring or sliding, solid dividend stocks keep paying investors income. The stock market is volatile, and it is nice to have some peace of mind knowing your dividend income will be safe no matter what happens.
The best dividend stocks provide a mix of income and capital gains over time. Here are three dividend stocks built to last through an array of economic conditions. With the world increasingly fluctuating, it doesn’t hurt to hold a few of these solid names through any environment.
Fortis (TSX:FTS) is a beacon to hold through good and bad. For 20 years, its stock has delivered a steady 6% compounded annual return. While that doesn’t seem like much, when you add in its steadily growing dividends, total returns are closer to a 9.5% compounded annual rate.
Fortis has beaten the TSX over that time. It also provided those returns with half the volatility of the TSX (a beta of 0.4).
In fact, Fortis has a 52-year record of consecutively raising its annual dividend. That is one of the greatest dividend-growth records in Canada. With 99% of its utilities regulated, it consistently earns stable earnings growth for shareholders.
Fortis is targeting 7% annual rate base growth for the coming five years. That should translate into mid-single-digit earnings per share and dividend-per-share growth in the coming year. This dividend stock yields 3.5% today.
Another dividend stock for any market is Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (TSX:GRT.UN). With a market cap of $5 billion, it is the largest industrial REIT in Canada.
Granite focuses on high-quality logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing properties across Canada, Europe, and America. It has all the hallmarks of a quality dividend stock: a rock-solid (and sector-leading) balance sheet, a prudent management team, a strong mix of investment-grade tenants, long-term leases (over five years), high occupancy (over 97%), and rising rental rates.
It doesn’t hurt that Granite also trades at a decent discount to its private market value. Granite has an attractive 4.3% distribution yield that it pays out monthly. Granite has raised its distribution for 15 consecutive years. It has survived through several recessions and downdrafts. It is a resilient stock for any potential market storm.
Chartwell Retirement Residences (TSX:CSH.UN) is another stock for any market (except for a pandemic). It is Canada’s largest seniors’ retirement home operator with over 25,000 residents in its facilities.
