oil and gas

Renewable energy stocks offer investors a lot of conceptual or emotional appeal—but you need to know all the risks.

ENBRIDGE INC. $51 (Toronto symbol ENB; Income- Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares o/s 1.6 billion; Market cap: $81.6 billion; Divd. yield: 4.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.enbridge. com) operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to eastern Canada and the U.S....

Calian and Chemtrade operate in cyclical industries, which adds risk. What’s more, they have relied on acquisitions to expand. However, their new businesses should continue to spur their growth—and their dividends.

CALIAN GROUP LTD. $28 (Toronto symbol CGY; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; s/o: 7.5 million; Market cap: $210.0 million; Dividend yield: 4.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.calian.com) has two main divisions: Business and Technology Services (which supplies 75% of the company’s revenue) provides engineers, health care workers and other skilled professionals on a contract basis; and Systems Engineering (25% of revenue) sells hardware and software for testing, operating and managing satellite and other communication systems.

Calian pays a quarterly dividend of $0.28 for a high 4.0% yield....

General Electric’s shares are down over 20% since the start of 2017. The decline is largely due to uncertainty about future oil prices. That volatility has prompted many producers to delay new purchases of GE’s drilling equipment. The company’s overall sales have also slowed because of a global oversupply of locomotives....

CHEMTRADE LOGISTICS INCOME FUND $18.66 (Toronto symbol CHE.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-496-5856; www.chemtradelogistics.com; Units o/s: 69.1 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Dividend yield: 6.4%) is one of the largest removal-service providers for resource firms that create acids and sulphur as byproducts....

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $4.00 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-848-8000; www.chk.com; Shares outstanding: 908.1 million; Market cap: $3.6 billion; No dividends paid) is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the U.S. and its 12th largest producer of oil and gas liquids.

The company has sold off non-core assets to focus on its low-risk, high-return properties....

DEVON ENERGY CORP. $30.66 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-235-3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 525.7 million; Market cap: $16.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%) is one of the largest explorers and producers of oil and natural gas in the U.S....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $53 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 175.4 million; Market cap: $9.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snclavalin.com) saw its revenue fall 8.0% in the second quarter of 2017, to $1.9 billion from $2.1 billion a year earlier....

Oil prices have moved up about 8% in the past two months to roughly $50 U.S. a barrel. The gain is largely due to OPEC’s production cuts. U.S. output of shale oil has also slowed as producers focus on their most-promising operations.

We continue to recommend all investors hang on to their high-quality oil producers such as the four we analyze below....

How To Pick The Right TSX Energy Stocks For Your Portfolio