encana

Toronto symbol ECA, and New York symbol ECA, is a leading North American producer of natural gas and oil.

TD RESOURCE FUND $32.78 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (TD Asset Management, P.O. Box 7500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario. M5W 1P9. 1-800-386-3757; Web ite:www.tdcanadatrust.ca. No load — deal directly with the bank) invests in companies with superior asset bases, proven management and the ability to internally finance growth. The $259.3 million TD Resource Fund’s top stock holdings are mostly of ‘Average’ quality or higher. The fund’s holdings include Suncor Energy, EnCana Corporation, Talisman Energy Inc., Timminco Ltd., Goldcorp, Yamana Gold Inc., Petro- Canada, Nexen, Alcoa, BHP Billiton, Husky Energy, Chevron Corporation, Marathon Oil Corporation, Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation and FNX Mining Company....
Shares of many resource stocks (with the exception of gold stocks) have dropped lately on fears of an economic slowdown in the U.S. However, the long-term outlook for U.S. growth is positive. And meanwhile, China’s economy will likely grow 11% in 2008, and India’s 10%. Both are big resource-consuming countries. Here are two Aggressive resource funds that expose investors to two different levels of risk, measured by the stocks they hold. Both have done very well for us over the last few years. We think they have further gains ahead....
ENCANA CORP. $61 (New York symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resource sector; Shares outstanding: 749.5 million; Market cap: $45.7 billion; WSSF Rating: Average) is a leading North American producer of natural gas (80% of production) and oil (20%). The company prefers to focus on unconventional properties such as early-stage gas developments and oil sands. These assets cost more to develop, at least initially, but should last much longer than conventional properties. EnCana recently paid $2.6 billion for the 50% of the Amoruso natural gas field in East Texas that it does not already own. It also plans to spend $2.1 billion to develop the field. The purchase is a good fit with En- Cana’s other properties in the region, and will increase its North American gas reserves by 10%....
Oil prices recently climbed to over $100 a barrel, but have moved down along with market indexes due to fears of a recession. We feel it’s a good idea to focus on well-established oil and gas stocks that can withstand the inevitable price setbacks, and prosper anew when prices rebound. Here is our analysis of three of our long-term favorites. However, only two are buys at current prices. We also analyze two of our favorite non-oil resource stocks on Page 15. CHEVRON CORP. $81 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 2.1 billion; Market cap: $170.1 billion; WSSF Rating: Above average) is the second-largest oil company in the United States after ExxonMobil Corp. Internationally, it has operations in over 175 countries....
TRIMARK CANADIAN FUND $19.97 (CWA Rating: Aggressive) (AIM Funds Management Inc., 5140 Yonge Street, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6X7. 1-800-631 -7008; Website: www.aimfunds.ca. Buy or sell through brokers.) uses a bottom-up stock-picking style (using fundamentals such as earnings, cash flow and low debt) that looks at valuation measures and then tries to pick stocks selling at a discount to long-term value. The fund’s 10 largest holdings are TD Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Manulife Financial, Power Corporation, Plum Creek Timber, Alimentation Couche-Tard, Thomson Corp., Yamana Gold, Toromont Industries and Molex Inc. The fund’s portfolio breaks down by sector as follows: Financials, 30.5%; Consumer discretionary, 19.1%; Information technology, 11.2%; Industrials, 9.5%; Materials, 8.2%; Consumer staples, 7.0%; Health care, 6.4%; Energy, 4.2%; and Telecommunication services, 2.6%....
ENCANA CORP. $69 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resource sector; Shares outstanding: 749.5 million; Market cap: $51.7 billion; SI Rating: Average) is one of North America’s leading producers of natural gas (80% of production) and oil (20%). EnCana prefers to focus on unconventional properties such as early-stage gas developments and oil sands. These assets cost more to develop, at least initially, but should last much longer than conventional properties. EnCana is enjoying the benefits of its new partnership with U.S.-based ConocoPhillips to develop its oil sands assets. Daily production at its two main oil sands properties rose 33% in the third quarter of 2007. Oil sands accounted for roughly 20% of EnCana’s earnings of $1.27 a share (total $961 million) in the third quarter of 2007 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). That’s down from $1.31 a share ($1.08 billion) a year earlier, mainly because the year-earlier quarter included a $255 million pre-tax gain on the sale of an asset. Revenue rose 40.0%, to $5.6 billion from $4.0 billion....
Energy prices are inherently volatile. So it’s a good idea to focus on well-established oil and gas stocks that can withstand the inevitable price setbacks — and prosper anew when prices rebound. Here is our analysis of three of our long-term favourites. IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $52 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 914.2 million; Market cap: $47.5 billion; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest integrated oil company. Imperial also operates 2,000 retail gas stations under the “Esso” banner. ExxonMobil Corp. owns 69.6% of Imperial’s stock. Imperial continues to invest heavily in new oil and gas projects. For example, it recently received regulatory approval to proceed with its Kearl Lake oil sands project, which contains roughly 4.6 billion barrels. That’s equal to 34% of Imperial proved and non-proved reserves of 13.5 billion barrels. Imperial owns 70% of Kearl Lake, while ExxonMobil owns the remaining 30%....
HARBOUR FUND $22.47 (CWA Rating: Conservative)(C.I. Mutual Funds, 151 Yonge St., 7th Floor, Toronto, ON M5C 2W7. 1-800-268-9374; Web site: www.cifunds.com. Load fund — available from brokers) invests in only 25 to 40 high-quality Canadian stocks, and it may hold stocks for four or five years to realize their value. The $5.3 billion Harbour Fund’s top holdings include Royal Bank, CN Railway, Suncor Energy, Petro-Canada, CIBC, General Electric, EnCana Corp., Rio Tinto, TD Bank and BHP Billiton. The Harbour Fund gained 17.2% over the last year. Its MER is 2.33%....
SCOTIA CANADIAN GROWTH FUND $74.27 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Scotia Securities, 40 King Street West, 6th Floor, Toronto, Ontario M5H 1H1. 1-800-268-9 269; Website: www.scotiabank.com. No load — deal directly with the company.) uses fundamental analysis to identify what the managers see as investments that have the potential for above-average growth. The $619.8 million Scotia Canadian Growth Fund’s 10 largest holdings are Manulife Financial, Suncor Energy, Royal Bank, TD Bank, Research in Motion, Canadian Natural Resources, Sun Life Financial, CN Railway, Bank of Nova Scotia and EnCana. Scotia Canadian Growth currently holds 41.7% of its portfolio in the Resources sector. Its next-largest holding is Financial services at 29.3%. Over the last 10 years, Scotia Canadian Growth posted a 6.8% annual rate of return. That’s less than the S&P/TSX’s return of 9.8%. The fund gained 19.2% over the past year, compared to a gain of 21.4% for the S&P/TSX. Scotia Canadian Growth’s MER is 2.12%....
CIBC CANADIAN EQUITY FUND $26.81 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (CIBC Securities, 5140 Yonge Street, Suite 900, Toronto, Ontario M2N 6X7. 1-800-631-7008; Website: www.cibc.com. No load — deal directly with the company.) uses a “bottom-up” approach (using fundamentals such as earnings, cash flow and low debt) to identify companies that trade at reasonable valuations and yet have growth potential. The $642.2 million fund’s top holdings are Petro- Canada, EnCana, Manulife Financial, Teck Cominco, Bank of Nova Scotia, TD Bank, Canadian National Railway, Suncor Energy and Research in Motion. CIBC Canadian Equity holds 36.6% of its portfolio in Financial services stocks and 23.6% in Resource sector stocks....