Global exposure benefits these dividends

Article Excerpt

FORTIS INC. $55 (Toronto symbol FTS; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 430.9 million; Market cap: $23.7 billion; Dividend yield 3.3%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.fortisinc.com) owns electrical utilities across Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean. In addition, the company distributes natural gas in British Columbia, Arizona and New York State. With the December 2018 payment, the utility increased its quarterly dividend by 5.9%, to $0.45 a share from $0.425. The annual rate of $1.80 yields 3.3%. The company intends to raise that annual payment by about 6% each year through 2023. On April 16, 2019, Fortis completed the sale of its 51% interest in the Waneta Expansion Hydroelectric Project for $1 billion. It recorded a $484 million gain on the sale. In the three months ended June 30, 2019, revenue rose 1.2%, to $1.97 billion from $1.95 billion a year earlier. The increase was due to revenue gains at the company’s ITC power transmission operations in eight U.S. states.   Fortis acquired ITC Holdings Corp. for $11.8…