Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp (AQN.TO)

It has been part of the overall selloff in the interest sensitive names. It is no surprise. Today if you look at it, it has a well balanced business with half revenues coming from generation and the other half from distribution where they sell right to the retail client. They had a nice lift in Q2 in the Atlantica yield. Look at the capital spend program in theses utilities. AQN-T have earmarked several $billion and he likes that. With the recent selloff it is at 15 times PE which is the lowest in recent times so he is adding it to portfolios.

He likes this and has had it as a previous Top Pick. If interest rates go up, he thinks they will be able to maintain dividend growth to match any rise in rates. He would be a buyer here.

Fortis or Emera or Algonquin for dividend income, with increases? Fortis. Fortis is a good price in these ranges, history of increasing dividend, good diversified portfolio. Market has overreacted to rising interest rates, and Fortis has been caught in this. Fortis has had a better growth rate than the others, and an excellent reputation.

(A Top Pick August 11, 2017. Up 1%). This is still a core holding. They have made some smart acquisitions in the last year. At this level, he thinks it is attractive. They are increasing their dividend, which makes the rise in interest rates less of a challenge for the price of this stock than for the price of other interest-sensitive stocks that are not growing their dividends. He expects more of the baby boomers to buy stocks like this, to get stable income with a little bit of growth.

Looks good. Technically, trading off of support. Peak support is $12.70. Lots of volume around this price. If drops below $12.30, exit, then no support until $11.50. Potential to go up to $14.50 by end of year. Set an exit point and stick to it. Have to be really disciplined with stocks like this.

(A Top Pick May 03'17, Down 4%) It is interest sensitive but dropped less than others. He thinks a lot of it has played itself out and sees this as a good entry point.

A yieldco that he likes from a dividend perspective. Has some natural gas, so not a pure play on renewable energy. But if you want to take a step toward green investing, this company makes a lot of sense. A lot of the volatility in this stock is due to the broader stock market. Tension between growth plays versus impending crash. Really likes it. Slated to do well.

He thinks it will be a steady grower over the long term but he would be going to NPI-T for this exposure. The acquisition they made in the US seems to be working well. This is single digit growth company and we won't see the same number of takeovers occurring in the future. As the acquisition is absorbed, the dividend will grow. It is a good company to hold onto. It pays a US$ dividend in case you need them.

It's a growth utiilty. It offers decent yield, but also 8-10% yearly growth. He thinks AQN will be serial raisers of their dividend. It's pulled back like all utilities, so under the current $13 is a good entry point. He expects a price rise to $14 plus the dividend. (Analysts' price target: $15.05)

Good managers, have done an excellent transforming this business, raising the share price and diversifying outside Canada. He sees contonued dividend growth into the future. There's a lot to like here. The shareholder base is loyal. Has owned this for 9 years. Really likes this.

FORTIS vs. ALGONQUIN: He owns only AQN and prefers it for its recent US purchase. Fortis isn't bad and the companies are similar. Maybe buy a little of each.

This stock’s situation is similar to Fortis: dropping over the past year because of interest rate sensitivity but a defensive stock that will continue to pay a good dividend as the market goes down. This is smaller than Fortis and more volatile. This company is small for his portfolio--he prefers larger-cap names, so he would not buy it, but someone who owns it should continue to hold it.

A utility with a lot of growth. He really likes this. It's come off with the utilities group over interest rate hike fears, but he sees 8-10% dividend growth in AQN for a few years. They've been buying U.S. companies. He's been buying in the low- $12's recently.

The dividend payer space has pulled back this year due to the expectation of higher interest rates. He thinks it is a great company with good US operations. The price has fallen back to technical support and thinks it could be a good place to add to a position, but would like to see move back above $13 to buy.

Parts of the market where you want to flock to during the summer. One of those defensive summer names. High yield. May to August is the period of strength. Not a home run stock but provides a volatility hedge. If rates go much higher, it could have problems. Classic shoulder-head-shoulder from a technical perspective.