TransCanada set for dividend hikes

Article Excerpt

Dear client, TransCanada has now completed its purchase of U.S.-based Columbia Pipeline Group. Combined with other projects underway, Columbia’s operations should spur the company’s revenue and earnings, and give TransCanada more cash for dividends. TRANSCANADA CORP. $61 (Toronto symbol TRP; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 860.7 million; Market cap: $52.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.2; Divd. yield: 3.7%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.transcanada. com) operates a 90,300-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to Eastern Canada and the U.S. Other operations include 4,250 kilometers of crude oil pipelines and 17 power plants. Earlier this year, TransCanada raised its quarterly dividend by 8.7%, to $0.565 a share from $0.52. The new annual rate of $2.26 yields 3.7%. The company has now increased that payout each year since 2000. In addition, TransCanada has reintroduced a 2% discount for members of its dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP). The company’s revenue rose 44.2%, from $7.8 billion in 2011 to $11.3 billion in 2015. Earnings…