enbridge

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....

ENBRIDGE INC. $43 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 863.7 million; Market cap: $37.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) will make a final decision on its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline in the second half of 2016. This $7.9-billion project would pump crude from Alberta to the B.C. coast. From there, tankers would ship the oil to Asian markets. Regulators have approved the line, but the new federal Liberal government plans to ban tanker traffic off B.C.’s northern coast. That hurts the project’s viability. Meanwhile, Enbridge expects its cash flow per share to improve from $3.65 in 2015 to $4.15 in 2016. That prompted it to raise its dividend by 14.0%. The new rate of $2.12 a share yields 4.9%....

ENBRIDGE INC. $43 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 863.7 million; Market cap: $37.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www. enbridge.com) will make a final decision on its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline in the second half of 2016....

ENBRIDGE INC. $47.24 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 860.1 million; Market cap: $40.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.enbridge.com) has paid $200 million U.S. for 100% of the New Creek Wind Project in West Virginia. This development consists of 49 wind turbines that can generate a total of 103 megawatts. It should start up in December 2016. The company has long-term contracts to sell this power at fixed rates, which cuts the risk of this investment. Including this purchase, Enbridge has invested $5 billion (Canadian) in renewable power projects with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC., $30.24, Toronto symbol MBT, has agreed to sell its Allstream division, which sells telephone, Internet and other communication services to businesses across Canada. Allstream supplies 40% of Manitoba Telecom’s revenue. The remaining 60% comes from its MTS division, which has 1.3 million telephone and wireless customers in Manitoba. The buyer is U.S.-based Zayo Group (New York symbol ZAYO), which will pay $465.0 million. Manitoba Telecom will probably use the proceeds to pay down its long-term debt of $677.1 million, which is equal to 28% of its $2.4-billion market cap (or the value of all outstanding shares)....

ENBRIDGE INC. $50 (www.enbridge.com) is paying $750 million for 24.9% of the 400-megawatt Rampion offshore wind project in the English Channel. To put that price in context, Enbridge earned $399 million, or $0.79 a share, in the third quarter of 2015....

Imperial Oil continues to face low oil prices, but its diversified operations make it our top energy stock for conservative investors.

ENBRIDGE INC. $50 (www.enbridge.com) is paying $750 million for 24.9% of the 400-megawatt Rampion offshore wind project in the English Channel. To put that price in context, Enbridge earned $399 million, or $0.79 a share, in the third quarter of 2015. Construction on this wind farm began in September 2015, and it should start up in 2018....

Hydro One Inc. is an electricity transmission and distribution utility owned by the province of Ontario. It owns and operates 96% of Ontario’s electricity-transmission capacity, serving 1.4 million customers through its 29,000 kilometres of power lines. Transmission refers to the delivery of electricity over high-voltage lines, typically over long distances, from generating stations to local areas and industrial customers. Distribution refers to the delivery of electricity over low-voltage lines to users such as homes, businesses and institutions. Hydro One doesn’t generate electricity. Ontario Power Generation, also owned by the province of Ontario, supplies about 50% of the province’s power. Companies like Northland Power, TransAlta and TransCanada Corp., along with small independent producers, supply the rest....

ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF $20.99 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of assets.

The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.

The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.3%; TD Bank, 7.3%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.7%; CN Railway, 4.7%; Suncor Energy, 3.9%; Bank of Montreal, 3.8%; Valeant Pharmaceuiticals, 3.8%; Enbridge, 3.7%; BCE, 3.2%; Manulife Financial, 2.9%; TransCanada Corp., 2.9%; CIBC, 2.9%; Canadian Natural Resources, 2.8%; CP Rail, 2.5%; and Potash Corp., 2.5%.

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