5 Strong Dividend Stocks With Reasonable Valuations

With the exception of a few growth investments, I am a value investor at the core. But in recent years finding dividend paying stocks at reasonable valuations has become more difficult.While this list cannot contain all dividend value stocks, it contains most of my favorites that I believe carry a good combination of value, yield, and upside.Laurentian Bank of Canada (OTCPK: LRCDF)For investors looking to diversify outside of U.S. financial institutions, Laurentian Bank offers an interesting dividend value play.The Quebec-based bank is smaller than the major Canadian banks, carries a market capitalization of US$1.1 billion, and has been around since 1846.But while most Canadian banks trade at around twice their book value, Laurentian Bank trades at roughly one times its book value. Despite the discount, Laurentian Bank is highly profitable and trades at 9.0 times est. 2015 earnings and 8.3 times est. 2016 earnings; again a discount to most other Canadian banks trading above 10 times forward earnings.The bank also pays a dividend higher than any of the four major U.S. banks coming in at 4.3%. And compared to the U.S. banks, it held up much better for shareholders during the financial crisis. While U.S. banks slashed dividends, Laurentian Bank raised its dividend which is currently 69% higher than it was at the end of 2007.Risks: Laurentian Bank is tied to the Canadian economy and, more specifically, to the Quebec economy. The drop in oil prices could put pressure on the Canadian... Read more