On Thursday Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe hinted to attendees of the Australian Business Economists and Anika Foundation lunch that he would be prepared to unleash further interest rate cuts if Australia's economic growth faltered.
He also warned that rates could be at these low levels for some time to come.
In light of this, if you haven't already done so, now could be the time to switch out of assets like bond yields or term deposits into dividend shares.
Three top dividend shares that I would buy right now are listed below. Here's why I like them:
Aventus Group (ASX: AVN)
Aventus is an owner and operator of large format retail centres (retail parks) throughout Australia. Thanks to its high occupancy rates and periodic rental increases, I believe it is well-placed to grow its distribution at a modest rate over the coming years. At present its units provide a trailing 6.9% distribution yield.
National Storage REIT (ASX: NSR)
This self-storage operator is another dividend share that I think is worth considering. Thanks to the success of its developments and growth through acquisition strategy, National Storage has been able to grow its distribution consistently over the last five years. I believe this strategy still has a lot of legs and could drive solid distribution growth over the medium term. I estimate that its units currently offer a forward 5.7% distribution yield.
Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC)
Thanks to favourable moves by APRA in recent weeks, I think the outlook for the banking sector has improved greatly. Whilst this could arguably make any of the big four banks worth considering, if you're in search of income then it is hard to look past Westpac's shares. At present the shares of Australia's oldest bank provide a very generous trailing fully franked 6.5% dividend yield.
