Dividend increase: Enbridge

Article Excerpt

ENBRIDGE INC. $49 (Toronto symbol ENB; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 1.65 billion; Market cap: $80.9 billion; Dividend yield: 5.5%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; 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 in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. In February 2017, the company completed its all-stock purchase of Spectra Energy. That firm operates crude oil and natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and Canada. It also owns oil and gas storage facilities. Thanks to the extra cash flow from Spectra, Enbridge plans to raise its quarterly dividend by 10.0%. Starting with the March 2018 payment, investors will receive $0.671 a share, up from $0.61. The new annual rate of $2.684 yields a high 5.5%. The company, in fact, now plans to raise its annual dividend rate by 10% each year through 2020. However, that’s a drop from its…