Four more picks have hiked their dividend

Article Excerpt

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $42 (Toronto symbol SU; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $71.4 billion; Dividend yield: 3.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.suncor.com) is Canada’s largest integrated oil company, with major oil sands projects in Alberta. It also owns four oil refineries (three in Canada and one in Colorado) and 1,500 Petro-Canada gas stations. Starting with the March 2017 payment, Suncor will raise its quarterly dividend by 10.3%. Investors will receive $0.32 a share, up from $0.29. The new annual rate of $1.28 yields 3.0%. For all of 2017, the company expects to spend between $4.8 billion and $5.2 billion on exploration and upgrades. That’s down from $6.0 billion in 2016. Suncor’s strong balance sheet will support these investments. As of December 31, 2016, its long-term debt was $16.1 billion. That’s a manageable 23% of its market cap. The company also held cash of $3.0 billion, or $1.81 a share. The stock also trades at just 7.0…