Porfolio Update: March 2019

The month of March 2019 is now behind us.
 
It was an incredible month in terms of news. In Alberta, Canada, the NDP government informed the lieutenant governor to call an election. The election will be April 16. The economy of Alberta continues to struggle. Although the employment numbers have improved since the depths of the Alberta recession in 2015, the wages are no were close. Lots of people in the oil and gas industry have lost their jobs due to low oil prices. Canada has no control over world oil prices as they are not a part of OPEC. The carbon tax is a hot button issue during the campaigning.
 
The federal government continues be rocked by the fallout over the SNC Lavalin affair. After previous testimony at the House of Commons justice committee by former Attorney General and Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould, their have been more resignations. Cabinet minister Jane Philpott resigned. Gerald Butts, long time friend of the Prime Minister, resigned from his post. The clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick, announced his retirement. Member of the liberal caucus, Celina Caesar-Chavannes, quits caucus to sit as an independent.
 
Portfolio Activity

Things have been quiet in terms of porfolio activity.

Two positions dripped more units or shares in the middle of the month.

On March 27, I purchased 20 shares of TD Bank (TD.TO) inside my TFSA.  With this purchase, I now own shares in all 5 of Canada's big 5 banks.  The big 5 banks are Bank of Montreal, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce "C.I.B.C" along with TD Bank.

I currently have 2 covered call options.  WestJet has fallen in price , due partially to the grounding of their 737 Max 8 and 9 jets manufactured by Boeing.  Governments across the world have banned planes these planes from flying in their respective air spaces, landing and departing airports in their jurisdictions. This grounding is due to 2 crashes in under a year involving these planes.  Until the problem is fixed these specific planes will remain grounded.

My covered call involving shares of Telus Corporation (T.TO) in my margin account is in the money. This means the price of the T.TO is above my strike price and the option can be called away at any time between now and expiration.  For disclosure, I own a smaller position in T.TO in my TFSA .

Shares Purchased Via DRIP
 
1 unit of CUF.UN.TO @ $11.6135 for a total cost of $11.61 (TFSA)

5 shares of HLF.TO @ $7.46708 for a total cost of $37.34 (margin account)

I own 216 units of Cominar REIT (CUF.UN.TO). Currently, CUF.UN pays $0.72 per unit per year, or $0.06 per unit monthly. This DRIP adds $0.72 to my annual dividend income.

I own 306 shares of High Liner Foods (HLF.TO).  Currently, HLF.TO pays a $0.58 per share dividend annually, or $0.145 per share quarterly. This DRIP adds $2.90 to my annual dividend income.
 
Please note that if some brokerages DRIP shares when there is no DRIP program by the actually company. This DRIP is when the brokerage buys the shares directly off the public market stock exchanges.
 
Dividend Increases

I did not receive any dividend increases during the month of March.  

Dividend Decreases

I did not receive any dividend decreases during the month of March.

Summary:
 
As of March 31 , the value of the portfolio is $121282.01. This is a 0.696% increase over last month's total.
 
Disclosure: Long all fore mentioned stocks.


Please Note: Positions in Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) and Brookfield Renewables Partners (BEP.UN) pay dividends and distributions in US dollars, respectively. My investment tab spreadsheet displays the Canadian dollar equivalent within 15 to 20 minutes of real time.
 
DISCLAIMER
 
I am not a financial planner, financial advisor, accountant or tax attorney. The information on this blog represents my own thoughts and opinions and should NOT be taken as investment or business advice.

Every individual should do their due diligence to make their own financial decisions based on their financial situation and tolerance for risk.

Recent Purchase

       As we go about our daily lives, most of us have to go to jobs to pay the bills.  Robert Kiyosaki often says a "J O B" stands for just over broke.  Our wages at work often do not increase after an initial raise such as passing a 3 month, 6 month or 1 year being continuous employment.  

Every year after that a person gets a "raise".  This "raise" is not the glorified type in which you are called into the manager's office and told what a great job you have been doing over the past year.  Instead this "raise" is giving to everybody employed over a year at the same percentage at the same time.  This raise is basically of cost of living increase as costs of everything goes up due to inflation.  This raise is usually between 1% and 3%.

Is there a way to have income that increases greater than the rate of inflation. A couple of ways I can think of are incoming generating real estate and dividend growth stocks.  For average Joe's like myself, it is often easier to invest in the dividend growth stocks as you do not need a lot of money to buy a stock.

What are dividend growth stocks?  Well dividend growth stocks represent companies that grow and increase their profits and pass a part of those growing profits onto their shareholders via increasing dividend payments.  Examples of dividend growth stocks are the big 5 banks in Canada, Canadian National Railway, and Bell Canada Enterprises. 

Recent Buy

On March 27, I decided to put my money to work inside my TFSA.  I purchased 20 shares of TD Bank (ticker symbol TD.TO) at $72.90 for a total cost $1463.02 including commissions. Therefore, my adjusted cost base per share is $73.15.

Last June, I did an analysis on TD Bank, which you can read about here.  Since that post was written, TD Bank has increased their dividend.  TD Bank announces dividend increases, if any, annually.  The other 4 big banks BMO, RY, BNS, CIBC have been raising their dividends semi-annually over the past several years.

Currently, TD pays a dividend of $0.74 per share quarterly, or $2.96 per share annually. So my yield on this purchase is 4.05%.  This purchase adds $59.20 to my annual dividend income.

On February 28,  TD announced a dividend payment date of April 30th to shareholders on record on April 10.  So, I will receive this dividend payment. 

Summary:

In the past, I have made some crappy investments. Investments like Cominar REIT (CUF.UN.TO), Dream Office REIT (D.UN.TO) , Enerplus (ERF), Cineplex (CGX.TO),  and High Liner Foods (HLF.TO).  All of these positions have fallen in price by large amounts and the first 3 have cut their distributions or dividends multiple times since I have owned them.  Dream Office REIT has rebounded over the last year or so, and the largest position of D.UN.TO for a profit.  I still maintain a position in D.UN.TO inside my TFSA in which the price is slightly down from my adjusted cost base of $26.72 per unit. 

I still hold these investments.

Along with the great investments I currently have in my portfolio, I am going to try to concentrate on the dividend growth stocks that have less noise and uncertainty going forward.

With the purchase of TD.TO, I now have positions in all the Big 5 Banks.

I will update my investment tab in early April with this position. 

Disclosure:  Long all mentioned stocks

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial planner, financial advisor, accountant or tax attorney. The information on this blog represents my own thoughts and opinions and should NOT be taken as investment or business advice.

Every individual should do their due diligence to make their own financial decisions based on their financial situation and tolerance for risk.

Dividend Income Update: February 2019

      

        The month of February 2019 is another month of dividend income landing in my accounts. This money is used to help pay my expenses if it is needed. If the money is not needed, it is ALL used to purchase new investments to further increase my cash flow.

       

 Non-registered Accounts

• Bank of Montreal (BMO) - $35.00
• Cineplex  (CGX) - $14.50
• Emera (EMA) - $58.75
• Enerplus (ERF)  -$ 5.58
• Shaw Communications (SJR.B)  - $19.75

Subtotal :  $133.58

TFSA

• A&W Royalties Income Fund (AW.UN) - $5.43
• Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund   (BPF.UN) - $26.91
• Cominar REIT (CUF.UN) - $12.84
• Dream Office REIT   (D.UN)  - $14.00
• Killam Properties REIT (KMP.UN) - $  16.11
• Royal Bank Of Canada (RY) - $19.60

Subtotal:  $94.89

Total = $228.47

    I received a total of $228.47 in dividend income for the month of February 2019.  This represents a 5.88% increase from 3 months ago and 14.86% decrease year over year.  

    

    I received $102.10 from option premiums within my investment accounts in February 2019.

    I will update my dividend income tab with the new amount I will include my option premium income also.  It is great to see money from passive income sources deposited into my brokerage account every single month.

How was your dividend income for February 2019?

Disclosure : Long all securities above.

Photo Credit: www.mipaq,co.za

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial planner, financial advisor, accountant or tax attorney. The information on this blog represents my own thoughts and opinions and should NOT be taken as investment or business advice.

Every individual should do their due diligence to make their own financial decisions based on their financial situation and tolerance for risk.

Portfolio Update: February 2019

The month of February 2019 is now behind us.  

On February 19, the Alberta government announced has signed contracts with Canada's two class 1 railroads to lease 4400 cars to transport Alberta oil to US and international markets. The price of Western Canada Select oil continues to trade well below the market price for Western Texas Intermediate price for a barrel of crude oil.

Towards the end of the month, the prime minister gave an order called "order in-council" which would allow the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Jody Wilson-Raybould, to give testimony to the House of Common's Justice Committee.  The former justice minister gave an opening statement which she tells of ongoing involvement and pressure by the government to interfere with a matter to due with SNC Lavalin.  After her testimony and then answering questions from members of the justice committee, the other federal parties are calling for an independent public inquiry and/or for Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, to immediately resign.  The various members of parliament are saying "the Prime Minister has lost the moral authority to govern and must resign.  When will he !".

 Portfolio Activity

On February 19, I sold one covered call contract on Telus Corporation (T.TO) with an expiration day of April 18, 2019 at $0.45.  I collected a premium of $34.05 after commissions.

On February 19, I sold out my position in Titanium Transportation (TTR.V).  This is an asset based trucking company that trades on the Venture Exchange in Canada.  This stock does not pay a dividend and became public less than 6 years ago.  This sale occurred in my margin account.

On February 20, I sold out of my position in iShares 1-5yrs Corporate Bond Index ETF within my TFSA.  The position was small and the yield was under 3%, which is barely above inflation.  I am currently looking to use the proceeds of this sale along with other money, to make a more advantageous investment.

On February 25, I sold 2 covered call contracts on WestJet Airlines (WJA.TO) with an expiration day of July 19 2019 at $0.40.  I collected a premium of $68.05.

Shares Purchased Via DRIP

1 unit of CUF.UN.TO @ $11.8855 for a total cost of $11.89 (TFSA)

I own 215 units of Cominar REIT (CUF.UN.TO).  Currently, CUF.UN pays $0.72 per unit per year, or $0.06 per unit monthly.  This DRIP adds $0.72 to my annual dividend income.

Currently, Enbridge does not have a DRIP program as it was cancelled in November 2018.  The dividend was paid on March 1.  So, I will receive a cheque in the mail from the transfer agent for one of my positions in Enbridge.  

Please note that if some brokerages DRIP shares when there is no DRIP program by the actually company.  This DRIP is when the brokerage buys the shares directly off the public market stock exchanges.

Dividend Increases

This month I received a total of 7 dividend increases.

On February 7 , Bell Canada Enterprises  (BCE.TO) announced a dividend increase of $0.2875 quarterly.  The annual dividend was increased from $3.02 to $3.17  per share per year.  This represents an increase of 4.97%.

I own 100 shares of BCE.TO, so this increase adds $15.00 to my annual dividend income.

On February 8, Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (BEP.UN.TO) announced a distribution increase of $0.025 USD per share quarterly.  The annual dividend was increased from $1.96 USD to $2.06 USD annually.  This represents an increase of 5.10%.

I own 33 units of BEP.UN.TO, so this increase adds $3.30 USD to my annual dividend income. At the time of this writing, $1 US is equivalent to $1.32965 CDN.  Therefore, the Canadian equivalent is an increase of $4.39.
 

On February 12, Killiam Properties REIT  (KMP.UN.TO)  announced a distribution increase of $0.02 per share per year.  The annual distribution was increased from $0.64 from $0.66 per unit per year.  This represents an increase of 3.125%.

I currently own 302 units of KMP.UN.TO ,so this increase adds $6.04 to my annual dividend income.

On February 13, A&W Royalties Income Fund (AW.UN.TO)  raised its monthly distribution from $0.143 to $0.147.  The annual distribution was increased from $ 1.716 to $1.764.  This represents an increase of 2.80%.

I currently own 38 units of AW.UN.TO, so this increase adds $1.82 to my annual dividend income.

On February 22, Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) raised its quarterly dividend from $0.98 to $1.02.  The annual dividend was increased from $3.92 to $4.08 per share per year.  This represents an increase of 4.08%.

I currently own 20 shares of RY.TO, so this increase adds $3.20 to my annual dividend income.

On February 26, Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) raised its quarterly dividend from $0.85 to $0.87.  The annual dividend was increased from $3.40 to $3.48 per share per year.  This represents an increase of  2.35%.

I currently own 61.940218 shares of BNS.TO across two accounts, so this increase adds $4.96 to my annual dividend income.

On February 28. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce "C.I.B.C" (CM.TO) raised its quarterly dividend from $1.36 to $1.40.  The annual dividend was increased from $5.44 to $5.60 per share per year.  This represents an increase of 2.94%.

I currently own 28 shares of CM.TO, so this increase adds  $4.48 to my annual dividend income.

These 7 increases add a total of $39.89 to my annual dividend income.  This is equivalent of investing $1139.71 of my own money at 3.5% yield.  I did not have to invest this money, by received this additional dividend income for being a shareholder or unit holder in various companies.

Summary:

As of March 2 , the value of the portfolio is $120443.51. This is a 1.727%  increase over last month's total.

Disclosure: Long all fore mentioned stocks.

Please Note:  Positions in Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) and Brookfield Renewables Partners (BEP.UN) pay dividends and distributions in US dollars, respectively.  My investment tab spreadsheet displays the Canadian dollar equivalent within 15 to 20 minutes of real time.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial planner, financial advisor, accountant or tax attorney. The information on this blog represents my own thoughts and opinions and should NOT be taken as investment or business advice.

Every individual should do their due diligence to make their own financial decisions based on their financial situation and tolerance for risk.