Canadian GDP shrank in August, marking two straight months of reports from Statistics Canada that failed to produce growth. This his after a second-quarter in which the Canadian economy grew at a remarkable 4.5% pace.
With a slowdown in the latter half of 2017 let’s look at 2 dividend stocks that investors can target.
Hydro One Ltd. (TSX:H) is a company engaged in the transmission and distribution of electricity in the province of Ontario. It recently announced a $6.7 billion acquisition of Avista Corp. which will give the company access to more than 700,000 consumers in the U.S. In its second-quarter results Hydro One saw earnings per share dip to $0.20 per share from $0.26 per share in Q2 2016, in part due to a milder-than-expected summer.
The company hiked its quarterly dividend by 5% on May 4 to bring it to $0.22 per share, representing a dividend yield of 3.9%.
Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX:ATD.B) operates more than 12,000 convenience stores around the world. The company offers a modest dividend of $0.09 per share at a 0.6% yield. Retail sales at convenience stores have broadly dipped in Canada in 2017, but this company has locations across the U.S. and around the world.
Convenience stores are one of the more robust options in difficult economic times due to low prices and the essentials provided. Investors who are betting on a prolonged slowdown should consider Alimentation Couche-Tard, especially after the stock has been largely flat in 2017.
