Dividend Portfolio Update - February 2016

Dividend Portfolio Value
By the end of February 29, 2016, my dividend portfolio balance was at $26,770.88. That’s an increase of $2,455 from the previous month.

The increase in portfolio value is attributable to a multitude of factors including the dividends, stock appreciation and additional fresh funds. And speaking of stock appreciation, there are two main stocks that shoot up in value in February which helped my portfolio value to climb higher.


Students Transportation is up by 50% from its low.



Dream Office REIT is up by 40% from its low.





Also, I finally reached a new milestone of $25K by mid-February. I hope that the next 25K threshold will be reached much quicker because the compound effect of the monthly dividends.
Usually I add $800 per month of fresh capital, combine that with monthly dividends of $150, my purchasing power now becomes $950 per month towards new stocks. Because of this compound effect of dividend reinvesting, my portfolio is growing 18% faster compared to previous years.

Dividends
Dividend income is a passive income for which I don’t have to work for. In February, I received a total of $158.33 in dividends vs $105.38 for the same period a year ago. That's an increase of $52.95 or 50% on year-over-year basis. My total Year-to-Date dividend income for 2016 is $330.67. Based on my forecast I should get around $2,000 in dividends in 2016. It doesn't sound like a big amount but it’s growing every year. All dividends are reinvested into dividend paying stocks.

Contributions
In February, I added $800 of fresh capital to my TFSA account. The maximum amount that I can contribute in 2016 is $5,500. Since I have contribution room from prior years I will continue to add $800 per month until I reach my maximum contribution.

My Investment Account (Tax Free Savings Account)
My portfolio consists of 25 Canadian dividend paying stocks. Most of my stocks pay dividends on monthly basis. This allows me to collect dividends and reinvest them into dividend paying stocks more rapidly.

Transactions
Usually I make one purchase each month, but this time things were different. In February I took a closer look at my portfolio and realised that a big portion of dividends were coming from the oil sector. So I decided to diversify my dividend income into different sectors. So here’s what I did.


I sold two pipelines stocks that I bought in December 2015 and booked about 10% capital gain. Inter Pipeline (IPL.TO) was sold for $22.43 and Pembina Pipeline (PPL.TO) was sold for $32.88. I sold both companies before the earning reports which were pretty solid. I like the pipelines and I will probably own them in the future, but there’s only one thing that I’m concerned about. The big chunk of revenue of these companies come from oil sands transportation. Oil sands companies don’t make money in this low oil environment meaning that if there will be less oil flowing through their pipes than their cash flow will decline to the levels where they won’t be able to cover the dividend. Since the dividend income is important to me I decided to relocate the money into other sectors.


The cash from IPL.TO sale was relocated into Pure Multi Family REIT (RFU.UN.V). I bought 115 shares at $6.62 per share. This is a new position in my portfolio. I have been following this company for some time and decided to take advantage while they were still in correction mode.

 


The cash from PPL.TO sale was relocated into Medical Facilities (DR.TO). I bought 45 shares at $14.34 per share. Medical Facilities is a cyclical stock for me. I buy it when it’s trading below $15 and I sell it when it’s trading near $20 level. It’s range bound and also pays a good dividend while I wait.


This stock flip will not affect my dividend income since all four companies have relatively the same dividend yield. The fresh capital was used to buy 60 shares of Morneau Shepell (MSI.TO) at $14.85 per share. This is a well-run company. They are in the human resources consulting and outsourcing business. Dividend yield is 5.4% paid monthly and there’s more room for dividend growth since their payout ratio is dropping consistently. I owned them in the past but sold them a few years at higher price. I think they are cheap now and represent a good buying opportunity for long term hold.


9 comments:

  1. DIS,

    It's great to see another investor with a portfolio that's smaller than some of the bigger blogs out there. It reminds me how quickly a snow ball can roll. Mine is smaller than yours but yours has already gained a lot of momentum! Keep it up and it will only pick up more speed!

    -Dividend Monster

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi DM,

      Thanks for your support. The snow ball is on the roll and it started to have a positive impact on my monthly purchasing power.

      Take care!

      Delete
  2. Dream Office is getting a good run that's for sure. I was hoping the price would stay low for a while so we can continue DRIPing at a discount. Congrats on receiving over $150 in dividend income in Feb. Keep that snow ball rolling.

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    Replies
    1. We should get a pullback on Dream Office REIT, then you'll be able to DRIP it at deeper discount. Hold on, I think they announced that they are suspending the DRIP program to avoid share dilution going forward. Correct me if I'm wrong...

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  3. it's a great time to buy canandian stock due to the currency vs the dollars. I'd love to scoop up some more in Canadian dollars, but I don't have access. :(

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    Replies
    1. Hi Vivianne,
      When oil goes up, Canadian dollar goes up as well. There might be another swing down within the few month in oil prices. Could be an opportunity to scoop up some at discount. Take care!

      Delete
  4. Always nice seeing that passive income roll in. Congrats on a great year over year increase too. You're on your way to hitting your target of $2K for the year and it is a big amount when you think about it. Imagine getting an extra $2K for just being you. Let's say you weren't a dividend investor and on New Year's eve someone gave you $2K just because. Keep buying those quality names and watch those dividends continue to grow year after year. Looking to see some CAD banks making your portfolio one day too.

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  5. Hi DivHut,

    Thanks for your support. Yes, 2K in dividends will be a major milestone for me. That's enough money to get 2 full positions. I plan to add banks as of next year. They are great businesses.

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  6. Congrats on hitting the $25k milestone. Since you're adding $950 a month, your next $25k will come a lot faster.

    ReplyDelete