oil and gas

Generally, a higher-than-usual dividend yield is a sign that the payout may exceed the company’s earning capacity. We feel, however, that the dividends from these two small-cap stocks are safe. That’s because they are leaders in their niche markets.


RUSSEL METALS INC....

Pipeline operators TC Energy and Enbridge continue to spend large sums on new projects. Most of these projects are either regulated by governments or secured by long-term contracts with oil and gas producers. Those steady cash flows will let them keep raising their dividends.


TC ENERGY CORP....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY, $10.13, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (Shares o/s: 266.0 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) reports that its cash flow in the quarter ended December 31, 2021, jumped sharply, to $0.73 a share from $0.25 a year earlier....

A: We still feel that investors will profit the most with a well-balanced portfolio of high-quality individual stocks, but ETFs can also play a role in a portfolio. Here’s a look at the ETFs you’ve asked about:

Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF, $77.14, symbol XLE on New York (Units outstanding: 477.3 million; Market cap: $36.8 billion; www.ssga.com), provides exposure to companies in the oil, gas and consumable fuel, energy equipment and services industries.

The fund’s MER is just 0.10%....

CARGOJET INC., $165.12, symbol CJT on Toronto, is a provider of time-sensitive, premium overnight air cargo services across North America. Its fleet of 31 cargo aircraft currently moves more than 25 million pounds of cargo every week.

The company has three main segments: it operates a domestic air cargo network between 16 major Canadian cities; it provides dedicated aircraft to customers on an aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (“ACMI”) basis, operating between points in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe; and it operates scheduled international routes for multiple cargo customers between the U.S....

CENOVUS ENERGY INC., $22.12, Toronto symbol CVE, remains a buy for long-term gains.

On January 1, 2021, the company completed its acquisition of rival oil producer Husky Energy Inc. (Toronto symbol HSE) in a friendly all-stock takeover.

The combined firm is now Canada’s third-largest producer of oil and natural gas, and the country’s second-largest refiner.

Cenovus announced this week that it would end its oil hedging program, which it uses to pre-sell its future production at a set price....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. $74 (www.rbi.com) is a buy. The company has cut off support for operations in Russia. However, the franchised operators of 800 Burger King locations in that country have refused to close those outlets....

Canada’s federal government recently announced new greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. Those include cutting emissions from oil and gas producers by 42% before 2031. That new target is more aggressive than Suncor’s or Imperial Oil’s own plan. Even so, meeting it is unlikely to severely impact their earnings considering the government will help offset their costs for new carbon-reduction technologies....

INTEL CORP., $48.11, Nasdaq symbol INTC, remains a buy for long-term gains.

The company is the world’s leading maker of computer chips: its products power 90% of all personal computers and more than 80% of all datacentres.

With the March 2022 payment, Intel raised your quarterly dividend by 5.0%....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY LTD., $8.67, is a buy for aggressive investors. The company (symbol BIR on Toronto) develops and produces oil and gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area of both Alberta and B.C. Its average output of 78,716 barrels of oil equivalent per day is 80% natural gas and 20% oil.

Cash flow in the quarter ended December 31, 2021, jumped sharply, to $0.73 a share from $0.25 a year earlier....