Hey Daisy! Thank you for joining premium.
Yes, you'll still get the split if you purchase the stock. Keep in mind though, there is no benefit to owning before, or after the split.
As far as safety and income go, Telus is one of the best. Low interest rates are excellent for telecom companies. They can be quite capital intensive, so lower interest rates like we're seeing now will benefit the company as they can borrow at cheaper rates to expand.
This is the same for utility companies, and it is one of the primary reasons you haven't seen stocks like Fortis, BCE or Telus face as much volatility.
It's important to note the Liberal government is putting regulations in place forcing telecom companies to slash prices for data plans in the 2-6GB range by 25%.
My overall take on this? Data plans in that range are becoming very rare. In fact, if you go on company websites and look to sign up for a plan, the lowest most even offer is 10 GB. The companies have 2 years to drop the prices, and I think at that point, there will be even less plans in this range.
I view it as a meaningless promise filled by the Liberal government to lower cell phone bills, and I don't think it will have that much of an impact on the company's bottom line. However, that doesn't mean negative sentiment because of this won't hurt its stock price.
Overall, Telus is an excellent option for those looking for income and reliability.
I (Daniel Kent) am long Telus.