These two leaders just raised their dividends

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $54.55 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 800.3 million; Market cap: $48.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%; www.transcanada.com) operates a 91,500-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. Its other operations include 4,900 kilometres of crude oil pipelines and power plants in Canada and the U.S. In the quarter ended March 31, 2018, TransCanada earned $870 million. That’s up 24.6% from $698 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 21.0%, to $0.98 from $0.81, on more shares outstanding. The gains were mostly due to the July 2016 purchase of Texas-based Columbia Pipeline for $13 billion U.S. Strong revenue and cost controls across all operations also contributed, The company has roughly $33.2 billion in new projects underway. That doesn’t include the $8.3 billion U.S. Keystone XL pipeline. It would pump crude oil from Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. If the company decides to proceed, Keystone XL could begin operating in 2021. TransCanada…