Parent and subsidiary are both top payers

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $37 and CU.X [class B voting] $37; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 272.1 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Divd. yield: 4.6%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. It also holds all or part of 19 power plants—15 in Canada, 2 in Australia and 2 in Mexico. Starting with the March 2019 payment, Canadian Utilities raised its quarterly dividend by 7.5%. Investors now receive $0.4227 a share instead of $0.3933. The new annual rate of $1.69 yields a high 4.6%. Canadian Utilities has raised its dividend each year since 1972. ATCO (see right) owns 52.3% of the company. In December 2017, Canadian Utilities transferred its 24.5% stake in ATCO Structures & Logistics to ATCO. As a result, the parent company now owns 100% of the structures and logistics business, which makes temporary buildings for construction, mining and energy-exploration firms. Canadian Utilities received $140 million for…