Topic: How To Invest

The Successful Investor Hotline – Friday, September 22, 2023

Article Excerpt

FORTIS INC., $54.36, Toronto symbol FTS, is a buy. The company is the main supplier of electrical power in Newfoundland and PEI. Fortis 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 is now raising your quarterly dividend by 4.4%. Starting with the December 2023 payment, investors will receive $0.59 a share instead of $0.565. The new annual rate of $2.36 yields a solid 4.3%. With this hike, the company has increased the annual dividend rate each year for the past 50 years. As well, between 2025 and 2028, Fortis plans to spend $25.0 billion on new projects and upgrades to its existing operations Those investments should increase its rate base from $36.8 billion in 2023 to $49.4 billion in 2028. Regulators use rate base—the value of a firm’s assets—to calculate a utility firm’s approved rate of return and its power rates. Thanks to the expected cash…