The Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price hit a 52-week high of $12.45 this morning despite the toll road networks operator releasing no specific price sensitive news to the market.
Investors are probably bidding up the stock ahead of it handing in its financial results next week for the interim profit reporting period ending December 31 2018.
Transurban operates toll roads across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and around Washington D.C. in the U.S.
The group is investing heavily in new road projects around Sydney including the WestConnex and NorthConnex projects. It recently raised $4.8 billion from investors to buy a 51% stake in the WestConnex project off the NSW government.
Over the past 12 months it has paid out 57 cents per share in dividends to place it on a trailing yield of 4.6% based on a $12.45 share price.
Over FY 2019 it plans to pay 59 cents per share in dividends which suggests its final dividend payment will hit 30 cents per share. For FY 2020 it is targeting mid-single-digit dividend per share growth.
Its defensive cash flows via its monopoly like toll roads are attractive to dividend seekers and it might be receiving additional investor support as it hardly pays the franking credits that are being targeted for reforms by the Labor party.
The company's balance sheet is stretched though thanks to the debt taken on to fund its ambitious expansion plans.
