monthly dividend

Poseidon Concepts, $15.53, symbol PSN on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 72.0 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; www.poseidonconcepts.com), rents its fluid-handling tanks to over 100 customers in the oil and gas industry. In November 2011, Open Range Energy changed its name to Poseidon Concepts after it handed out shares of its oil and gas production interests to its shareholders in November 2011. This new company retained the Open Range Energy name and Toronto symbol ONR. Poseidon kept the tank rental business and began trading on Toronto under the symbol PSN....

Ottawa’s tax on income trust distributions took effect over a year ago, on January 1, 2011. Most trusts have already converted to corporations in response. Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are exempt, however, so they will remain as trusts. All but one of our trust recommendations have converted. We still like the long-term outlook for all these picks, and we see them as buys. All of our REIT recommendations remain buys, as well....

PEMBINA PIPELINE $27.59 (Toronto symbol PPL; Shares outstanding: 167.3 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; TSI Network Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.7%; www.pembina.com) is buying Provident Energy (Toronto symbol PVE) for $3.2 billion in Pembina shares. Provident will let Pembina expand beyond pipelines and natural gas gathering facilities and into natural gas liquid (NGL) extraction and fractionation. The gas that consumers use is almost entirely made up of methane, which is what is left after NGLs are extracted from natural gas. NGLs are then fractionated, or broken down, into ethane, propane and butane. These are then sold to a variety of customers. For example, ethane is used to make a host of everyday plastic products....

AltaGas Ltd., $32.19, symbol ALA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 88.3 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; www.altagas.ca), mainly extracts, processes and distributes natural gas. It also processes natural gas liquids and generates power in Alberta. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, AltaGas earned $19.0 million. That’s up 17.3% from $16.2 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 15.0%, to $0.23 from $0.20, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude unusual items, mainly gains and losses on contracts that AltaGas uses to lock in selling prices for its gas and electrical power. Cash flow per share rose 7.8%, to $0.55 from $0.51. Revenue rose 24.3% in the quarter, to $369.3 million from $297.4 million. That’s because the company started up a new gas-fired generator and finished renovating a gas-processing plant....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $13.24 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Units outstanding: 131.4 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta/B.C. border. About 75% of Birchcliff’s production is natural gas. The remaining 25% is oil. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Birchcliff’s production jumped 34.6%, to 17,648 barrels of oil equivalent per day (including natural gas) from 13,109 barrels a year earlier. Cash flow per share rose 50.0%, to $0.27 from $0.18. The production increase and higher oil prices were the main reasons for the gain....

ZARGON OIL & GAS $12.58 (Toronto symbol ZAR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-264-9992; www.zargon.ca; Shares outstanding: 29.2 million; Market cap: $367.3 million; Dividend yield: 9.5%) produces natural gas and oil in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota. Its production is 60% oil and 40% gas.

In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Zargon produced 9,014 barrels of oil equivalent per day. That’s down 10.7% from 10,094 barrels a year earlier. The company sold some less-important properties; that was the main reason for the drop. The lower production pushed down Zargon’s cash flow per share by 27.5%, to $0.50 from $0.69 a year earlier.

The company continues to successfully drill horizontal wells in the Alberta Plains North area. Horizontal drilling involves drilling development wells sideways or at an angle to reach isolated pockets of gas or to follow a reservoir spread out in a narrow layer. Horizontal drilling works well in places where conventional drilling is impossible or too expensive.

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DELPHI ENERGY $2.20 (Toronto symbol DEE; TSI Network Rating: Speculative) (403-265-6171; www.delphienergy.ca; Shares outstanding: 119.2 million; Market cap: $262.2 million; No dividends paid) explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta and B.C. The company is now focusing on its Bigstone, Hythe and Wapiti/Gold Creek properties in northwestern Alberta. Gas makes up 72% of Delphi’s daily output; the remaining 28% is oil. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Delphi’s average daily output rose 10.5%, to a record 8,967 barrels of oil equivalent (including natural gas) from 8,114 barrels a year earlier....

CML Healthcare Inc., $9.43, symbol CLC on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 89.8 million; Market cap: $846.8 million; www.cmlhealthcare.com), was called CML Healthcare Income Fund before it converted from an income trust to a corporation on January 4, 2011. CML (or Canadian Medical Laboratories) is one of Canada’s largest health-care diagnostic services providers. It has two main business segments: Laboratory Services and Imaging Services. Laboratory Services, which provides 45% of CML’s revenue, performs a wide range of medical tests through its Ontario laboratory network, which consists of 117 specimen collection centres and the company’s central laboratory in Mississauga. CML’s large network of labs lets it take advantage of economies of scale that are not available to smaller labs. About 85% of the company’s lab revenues are fixed by an agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Health (more on that below)....

SASOL LTD. (ADR), $46.17, symbol SSL on New York, has developed a technology to convert coal and natural gas into motor fuels.

The company is now the world’s largest producer of fuel from coal at its facility at Secunda, South Africa. Sasol also produces synthetic fuels from natural gas at plants in Qatar and Nigeria. In addition, the company has substantial chemical-production interests, and produces oil and gas in Africa. Sasol is also South Africa’s third-largest coal producer.

In the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, Sasol’s revenue rose 16.1%, to $19.5 billion from $16.8 billion a year earlier (all figures in U.S. dollars). Earnings per ADR rose 27.4%, to $4.65 from $3.65. Higher oil prices were the main reason for these gains.

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DELPHI ENERGY $2.18 (Toronto symbol DEE; TSI Network Rating: Speculative) (403-265-6171; www.delphienergy.ca; Shares outstanding: 119.7 million; Market cap: $250.3 million; No dividends paid) explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C. Gas makes up 70% of Delphi’s daily output; the remaining 30% is oil. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, Delphi’s average daily output rose 10.8%, to a record 8,906 barrels of oil equivalent (including natural gas) from 8,035 barrels a year earlier. The higher production pushed up Delphi’s cash flow by 40.1%, to $17.5 million from $12.5 million. Cash flow per share rose 25%, to $0.15 from $0.12, on more shares outstanding....