Two picks for reliable annual dividend hikes

Article Excerpt

Canadian Utilities and its parent ATCO have some of the longest track records among Canadian stocks for annual dividend increases. That’s because each taps the same high-quality utilities. ATCO also offers you a way to buy those assets at a discount. CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (class A non-voting) is a buy. The company (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $36 and CU.X [class B voting] $36; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 269.3 million; Market cap: $16.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Divd. yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadianutilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. It also owns or invests in 7 non-regulated power plants—1 in Canada, 2 in Mexico, 3 in Australia and 1 in Chile. ATCO (see below) owns 53.0% of the company. Between 2021 and 2023, Canadian Utilities plans to spend $2.3 billion on new projects. Those investments should increase its rate base (which regulators use to set power rates) from $14.0 billion in 2020 to $14.8 billion in 2023. Thanks…