Top 20 Canadian Dividend Stocks

Top 20 Canadian Dividend Stocks

On the Canadian stock market, we find a lot of great dividend paying companies. Considering the economic context, I would rather invest in a Canadian corporation than any other companies. Since the banking system has proven to be as solid as rock, Canadian stocks have their feet on solid ground enabling them to jump even higher. If you had missed yesterday’s post, you will find the top 10 Canadian dividend stocks. In order to build the top 10 Canadian Dividend Stocks, we used some severe criteria (such as a minimum dividend growth requirement and dividend payout ratio under 70%).

Unfortunately, 10 Canadian dividend stocks might not be enough to build a solid dividend portfolio. In order to find more high quality dividend stocks, I have changed some of my search criteria. Here’s how I have created the best 20 Canadian Dividend Stocks:

- Dividend minimum yield: 3%

- Dividend maximum yield: no maximum

- Dividend payout ratio: under 80%

- P/E ratio: under 20

There are obviously some overlaps with the top 10 but it still gives you more options with softer search criteria. The goal of this list is to include stocks that might be overpriced or having a higher dividend payout ratio due to specific and known situations. This can enlarge your scope and give you more options to include Canadian dividend stocks in your portfolio.

***last edit April 18th 2011***

Ticker	Name	Price	Dividend Yield	Payout Ratio
MKP	MCAN Mortgage Corp	14.5	7.45	67.51
CTY	Calian Technologies Ltd	18.43	5.43	47.87
NPR-U	Northern Property Real Estate Investment Trust	28.53	5.36	57.54
SLF	Sun Life Financial Inc	29.738	4.84	50.94
SJR/B	Shaw Communications Inc	19.23	4.78	69.85
PNG	Pacific Northern Gas Ltd	26.4	4.55	60.85
GWO	Great-West Lifeco Inc	26.945	4.56	70.37
PWF	Power Financial Corp	30.97	4.52	66.64
BMO	Bank of Montreal	62.1	4.51	58.75
T	TELUS Corp	49.08	4.28	62.09
IGM	IGM Financial Inc	48.17	4.26	73.99
CM	Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce/Canada	82.856	4.2	59.13
POW	Power Corp of Canada	28.4	4.09	61.32
X	TMX Group Inc	39.98	4.01	58.15
FTS	Fortis Inc/Canada	31.7	3.66	85.61
BNS	Bank of Nova Scotia	57.45	3.62	50.1
CJR/B	Corus Entertainment Inc	20.924	3.59	38.23
ADW/A	Andrew Peller Ltd	8.98	3.67	50.25
NA	National Bank of Canada	77.36	3.41	41.4
RY	Royal Bank of Canada	60.39	3.31	57.26

The first thing I liked when I pulled out the top 20 dividend paying stocks is that they are all over 3% (which is about the rate for a 5 years certificate of deposits). But what is even more interesting is that dividend income is less taxed than interest income. Therefore, the 3% dividend yield worth a lot more than the 3% from a CD.

Top Canadian Dividend Stocks = Financial Sector

Among the top 20 Canadian Dividend Stocks, you find a lot of financials. It is normal as the financial sector represent more than 20% of the Canadian Stock Market. Canadian Banks are heavily regulated and evolve in a ogopoly. These 2 factors contribute to make them some of the best Canadian Dividend payers on the stock market. Overtime, they have built a reputation of dividend stocks and now most Canadian investors count on banks in their portfolio to bring both capital growth and dividend growth. If you are looking to build a Canadian Dividend portfolio, Canadian banks should be place at the core of your investment account.

There are more to the Top 20 Canadian Dividend Stocks

However, you are also able to find other solid companies paying great dividends. After the 2008 stock market crash, others companies have proven that they are as solid as a rock. Communications and medias seem to be the next big dividend payer in Canada. They actualy evolve in a similar type of market as banks since they don’t have much competitors. Therefore, each of them have their fair share of the market and generate enough cash flow to constantly increase their dividend payouts. This is why they are among the best 20 Canadian Dividend Stocks.