Topic: Dividend Stocks

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. – Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $39 and CU.X [class B voting] $39

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $39 and CU.X [class B voting] $39; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 125.6 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; SI Rating: Above Average) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta. It also operates power plants in other parts of Canada, and in the U.K. and Australia.

In August, Canadian Utilities received preliminary approval from the Alberta government to build and operate a new high-voltage transmission line between Edmonton and Calgary. Final approval for this project should come later this year. The line is part of a wider plan to make Alberta’s electricity grid more reliable.

This new line will cost $1.65 billion, and will probably take several years to complete. To put this in context, Canadian Utilities earned $73.5 million, or $0.59 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2009.

Unlike TransCanada, Canadian Utilities is working on improving its existing pipelines instead of building new ones.

However, the two companies’ pipeline networks are interconnected at certain points, and share other physical assets. So, it’s possible that Canadian Utilities could indirectly profit from higher traffic on TransCanada’s network. As well, TransCanada will probably use more of Canadian Utilities’ gas-storage facilities as it increases its capacity.

Canadian Utilities will probably earn $2.95 a share this year. The stock trades at 13.2 times that figure. The $1.41 dividend yields 3.6%.

Canadian Utilities is a buy. The more liquid class “A” non-voting shares are the better choice.

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