Regulated assets support your Utility income

Article Excerpt

These four leading utility stocks get most of their revenue from rate-regulated operations. That makes its easier to recoup the cost of new power plants and upgrades to their existing assets. Moreover, they continue to use their increasing cash flow to reward investors with dividend hikes. FORTIS INC. $56 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol FTS; Conservative & Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 480.3 million; Market cap: $26.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.fortisinc.com) is the main supplier of electrical power in the provinces of Newfoundland and PEI. It also 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. Fortis plans to spend $22.3 billion on projects and upgrades to its existing operations between 2023 and 2027. Of that total, 35% will go to improving its power transmission assets in the U.S. Midwest. Fortis expects to spend $10 billion U.S. on…