Canadian Utilities

ATCO and its main subsidiary, Canadian Utilities, have two major pluses that help them cut their risk: both get around two-thirds of their earnings from regulated power and gas utilities, and both have many clients under long-term contracts. The resulting stable revenue streams help them invest in new projects and raise their dividends.

ATCO LTD. (Toronto symbols ACO.X [class I non-voting] …read more »

We’ve long held a high opinion of Canadian Utilities, because the company’s regulated power plants and natural-gas distribution businesses give it steady cash flow. That gives the stock long-term stability and helps it maintain its dividend.

You can also profit from Canadian Utilities through ATCO, its parent company. ATCO’s holding-company discount lets you buy Canadian Utilities, and get ATCO’s other …read more »

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $57 and CU.X [class B voting] $57; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 125.9 million; Market cap: $7.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadian-utilities.com) earned $166 million in the three months ended March 31, 2011. That’s up 7.8% from $154 million a year earlier. Earnings …read more »

These three utilities are using the steady cash flows from their regulated businesses to invest in new projects. That should spur their long-term earnings, and give them more cash to keep raising their dividends.

TRANSCANADA CORP. $39 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 699.5 million; Market cap: $27.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: …read more »

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU (class A non-voting) $50 and CU.X (class B voting) $50; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 125.8 million; Market cap: $6.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadian-utilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta. It also operates a total of 20 power plants in Canada, Australia, and the …read more »

In light of today’s low interest rates, we continue to recommend that income-seeking investors buy high-quality utility stocks instead of bonds.

These five utilities’ dividend yields have come down lately, but that’s because their stock prices are rising, not because they are cutting their payouts. In fact, all five have been raising their dividends, and their steady cash flows will …read more »

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU (class A non-voting) $37 and CU.X (class B voting) $36; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 125.6 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; SI Rating: Above Average) earned $73.5 million, or $0.59 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2009. That’s a 3.8% rise from the $70.8 million, or $0.56 …read more »

Tax-loss selling (or tax-loss harvesting) occurs when you deliberately sell a security at a loss in order to offset capital gains in Canada. You can then use these losses to offset your taxable capital gains.

For example, the 2008 deadline for tax-loss selling on the Toronto Stock Exchange was December 24, 2008. If you sold at a loss on or before …read more »

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. $39 (Toronto symbol CU; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 125.5 million; Market cap: $5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; SI Rating: Above Average) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta. It also operates power plants and sells its expertise to other companies.

Canadian Utilities recently raised its quarterly dividend by 6.0%, to $0.3525 a share from $0.3325. The …read more »

All four of these utility companies have increased their dividends in the past few weeks. We feel their high-quality businesses and strong balance sheets will continue to generate plenty of cash flow for investments in new growth projects and more dividend hikes.

TRANSCANADA CORP. $33 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 616 million; Market cap: $20.3 billion; …read more »