Canadian All-Star Stocks: Dividend Increases – Week Of 11 16

It has been quite a whirlwind as we are in the heart of earnings season. There is plenty of information to unpack from this past week, and investors can look forward to another busy earnings week ahead for many Canadian dividend stocks.

Several of the expected raises I had on my docket for next week, were pulled into this week. Which means as of today, I am not expecting any further dividend growth announcements by Canadian Dividend All Stars until late November or early December.

What happened this week? Let’s dig into all the action. Of note, all figures are in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

Recent dividend updates

This past week was yet another strong one for Canadian Dividend All-Stars. Although Magellan Aerospace (TSX:MAL) kept their dividend steady, many others came through with overdue raise.

Telus (TSX:T) and Loblaw (TSX:L) both came through with raises after a period of stagnation. Furthermore, Boyd Group (TSX:BYD), Hardwoods Distributions (TSX:HDI) and InterRent REIT (TSX:IIP.UN) all came through with their annual dividend raises.

Company	EST DGR	EST Increase	Actual DGR	Actual Increase	New Div
Telus	~7%	$0.0204	6.85%	$0.02	$0.3112
Loblaws	7.94%	$0.025	6.35%	$0.02	$0.335
Boyd Group	N/A	N/A	2.17%	$0.003	$0.141
InterRent REIT	N/A	N/A	5%	$0.0013	$0.0271
Hardwoods Distribution	N/A	N/A	17.65%	$0.015	$0.10

Let’s start with those overdue. There were some concerns when Telus, which raises the dividend bi-annually, skipped over its dividend growth announcement this past spring. Although disappointing, we were in the middle of a pandemic (still are) and doubts began to creep into investors minds.

Would the pandemic impact dividend growth moving forward? Investors can rest easy. Telus came through with a 6.85% raise, at the low end but very close to being inline with guidance for annual dividend growth of 7-10%. Equally as reassuring, the company re-introduced dividend growth guidance of 7-10% through 2022. 

Any of the big 3 telecoms including Telus, Bell, or Rogers Communications (TSE:RCI.B) are all still good Canadian companies.

Loblaws (TSE:L) pulls through

Loblaw came through with a 6.45% raise, which is slightly lower than my expectations.

The company had kept the dividend steady for 6 consecutive quarters despite operating in one of the least impacted industries. The raise effectively extends the company’s dividend growth streak to nine years.

Boyd Group (TSE:BYD) and Hardwoods Distribution (TSE:HDI) raise as well

I had Boyd Group and Hardwoods Distribution on my earnings calendar for this coming week, but instead they reported this week and it was good news for shareholders.

Boyd’s small 2.17% raise was inline with historical averages and extends the company’s dividend growth streak to 14 years. As a high-growth stock, the company’s low dividend growth rate is to be expected given that it prefers to deploy cash towards acquisitions.

For its part, Hardwoods Distribution’s 17.65% raise was well above its historical average of high, single-digit growth. With the raise, the company reached a decade worth of dividend growth.

InterRent REIT (TSE:IIP.UN) raises below historical averages

Finally, InterRent also came through with its annual raise and solidifies the notion that apartment REITs are more defensive in nature than other REIT industries.

InterRent’s 5% raise was slightly below historical averages for high, single-digit growth and extends its growth streak to 9 years.

Overall it seems that dividend growth investors finally have something to cheer about. After months of inactivity, the past couple of months have seen a considerable uptick in dividend growth announcements.

Former All Stars which cut the dividend earlier this year are also beginning to re-instate their dividend 

This past week, Sleep Country Canada (TSX:ZZZ) restored their dividend to pre-pandemic levels. Although they will still lose All-Star status, it is still very much welcomed by shareholders who held on.

Speaking of which – investors who held on to Sleep Country have done very well. Not only has it rebounded off lows in a BIG way, the stock is now up ~21% in 2020.