The Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price has failed to follow the market higher on Tuesday and has dropped into the red in late morning trade despite the release of its latest quarterly update.
At the time of writing the toll road giant's shares are down 0.2% to $13.33.
What was in today's update?
According to the release, during the third quarter the company delivered a 2.3% increase in average daily traffic (ADT) thanks to growth across all markets.
Sydney ADT increased by 2.1% to 813,000 trips thanks to a 2.5% increase in average workday traffic and a 0.9% lift in average weekend/public holiday traffic. In respect to vehicles, car traffic rose 2.3% and large vehicle traffic decreased 0.1% for the quarter.
Melbourne ADT increased by a solid 3.1% to 856,000 transactions. This was driven by a 2.1% increase in average workday traffic and a sizeable 5.8% lift in average weekend/public holiday traffic. In Melbourne it was large vehicle traffic doing a lot of the heavy lifting, rising 5.6% on the prior corresponding period. Car traffic on its Melbourne roads increased 2.5% over the period.
Things weren't quite as positive in Brisbane where ADT increased by 1.1% to 400,000 trips. Average workday traffic increased by 0.9% and average weekend/public holiday traffic increased by 1.8% for the quarter. Car traffic rose 1% and large vehicle traffic climbed 1.6% despite the impact from construction disruption.
Across the pond North America ADT increased by 2.9% to 136,000 trips. Pleasingly, the average dynamic toll price for the quarter increased by a solid 15% to US$8.72 on the 95 Express Lanes and 12.2% to US$5.44 on the 495 Express Lanes. For the 12 months to 31 March 2019, peak traffic in the peak direction on the A25 was 3,056 vehicles per hour.
Should you invest?
I thought this was a strong quarter from Transurban and demonstrated why it is regarded as one of the best dividend shares on the Australian market.
Overall, I believe it is well-positioned to continue growing its income and ultimately its dividend at a solid rate for the foreseeable future and would class its shares as a buy along with fellow dividend shares Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF) and Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD).
