Dividend delay is a prudent move

Article Excerpt

TELUS CORP. $23 is still a buy. The company (Toronto symbol T; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $29.9 billion; Dividend yield: 5.1%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.telus.com) is Canada’s third-largest wireless carrier after Rogers Communications (No. 1) and Bell Mobility (No. 2). It also sells traditional phone, Internet and TV services to customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. In January 2020, Telus increased its quarterly dividend by 3.6%, to $0.29125 a share from $0.28125 (all per-share amounts adjusted for 2-for-1 split in March 2020). The new annual rate of $1.165 yields a high 5.1%. The company still aims to raise its dividend between 7% and 10% each year from 2020 to 2022—it usually announces increases every six months. However, due to uncertainty caused by COVID-19, including the closure of retail stores and the suspension of data overage fees for Internet customer, Telus will delay the next raise until November 2020. 2020…