One of the rewarding elements of investing is discovering that excellent must-have income-producing inventory you may maintain perpetually. In brief, shopping for shares of these shares right now generally is a profitable alternative for large long-term development.

However what inventory must you preserve shopping for shares hand over fist? The reply to that query might shock you.

A inventory to carry perpetually

That inventory that I completely love and plan to maintain shopping for shares of is Fortis (TSX:FTS). For these which are unaware of Fortis, the corporate is among the largest utilities in North America. Fortis has operations throughout 10 areas in North America that features elements of Canada, the U.S., and the Caribbean.

Fortis’s secure enterprise mannequin is each predictable and rising. That secure income stream is backed by long-term regulatory contracts that usually span a long time in period. In whole, the corporate boasts over 3.4 million utility prospects throughout its huge community, which incorporates each gasoline and electrical segments.

That’s an unbelievable defensive moat. In reality, there are few shares available on the market right now which are as defensive as Fortis. In contrast to discretionary client spending and even the need in grocery buying, the service that Fortis supplies can’t be traded down. This feat makes Fortis probably the greatest long-term candidates for any well-diversified portfolio due to that immense defensive moat.

And that’s not even the very best half.

Fortis isn’t as boring as you suppose it’s

Utility shares like Fortis are sometimes perceived as being boring shares. It is because they adhere to a secure enterprise mannequin that hardly ever adjustments. The idea is that the soundness and skinny margins in that enterprise mannequin depart little room after dividend payouts to put money into any actual development.

That view couldn’t be farther from the reality.

In contrast to a lot of its conventional utility friends, Fortis has taken an aggressive stance on development. In reality, the corporate has ballooned from $390 million in property to nicely over $64 billion in beneath 4 a long time. Throughout that point, Fortis executed a collection of well-timed acquisitions that expanded the corporate’s footprint into new markets.

Lately, that development has shifted internally in the direction of upgrading its present services and transitioning over to renewables. Fortis has allotted billions in a capital funding fund for that very function.

Turning to outcomes, Fortis introduced outcomes for the newest quarter simply final month. In that quarter, the corporate reported internet earnings of $370 million, or $0.77 per frequent share. This bettered the $328 million, or $0.69 per frequent share, reported in the identical interval final yr.

Don’t neglect: Fortis is a superb earnings inventory

One of many explanation why I preserve shopping for shares of Fortis is due to the corporate’s excellent dividend. Fortis pays out a quarterly dividend that presently affords a yield of 4.23%. Which means a $40,000 funding in Fortis will produce an earnings of simply shy of $1,700 within the first yr.

Potential buyers ought to pay attention to two key methods to develop that potential earnings even additional.

First, buyers not prepared to attract on that earnings but can reinvest it till wanted. That is very true for buyers with a decade or extra till retirement. This leads me to my second level: dividend hikes.

Fortis has a longtime cadence of offering buyers with an annual uptick to that dividend. In reality, Fortis has continued that custom for an unbelievable 49 years with out fail. It additionally implies that Fortis is on monitor with its subsequent improve to turn into solely the second Dividend King in Canada with 50 consecutive years of will increase.

In brief, the long-term potential of Fortis is off the size: but one more reason why I wish to preserve shopping for shares of this dividend inventory.

Why I preserve shopping for shares of this dividend inventory

No funding is with out threat, and that features Fortis. Fortuitously, Fortis supplies stellar development prospects, a juicy earnings, and sufficient defensive enchantment to bolster any long-term portfolio.

In my view, Fortis needs to be a core holding of any well-diversified portfolio.

Purchase it, maintain it, and watch your earnings develop.