ENCANA CORP. $24 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 740.9 million; Market cap: $17.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) has agreed to sell its operations in Alberta’s Bighorn area to privately held Jupiter Resources.
Encana will get $1.8 billion when the sale closes in the next few weeks (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). To put that in context, the company earned $515 million, or $0.70 a share, in the quarter ended March 31, 2014.
The company is also selling a gas-fired power plant and its 50% stake in a second plant, both in Alberta, for an undisclosed sum.
Encana is a buy.