What are we looking for?
September has a well-earned reputation as the most unpredictable month for equity markets. With investors back from the summer lull and monetary policy uncertainty still looming, volatility often takes centre stage and stock indices can falter.
For Canadians navigating this choppy stretch, dividend growth stocks – especially in defensive corners of the market – offer a valuable cushion and potential stability amid the turbulence.
The TSX has continued its strong run in 2025, so we deployed Trading Central’s Quantamental analysis to spotlight stocks that distinguish themselves with strong dividends, sustainable growth and top rankings.
The screen
We used Trading Central’s Strategy Builder to screen for companies with a market capitalization of at least $2-billion, focusing on established and stable leaders.
Our dividend criteria included a minimum dividend yield of 2 per cent, five-year dividend growth of at least 5 per cent and dividend coverage greater than 150 per cent. A higher coverage percentage signals that a company earns significantly more than it pays out in dividends, enhancing sustainability.
Finally, we set a minimum threshold of 50 out of 100 for the Trading Central Quantamental Rating, a proprietary fundamental analysis rating that evaluates stocks on a scale from 0 (most bearish) to 100 (most bullish). This rating integrates key factors such as valuation, growth, quality, price momentum and income metrics to provide a comprehensive assessment of a company’s fundamentals.
For added context, we included each stock’s year-to-date and one-year performance.
More about Trading Central
Trading Central is a global leader in financial market research and investment analytics for retail online brokers and institutions. Its product suite provides actionable trading ideas based on technical and fundamental research covering stocks, exchange-traded funds, indexes, forex, options and commodities. Strategy Builder, our stock screener, is available through leading retail brokers in Canada and worldwide.
What we found
Topping our list is Toronto-Dominion Bank TD-T, a heavyweight with a market cap of $176.4-billion, making it one of Canada’s largest financial institutions. TD offers a dividend yield of 4.06 per cent, supported by a five-year dividend growth rate of 6.64 per cent and a robust dividend coverage ratio of 280 per cent. The stock boasts a Quantamental Rating of 69, one of the highest among blue-chip peers, and has returned 35.1 per cent year-to-date and 29.3 per cent over the past year, demonstrating both resilience and growth.
Barrick Mining Corp. ABX-T, one of the world’s largest gold miners, claims the top Quantamental Rating on our list at 72, owing to high ratings in growth, quality and momentum factors. Though the dividend yield is a moderate 2.2 per cent, Barrick’s dividend growth rate stands at 7.9 per cent over five years and coverage sits at an impressive 397 per cent. The miner has surged 62.7 per cent year-to-date and 43.2 per cent in the past year, reflecting strong commodity tailwinds and operational discipline. Barrick’s high quant score suggests continued leadership potential among resource stocks.
Maple Leaf Foods Inc. MFI-T, a protein company, leads the list for year-to-date (73.7 per cent) and one-year (58.6 per cent) return, the highest momentum in this group. While its dividend yield is 2.71 per cent, a steady 7.69-per-cent five-year growth rate and 157-per-cent coverage ratio signal both consistency and ongoing capacity to reward shareholders. For those seeking exposure to consumer defensives showing rapid share price appreciation, Maple Leaf stands out as a noteworthy 2025 performer.
Trading Central Strategy Builder provides a backtesting capability to evaluate how well an investing strategy would have worked in the past. Using a five-year historical period with quarterly rebalancing, the screen described had a 12-per-cent annualized return, in line with the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
The investment ideas presented here are for information only. They do not constitute advice or a recommendation by Trading Central with respect to investment in financial instruments. Investors should conduct further research before investing.
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