Big acquisitions set to pay off despite risk

Article Excerpt

In the past two years, several of Canada’s leading utility companies have used acquisitions to expand in the U.S. That kind of strategy tends to add risk. However, the three companies we analyze below have bought regulated utilities. Predictable revenue streams from these new businesses will help them pay down the loans they needed to complete those purchases. What’s more, the elimination of overlapping operations will free up cash for dividends. In fact, all three companies have announced multi-year dividend increases thanks to their new holdings. Each stock has moved up strongly in the past year. However, for new buying, we recommend Fortis and Emera over Enbridge. ENBRIDGE INC. $57 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 938.6 million; Market cap: $53.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also distributes gas to over 2 million consumers…