Portfolio Update - May 2024

 The month of May 2024 consisted of anticipation of a interest rate cut by the Bank of Canada.  This has been on the mind of homeowners and people looking to get into the housing market. 

 
The interest rate was increased drastically from 2022 to July 2023, where it has remained at 5% for almost a year.  As mortgages were coming up for renewal,  people are facing higher mortgage payments. As more and more mortgages are coming up for renewal, homeowners are going to have a lot less disposable income.   

The Bank of Canada had an interest rate decision on June 5, 2024.  The Bank of Canada governor has decreased the interest rate by 25bps, or 0.25%, to 4.75%.  This means people with variable rate mortgages, lines of credit, or variable rate loans, will see smaller payments.  Every bit helps!

Another major issue affect homeowners and renters is the drastic increase in property taxes across the country. In Edmonton, Alberta, the city council announced a 8.9% increase in property taxes.  So, this will mean higher property taxes for homeowners, and higher rents for renters.

The cost of groceries continues to rise, but at a slower pace.  The only thing I noticed that remained the same over the last several years are bananas. 

The S&P500 was up 3.07% over the past month.  

The S&P TSX Composite Index was down 1.13% over the past month.

Portfolio Activity

Margin Account Activity

A major thing occurred that was a big shock to me.  On June 3, Enerplus was acquired by Chord Energy Corporation.  Enerplus is a Canadian energy company that sold most of its Canadian operations to concentrate on the United States market.  Chord Energy Corporation is a United States company in the energy space, that trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol CHRD.   

   Pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement, by and among Chord, Enerplus and Spark Acquisition ULC, dated February 21, 2024, at closing each common share of Enerplus was exchanged for 0.10125 shares of Chord common stock and $1.84 in cash. As a result, Chord issued approximately 20.7 million shares of common stock in the Arrangement, which shares are listed for trading on NASDAQ. With the completion of the Arrangement, as of today, Enerplus common shares will no longer be listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange and are expected to be de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange after market close on June 3, 2024.
    As permitted in the Arrangement Agreement, the board of directors of Enerplus declared an additional dividend on May 23, 2024 of $0.232675 per common share of Enerplus that is payable on June 4, 2024 to Enerplus shareholders of record as of May 30, 2024. (Source : Yahoo Finance)

Besides the regular dividend from Enerplus, they also payed a second dividend.  So I received a dividend payment of $68.85 CAD for having 777 shares of Enerplus on the record date of May 22.  The second dividend payment was for $246.27 CAD for having 777 shares of Enerplus on the record date of May 30, 2024.  

With the merger, I received 78 shares of Chord Energy Corporation (CHRD) and received $1429.68 USD.  Actually, my brokerage converted this cash amount to CAD, so I received $1955.06 in Canadian dollars. 

This was a wake call to me, to open documents the same day I receive them from my brokerage.  Also, pay more attention to news about the positions I own via online sites like yahoo finance.

TFSA Activity

There has been no activity this account during May 2024.

Shares Purchased Via DRIP

3 shares of EMA.TO @ $49.39442 for a total cost of $148.18 (Margin)

1 share of FTS.TO @ $54.24986 for a total cost $54.25 (TFSA)

1 unit of KMP.UN @ $17.8235 for a total cost of $17.82 (TFSA)

1 unit of SRU.UN @ $23.1535 for a total cost of $23.15 (TFSA)

2 units of BPF.UN @ $15.7535 for a total cost of $31.51 (TFSA)

Click To Enlarge

I have some other positions with the DRIP turned on but might not have enough of a dividend to purchase a whole share. 

My Enbridge position directly with the transfer agent is set up to DRIP.  Around November 2018, Enbridge stopped their DRIP program.  If Enbridge decides to start a DRIP, then my shares will start to DRIP again automatically.  

Dividend Increases

On May 7, Telus increased their dividend from $0.3761 to $0.3891 CAD per share quarterly, or from $1.5044 to $1.5564 CAD annually.  This is an increase of 3.46%.  Telus has been increasing their dividend twice a year.

At the time of this writing, I currently own 472 shares of Telus. This increase adds $24.54 CAD to my annual dividend income. 

On May 29, Bank of Montreal increased their dividend from $1.51 CAD from $1.55 CAD per share quarterly, or from $6.04 CAD to $6.20 CAD per share annually.  This is an increase of 2.65%.  Bank of Montreal usually increases their dividend twice a year.

I currently own 85 shares of Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO).  This increase adds $13.60 CAD to my annual dividend income.

On May 30, Royal Bank of Canada increased their dividend from $1.38 CAD to $1.42 CAD per share quarterly, or from $5.52 CAD to $5.68 CAD 

per share annually.  This is an increase of 2.90%.  Royal Bank has been increasing their dividend 2 times a year. 

I currently own 56 shares of Royal Bank (RY.TO).  This increase adds 

$8.96 CAD to my annual dividend income. 

Dividend Decreases

There were no dividend decreases in April 2024. 

Summary: 

As of June 8, 2024, the total value of the portfolio is $229493.15 CAD. This is a 2.72% increase over last month's total.  

The portfolio is estimated to produce an estimate $11383.15 CAD in dividend income over the next 12 months. This is an increase of $355.10 CAD , or 3.23%. Some of the dividends in the Canadian stocks section are paid in US dollars, which are converted to Canadian dollars.

Googlesheets is still not operating properly.  So, I had to manually enter the market value for the REITS, BEP.UN, BPF.UN, and AW.UN. 

 

Please Note: Positions in Enerplus Corporation (ERF.TO), Restaurant Brands International (QSR.TO) , Intertape Polymer Group (ITP.TO), Brookfield Renewables Corporation (BEPC.TO), and Algonquin Power and Utilities (AQN.TO)  pay dividends in US dollars. Brookfield Renewables Partners (BEP.UN) pays distributions in US dollars. My investment tab spreadsheet displays the Canadian dollar equivalent within 15 to 20 minutes of real time. 

Disclosure: Long aforementioned 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.ir financial situation and tolerance for risk.