Bank of Nova Scotia, Realty Income, and Enterprise Products Partners: A long-term view of three high-yield dividend stocks

Buying and holding for the long term requires a different mindset: investors are not focused on today’s results, but on building positions with a horizon spanning decades. That approach typically favors companies with a track record of paying income through both strong and weak market conditions. Three high-yielders highlighted here are Bank of Nova Scotia, Realty Income, and Enterprise Products Partners.

Bank of Nova Scotia: dividend record and current yield

Bank of Nova Scotia has not increased its dividend every single year. However, it has paid a dividend every year since 1833—more than 150 years of continuous payments. The dividend yield is currently around 4.6%, which the article notes is more than four times higher than the yield of the S&P 500 index.

Realty Income: steady monthly payments and portfolio scale

Realty Income is described as a long-established, “boring” income option, with a 5.2% yield. The REIT has increased its monthly pay dividend for 31 consecutive years. It also has an investment-grade-rated balance sheet, and its funds from operations (FFO) payout ratio is described as comfortable at about 75%.

The company is the largest net-lease REIT, with a portfolio of more than 15,500 properties. The article states that around 79% of rents come from retail properties, with additional exposure to industrial assets, casinos, vineyards, and data centers. It also cites an average remaining lease term of over 8 years, suggesting that near-term economic stress may be less likely to coincide with a wave of lease renewals.

Enterprise Products Partners: toll-taker model and distribution coverage

Enterprise Products Partners operates in the energy sector, making it potentially more complex for investors to evaluate. The article argues that the company’s 5.7% distribution yield is supported by a “toll-taker” business model: Enterprise charges fees for the use of its North American energy infrastructure, where the volume of energy moving through its system matters more than the price of what is transported.

Enterprise has increased its distribution annually for 27 consecutive years, despite operating in a sector described as highly volatile. The article also characterizes the company as conservative with its finances, maintaining an investment-grade balance sheet. Distributions are described as covered 1.7x by distributable cash flow.

Dividend safety: why track records matter

While Scotiabank, Realty Income, and Enterprise all offer high yields, the article emphasizes that yield alone is not sufficient for long-term purchases. Instead, it points to their demonstrated ability to reliably pay dividends through different market conditions, supported by conservative business models.

Illustrative allocation: what $1,000 could buy

The article provides an example of how a $1,000 investment could be allocated: 14 shares of Bank of Nova Scotia, 15 shares of Realty Income, or 26 units of Enterprise. It also notes that investors may not want to sell these positions, though they might choose to add to them over time.