canadian utilities

All four of these power and gas utilities reported lower earnings for the second quarter of 2018. Moreover, rising interest rates have hurt their appeal among income-seeking investors. Higher rates will also increase their borrowing costs as they raise funds for new projects.


Even so, most of their revenue comes from regulated operations....

Share prices for these four power producers have dropped recently. That’s mainly because rising interest rates have increased the appeal of bonds for income-seeking investors. As well, higher interest rates will make it more expensive for utilities to refinance their own outstanding bonds.


However, all four of these utilities get most of their cash flow from rate-regulated businesses, so they should be able to pass on any higher costs to their customers....

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $34 and CU.X [class B voting] $34; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 271.1 million; Market cap: $9.2 billion; Dividend yield: 4.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia....

Rising interest rates have increased the attractiveness of bonds and hurt interest in high-yielding dividend stocks like these four utilities. However, steady cash flows from their high-quality operations will continue to let them keep increasing their payouts....

Tax-loss selling gains momentum toward year’s end, but is it worth it for investors?

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. $39 (www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. The company earned $0.30 a share in the third quarter of 2017, down 25.0% from $0.40 a year earlier. If you disregard gains on the sale of assets and other unusual items, earnings were unchanged....

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $38 and CU.X [class B voting] $38; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 268.1 million; Market cap: $10.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia....

Canadian Utilities and parent company ATCO give investors two ways to buy essentially the same businesses. Still, income seekers should pick Canadian Utilities, while value investors should go with ATCO.

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $39 and CU.X [class B voting] $39; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 270.4 million; Market cap: $10.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia....

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. $40 (www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. The company earned $0.79 a share in the first quarter of 2017, up 21.5% from $0.65 a year earlier. If you disregard gains on the sale of assets and other unusual items, earnings rose 9.1%....

We’ve long recommended Canadian Utilities as a top pick for income seekers when you consider its high-quality assets that provide plenty of cash flow for dividends.


We also like its parent company, ATCO. Essentially, it lets you buy the same businesses as Canadian Utilities but at a discount....