TD is a dividend leader

Article Excerpt

Like most Canadian banks, TD has consistently raised its dividend over the last 20 years. The bank’s continued success at finding new areas for revenue growth should sustain those increases. TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $60 (Toronto symbol TD; Income Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $114.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 3.7%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.td.com) gets 62% of its earnings from Canadian retail banking; that operation serves 15 million customers through 1,157 branches. In the U.S., the bank operates 1,264 branches along the East Coast, from Maine to Florida. This business supplies 26% of its earnings. The remaining 12% comes from TD’s wholesale banking business; it offers securities trading and investment banking services such as stock underwriting. Like most Canadian banks, TD has long history of dividends: in the past 20 years, the bank has raised its dividend by 809.1%. The current annual rate of $2.20 a share yields 3.9%. In its latest fiscal year, TD…