Could now be a good time to boost my passive income streams by buying more dividend shares for my portfolio? I certainly think so!
I like the look of some of the shares I see at what I regard as bargain prices right now. Here are two I will be happy to buy in April, if I have spare cash to invest.
M&G
I already own shares in asset manager M&G (LSE: MNG). But a recent share price fall combined with an increased dividend means the current yield is 10.9%. A double-digit yield from a FTSE 100 share like M&G is not very common.
Could it be a signal that some investors fear a dividend cut? After all, choppy markets may lead to investors withdrawing funds from asset managers, hurting revenues and profits. M&G made a £1.6bn post-tax loss last year.
That sounds bad, but changing asset values can reflect reported earnings values of firms like M&G substantially. I see the underlying business as being in good health. The company raised its annual dividend by 7%.
It has also spent half a billion pounds over the past year buying back its own shares. That is a vote of confidence by management that it has ample cash to spare, in my opinion.
With a strong brand, ongoing customer demand for financial services and a footprint in over two dozen markets, I think M&G has solid future potential. The shares have fallen 19% in a year and I regard the current price as attractive.
Legal & General
Among the other dividend shares on my April shopping list is another financial services provider, Legal & General (LSE: LGEN).
The fund manager has a well-known brand, storied heritage and large customer base. It is also a profit machine, reporting post-tax earnings of over £2bn in each of the past two years. For a firm with a market capitalisation of under £14bn, that is impressive. It also means this dividend share now trades on a price-to-earnings ratio under 6. That looks cheap to me for a high-quality FTSE 100 firm like this.
Customers withdrawing funds is a risk to revenues at L&G just like it is for M&G. I think the company’s diversified business in multiple markets may help it maintain its strong performance. Even in its worst year out of the past five, the business managed to book post-tax earnings of £1.3bn.
Although dividends are never guaranteed, Legal & General’s strategy is to raise the annual payout by a mid-single-digit percentage amount. That has meant a 5% increase in each of the past two years. I think this is likely again this year. The yield is currently 8.4%.
Legal & General has a higher yield than many FTSE 100 dividend shares. But it is a well-established, highly profitable and proven business. I would be happy to tuck it away in my portfolio for the long term.
