emera

BCE INC. $51 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 898.0 million; Market cap: $45.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 5.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) stands to gain from the new trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico and Canada (called USMCA).


The new agreement overturns broadcast regulations that let cable and satellite providers show the annual NFL Super Bowl football championship game with U.S....

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....

EMERA INC. $42 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income-Growth Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 227.8 million; Market cap: $9.6 billion; Dividend yield: 5.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.emera.com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier....

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....

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....

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For 2018, we’ve chosen to highlight three stocks that have a long history of regular dividend payments....

For 2018, we’ve chosen to highlight three stocks that have a long history of regular dividend payments. Their strong growth prospects also position them to increase those payments over the next few years.

We continue to recommend that income-seeking investors cut their risk with a broad portfolio of high-quality, dividend-paying stocks....

A: The BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF, $30.67, symbol ZLB on Toronto (Units outstanding: 47.2 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; www.etfs.bmo.com), provides exposure to a low beta-weighted portfolio of Canadian stocks.

The ETF selects the 40 or so (currently 46) of the lowest beta stocks from the 100 largest and most-liquid securities in Canada....

A: Dividend 15 Split Corp., $10.88, symbol DFN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 31.6 million; Market cap: $343.8 million; www.dividend15.com), is a split-share investment corporation that holds shares of 15 companies: BCE Inc., CI Financial Corporation, Bank of Nova Scotia, Thomson Reuters, National Bank of Canada, Loblaw Cos., Sun Life Financial, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, TransCanada Corporation, Manulife Financial, TD Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal, Telus Corporation and Enbridge.

The company can also invest up to 15% of its portfolio in other stocks....

EMERA INC. $49 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income-Growth Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 212.1 million; Market cap: $10.4 billion; Dividend yield: 4.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.emera.com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier....