I Caught COVID. 3 Dividends I Received in My Sleep

Like many Canadians, I didn’t think I’d catch COVID. But I tested positive earlier this week. Actually, I know a few people who have contracted the coronavirus more than once. So, it may be more common than you think.

My luck wasn’t bad. I haven’t experienced any serious symptoms. Cough. Fever. Sore throat. Stuffy/runny nose. They were my symptoms. Oh, and I had a temporary loss of taste yesterday as well. I thank God that it came back this morning and I was able to enjoy the sweetness of honey again. Heck, I didn’t notice how flavourful my toothpaste was!

COVID’s still here but Canadian’s don’t care. Okay, that’s a big generalization. But it’s safe to say that most Canadian’s don’t care. For example, my friend just went to the free VMO concert and she said that except for her, no one wore masks. That is, most didn’t wear masks.

That’s not all. The first weekend of July, I went to the biggest mall nearby, masks or no masks, it was full of people. So, although COVID is still here, economic activity seems to continue as usual (or as close to normal as possible).

I feel like I’m almost recovered from COVID. I have to be for my post-secondary financial planning midterm next week. Otherwise, I’d have to make another arrangement with the instructor somehow.

Yes, sleep and my course work have been my focus during my COVID-contracted days. I had to reluctantly tune down my work that I enjoy so much. If you don’t want to be like me, stay masked up, keep social distancing, and wash hands often with soap. You can’t be too careful out there!

Although I had to reduce my workload, I’m grateful for my dividends. Here are a few dividend stocks I received income from this month while I was sleeping.

goeasy

goeasy (TSX:GSY) is a leading non-prime consumer lender in Canada. The rising interest rate environment doesn’t bode well short-term for the lender, but it is a needed product and service for Canadians who need the financing.

At $96.27 per share at writing, the stock is undervalued at about 8.7 times blended earnings for its potential to grow earnings at a double-digit rate in the long run. The stock also yields close to 3.8%, which is quite competitive.

Restaurant Brands

High inflation is not good for Restaurant Brands (TSX:QSR)(NYSE:QSR) due to higher input costs such as for coffee beans. The company’s trailing-12-month (“TTM”) gross profit rate is 41.7%, down substantially from the pre-pandemic 2019 of 58.0%.

Thankfully, from a business standpoint, operating margin didn’t get cut nearly as much. TTM operating margin was 32.7%, down from 36.2% in 2019. Its TTM revenues also rose 5.8% from 2019.

The stock yields about 4.1% at writing. A nice dividend that’s well protected by its free cash flow generation due to its low-capex franchisee business model.

Dream Industrial REIT

Rising interest rates scare money away from real estate stocks like Dream Industrial REIT (TSX:DIR.UN) that are heavy in debt because of mortgages.

I don’t know what maneuver management did but its Q1 weighted average face interest rate on debt was ultra-low at 0.85% versus 2.44% a year ago. Kudos to management for this.

The REIT is also in a good business, growing an industrial real estate portfolio. The Q1 in-place and committed occupancy rate was 98.7% versus 97.2% a year go. Its Q1 FFO per unit also increased close to 16% year over year.

Its portfolio has a weighted average lease term of 4.6 years that will keep cash flows stable. The stock has fallen to $11.81 per unit, equating to a juicy yield of 6.0% paid out as monthly cash distributions.

All three dividend stocks offer excellent value here. However, the stock market can continue to sell off over the next months as the Bank of Canada continue raising rates to fight inflation. So, only consider investing your long-term capital (at least 3 to 5 year investment horizon).

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Disclosure: As of writing, we own on the TSX: DIR.UN, GSY, and QSR.

Disclaimer: I am not a certified financial advisor. This article is for educational purposes, so consult a financial advisor and or tax professional if necessary before making any investment decisions.