emera

ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. $10.72 (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares outstanding: 255.8 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.8%; www.algonquinpower.com) has tripled in size in the past three years, mostly through acquisitions. The company’s regulated utility businesses now provide water, electricity and gas to over 560,000 customers, up sharply from 120,000 three years ago. Its hydroelectric, thermal energy, solar and wind plants generate 1,050 megawatts, up from 460. Emera (Toronto symbol EMA) owns 20.9% of Algonquin. It is a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our conservative growth advisory....

PEMBINA PIPELINE $34.61 (Toronto symbol PPL; Shares outstanding: 373.4 million; Market cap: $12.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.pembina.com) owns pipelines that carry half of Alberta’s conventional oil and almost all of B.C.’s oil. It also carries 30% of Western Canada’s natural gas liquids (NGLs). Pembina owns extensive facilities to extract, process and store NGLs, as well as natural gas processing plants. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s cash flow per share jumped 57.0%, to $0.77 from $0.49 a year earlier. New plants starting up boosted volumes at its NGL extraction business....

EMERA INC. $47 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 145.3 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) has reached a deal to increase its ownership of Emera (Caribbean) Inc. From 95.6% to 100.0%. This publicly traded subsidiary holds Emera’s interests in power utilities in Barbados, Dominica and St. Lucia. Emera will cut administrative costs by taking full control. The company will pay roughly $16.5 million in cash and Emera stock for the additional stake. To put that in context, Emera earned $330.0 million, or $2.26 a share, in 2015....

EMERA INC. $47 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 145.3 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) has reached a deal to increase its ownership of Emera (Caribbean) Inc. From 95.6% to 100.0%. This publicly traded subsidiary holds Emera’s interests in power utilities in Barbados, Dominica and St. Lucia. Emera will cut administrative costs by taking full control. The company will pay roughly $16.5 million in cash and Emera stock for the additional stake. To put that in context, Emera earned $330.0 million, or $2.26 a share, in 2015....

The BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF, $25.54, symbol ZLB on Toronto (Units outstanding: 25.6 million; Market cap: $653.8 million; www.etfs.bmo.com), provides exposure to a low beta weighted portfolio of Canadian stocks. The ETF selects the 40 lowest beta stocks from the 100 largest and most liquid securities in Canada. The underlying portfolio is rebalanced in June and reconstituted in December. The BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF has an MER of 0.40%. It currently yields 2.5%. The BMO Low Volatility Canadian Equity ETF’s current top holdings are: Fairfax Financial, Canadian REIT, Dollarama, Progressive Waste Solutions, Empire Company, Intact Financial, RioCan REIT, Emera, Metro Inc. and BCE Inc....

PLEASE NOTE: One week from today, on January 22, 2016, shortly after the stock market closes at 4:00 p.m. Toronto time, we will reveal our top aggressive stocks for 2016 to subscribers of Stock Pickers Digest. You can be among the first to hear about our top picks for 2016. Because you’re a loyal subscriber, we are happy to offer you a low-priced, no-risk introduction to Stock Pickers Digest. It gives you the first month—and the 2016 Stocks of the Year—FREE. But you must act now. Click here. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++...

We’re still positive on the long-term outlook for stocks. But in a time of rising market volatility, plunging commodity prices and international tension, it’s more important than ever to diversify, rather than focus on a single stock of the year. Moreover, we find lots of attractive long-term buys among stocks we cover. With that in mind, we’ve chosen to highlight one pick from each of our portfolios (Conservative, Aggressive and Income) for 2016. All three of these high-quality stocks offer strong growth prospects and trade at reasonable multiples to earnings. CAE INC. $15 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 269.2 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) is the world’s leading maker of flight simulators, which help teach airline and military pilots how to take off, land and handle a variety of emergency situations....

In next week’s Successful Investor Hotline, we’ll reveal our top stock picks for 2016. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to profit. TRANSCANADA CORP., $43.47, Toronto symbol TRP, has launched two legal challenges to the U.S. government’s recent decision to block its proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would have pumped crude oil from Alberta to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The company spent $4.3 billion on Keystone XL and now expects to write off between $2.5 billion and $2.9 billion of this total. To put these figures in context, TransCanada’s market cap (or the value of all outstanding shares) is $30.8 billion....

PEMBINA PIPELINE $29.06 (Toronto symbol PPL; Shares outstanding: 354.7 million; Market cap: $10.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 6.0%; www.pembina.com) owns pipelines that carry half of Alberta’s conventional oil, 30% of Western Canada’s natural gas liquids (NGLs) and almost all of B.C.’s conventional oil. Pembina also owns facilities that extract, process and store NGLs. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s cash flow per share jumped 25.0%, to $0.60 from $0.48 a year earlier. That’s mainly because of new plants starting up and boosting volumes at its NGL extraction business....

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock market index or sub-index. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. That’s different from mutual funds, which you can only buy at the end of the day at a price that reflects the fund’s value at the close of trading. Prices of ETFs are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell them, but their low management fees give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....