Both parent and subsidiary are top payers

Article Excerpt

CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $38 and CU.X [class B voting] $38; Income-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 268.1 million; Market cap: $10.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. It also operates 15 power plants, in Canada (13) and Australia (2). ATCO Ltd. (see right) owns 52.8% of the company. Canadian Utilities last raised its quarterly dividend with the March 2017 payment, to $0.3575 a share from $0.325. The new annual rate of $1.43 yields a high 3.8%. The company has increased the payout each year since 1972. Between 2017 and 2019, Canadian Utilities plans to invest $3.8 billion in new regulated projects. It will also spend $1.3 billion on new facilities backed by long-term contracts. Those investments include a 35-year agreement to build and operate a new 500-km transmission line from Edmonton to Fort McMurray, Alberta. Canadian Utilities owns 50% of this project, which…