Emera Inc (EMA.TO)

This is never going to blow the doors off, but at the same time it is never going to blow up. The dividend has a tendency to rise over time. If you can make 6%-8% with a combination of dividend and capital gain over time, that’s not so bad. The kind of stock that should be a foundation for most portfolios. Dividend yield of 4.76%.

EMA-T vs. FTS-T. He has a small preference or FTS-T. You have to be careful if you know higher rates are coming. In the US it is December and March and in Canada with maybe only one rise in 2018. You could see a 10-15% decline if they report flat earnings.

A defensive play. You have to be very careful on interest sensitive names, from a management portfolio perspective. This has the growth positioning to offset some of the interest sensitivity. He likes their dividend growth commitment of 8%-10% per year, which is reasonable and realistic. With their last acquisition, they are generating a large percentage of their revenue in the US. Dividend yield of 4.7%. (Analysts' Price target is $52.50.)

(A Top Pick. Up 7%.) Unloaded this. All the utilities have done quite well. Chart shows this is running into a little resistance currently. If it got through that, that would surprise him because of the pro-growth theme he is expecting. Dividend yield of 4.6%.

EMA-T vs. FTS-T. Utilities and rate hikes. Most of the calls around interest rates are for 1 more non-aggressive interest rate rise. It may not have as great a rise in utilities. They are doing what utilities have been doing recently – consolidating. You might see a slide down within the trading range. FTS-T has an uptrend, unlike EMA-T. It’s okay if both go sideways because you collect the dividend.

This has done a good job in recent years of diversifying away into some US markets. However, it is interest rate sensitive. With interest rates going up in Canada, it bodes negatively for this stock.

In line with what he had talked about earlier on, with rotation in defences, he can see this sort of started back in the spring. It hasn’t broken down terribly. If you have a nice profit, maybe you want to take some off the table. It is probably going to want to migrate back to $43. Not a huge move and you get a nice dividend on this. As we move throughout the year, the pro-growth themes will start to get a little long in the tooth, and people may start to re-evaluate what is going on. This would be the exact kind of name he would be looking at as we move through the winter and into the new year, and asking if this was a good price. $42-$43 would be where he would be most interested. You shouldn’t sell this now.

This is considered to be a type of utility company. Historically, utility stocks do very well in the summer. Currently, it is in a trading range of about $45 and $50. Seasonally, it normally does better at this time of year. If it moves above the resistance level of around $50, look for another small bump in the stock coming at approximately the end of September. At that time, it will be an opportunity to look for better opportunities, possibly in some of the more beta oriented stocks.

(Top Pick Aug 31/16, Up 2.04%) He moved on because it was one of those bond-proxy type of names. A 4.4% dividend, but there may not be any tailwind from here.

Emera (EMA-T) Fortis (FTS-T) or Algonquin (AQN-T)? A space where there has been a lot of upward pressure this year, so it is very hard to find bargains. Of the larger utilities, he thinks this has the best price. It has been in more of a holding pattern and the dividend yield is a bit higher, so is the one he would probably look at.

It is a really defensive name with a great yield. They are a really diversified power producer in the North East US and Eastern Canada. They should be able to grow the dividend over the next year. It is a really well managed company.

A utility stock? This has run up a lot, and he wouldn’t expect the same rate of return on a go forward basis. Focused on growth and bought a large acquisition in the US. That will provide them with upside and growth potential, and they’ve indicated that they expect a 8%-10% dividend growth trajectory.

A good utility. It has low return on capital, like most utilities. Good valuation and they can support their dividend. He sees no issues going forward.

(A Top Pick Feb 11/16. Up 10%.) They have done a great job in expanding. Did a large acquisition last year which gave them a significant presence in the US. They’ve given guidance that the dividend should grow 8% per year. He is still buying this for new clients. Dividend yield of 4.4%.

Emera (EMA-T) or Fortis (FTS-T)? These 2 are new plays, so they behave similarly. Fortis is the winner. It is retesting old highs. The chart shows a whole series of higher lows. Buyers are willing to pay progressively higher prices for it. The chart is showing some fatigue in the latter part of 2016. Wait for a lower price for a couple of months, and see how it trades.