Dividend shares can look easy, however February can punish lazy picks. A excessive yield can disguise a shrinking enterprise, an excessive amount of debt, or a payout that solely works if charges fall quick. The perfect TSX dividend shares often share a couple of traits: money circulation that reveals up quarter after quarter, property with actual resale worth, and a payout ratio that leaves room for a nasty yr. It additionally helps when administration treats the dividend like a popularity, not a advertising line. If you need revenue you possibly can sleep on, it is best to concentrate on sturdiness first, then yield. So let’s take a look at one dividend inventory to think about.
MRD
Melcor Developments (TSX:MRD) doesn’t get the identical consideration as the large banks or pipelines, nevertheless it sits in a well-recognized Canadian candy spot. It’s an actual property improvement and asset administration firm based mostly in Alberta, constructing worth by taking uncooked land and turning it into communities and industrial tasks, whereas additionally holding income-producing properties. It owns and manages a mixture of retail, workplace, industrial, and different actual property, which supplies it a number of levers to drag relying in the marketplace. The diversified actual property developer can promote land, lease area, recycle capital, and hold accumulating hire whereas it waits for higher circumstances.
The largest story over the past yr has been simplification and management. In April 2025, it hit a significant milestone by closing the acquisition of the remaining public belief items of Melcor actual property funding belief (REIT), bringing the income-producing properties absolutely again below its umbrella.
The dividend story additionally improved, which is the half revenue traders truly care about. In 2025, it lifted its quarterly dividend to $0.13 per share from $0.11, and it paid a complete of $0.48 per share for the yr, versus $0.44 in 2024. That’s not a flashy soar, nevertheless it alerts confidence, and it reveals administration needs the dividend to maneuver in the fitting course once more after prior cuts in earlier years. When you’re purchasing in February, that upward pattern can matter as a lot because the beginning yield.
Earnings assist
Now let’s get into earnings, as a result of the comeback case wants numbers behind it. In Q3 2025, Melcor reported income of $72.5 million and web revenue of $14.1 million. Primary earnings got here in at $0.46 per share, a pointy enchancment from the loss posted in Q3 2024, and it generated funds from operations of $23.4 million within the quarter. These outcomes additionally confirmed how lumpy the enterprise might be, as a result of land gross sales and venture timing could make one quarter look dramatically higher than one other.
The stability sheet issues simply as a lot for a dividend identify, particularly one tied to actual property. As of Sept. 30, 2025, whole liquidity stood at about $193.1 million, and whole basic debt sat close to $593.9 million, down from roughly $611.3 million on the finish of 2024. That course is what you wish to see. It tells you the dividend inventory retains working the debt down whereas it funds improvement and helps the dividend. It additionally reduces the danger of a dividend lower triggered by refinancing strain.
So what about valuation and what you’re truly paying right this moment? Proper now it trades at simply 8.5 instances earnings, with a ahead annual dividend of $0.52, which works out to a yield round 3.2%. That valuation appears to be like modest in comparison with many TSX “secure dividend” favourites. It additionally suggests the market nonetheless views it as cyclical and unsure, which might create alternative if operations keep regular. Actually, right here’s what $7,000 might convey right this moment.
| COMPANY | RECENT PRICE | NUMBER OF SHARES | ANNUAL DIVIDEND | ANNUAL TOTAL PAYOUT | FREQUENCY | TOTAL INVESTMENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRD | $16.35 | 428 | $0.52 | $222.56 | Quarterly | $6,997.80 |
Silly takeaway
This inventory could possibly be a purchase for somebody searching for a February dividend choose that isn’t priced like a TSX movie star. The enchantment comes from an inexpensive valuation, a dividend that has began to climb once more, and a enterprise that owns actual property relatively than hype. The dangers are clear, too: earnings can swing with land gross sales, actual property values can wobble, and Alberta-focused publicity can amplify cycles. If you need a gradual, boring dividend machine, it might not really feel as easy as a utility. When you can settle for some lumpiness in trade for worth and a rising payout, it deserves a spot in your shortlist.
