Updating Emera Inc., Canadian Utilities Ltd. and Atco Ltd.

Article Excerpt

EMERA INC. $43 (www.emera.com) earned $2.23 a share in 2014, up 13.8% from $1.96 in 2013. Revenue jumped 33.3%, to $3.0 billion from $2.2 billion. These gains are largely due to the company’s November 2013 purchase of three gas-fired power plants in New England for $541 million U.S. Higher earnings from its energy-trading business also contributed to the increase. In addition, Emera raised its quarterly dividend by 3.2% with the May 2015 payment, to $0.40 a share from $0.3875. The new annual rate of $1.60 yields 3.7%. Best Buy. CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. $40 (www.canadianutilities.com) has raised its quarterly dividend by 10.3%, to $0.295 a share from $0.2675. The new annual rate of $1.18 yields 3.0%. Buy. ATCO LTD. $48 (www.atco.com) is the parent company of Canadian Utilities (see above). It recently raised its dividend by 15.1%. The new annual rate of $0.99 yields 2.1%. Best Buy. Buy. …