This high yield looks safe

Article Excerpt

BELL ALIANT INC. $27.25 (Toronto symbol BA: Shares outstanding: 228.7 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 7.0%; www.aliant.ca) continues to upgrade its network to attract new Internet customers and offset lower revenue from its traditional phone operations. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, Bell Aliant earned $0.43 a share (no comparable year-earlier figures are available, because Bell Aliant was an income trust). However, free cash flow per share (cash flow minus capital expenditures) rose 5.1%, to $0.83 from $0.79. That should let it keep paying quarterly dividends of $0.475 a share (annualized yield of 7.0%). Bell Aliant is still a buy. buy…