Here’s two ways to tap the same solid assets

Article Excerpt

Canadian Utilities and its parent company ATCO offer investors two ways to profit from the same high-quality assets. In fact, both stocks now pay the same dividend per share. However, income seekers should stick with Canadian Utilities. It’s focus on regulated businesses cuts its risk. ATCO—with its new, more-varied operations—offers investors higher growth prospects. CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (class A non-voting) is a buy. The company (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $32 and CU.X [class B voting] $32; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 273.3 million; Market cap: $8.7 billion; Dividend yield: 5.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. It also owns or invests in 5 power plants—1 in Canada, 2 in Australia and 2 in Mexico. ATCO (see right) owns 52.2% of the company. Starting with the March 2020 payment, Canadian Utilities raised its quarterly dividend for investors by 3.0%. Investors now receive $0.4354 a share instead of $0.4227. The new annual rate of $1.74 yields a..