price to sales ratio
SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $34 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $54.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.suncor.com) is Canada’s largest integrated oil company. Oil production supplies about 40% of Suncor’s overall revenue. The remaining 60% comes from its four oil refineries (three in Canada and one in Colorado) and 1,500 Petro-Canada gas stations. Suncor gets 66% of its crude from its oil sands projects in northern Alberta. It gets a further 16% from the Syncrude oil sands project north of Fort McMurray. In March 2016, the company completed its all-stock acquisition of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., which owns 36.74% of Syncrude. If you include Canadian Oil Sands’ debt of $2.6 billion, the total price was $7.1 billion. The company has now agreed to buy an additional 5.0% interest in Syncrude from Murphy Oil Corp. (New York symbol MUR). Suncor will pay $937 million when it completes the purchase in the next few weeks. That will raise its stake in Syncrude to 53.74%....
EMERA INC. $47 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 148.2 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera .com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier. It also owns power utilities in the U.S. and the Caribbean. In September 2015, the company agreed to buy Teco Energy (New York symbol TE). This firm supplies electricity and natural gas to 1.05 million customers in Tampa Bay, Florida. A separate subsidiary distributes gas to 510,000 customers in New Mexico. Emera will pay $10.4 billion U.S., including Teco’s debt. It expects to complete the purchase in mid-2016....
IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $41 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) is Canada’s second-largest integrated oil producer after Suncor. The company’s Alberta oil sands operations, including its 25% stake in the Syncrude project, supply 90% of its crude. Imperial also has conventional oil and gas operations in Western Canada, and invests in offshore projects in Atlantic Canada. In addition, it owns three refineries and makes petrochemicals. In March 2016, Imperial agreed to sell its 497 company-owned Esso gas stations to independent operators for $2.8 billion....
CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $19 (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 833.3 million; Market cap: $15.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1,2; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cenovus.com) gets 30% of its revenue from its Western Canadian oil sands properties and conventional oil and gas wells. Its biggest properties are its 50%-owned Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands projects; ConocoPhilips (New York symbol COP) owns the remaining 50%. Refining supplies 70% of Cenovus’s revenue. The company ships its oil to its 50%-owned refineries in Illinois and Texas. Phillips 66 (New York symbol PSX) owns the other 50%....
ENCANA CORP. $8.97 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 849.9 million; Market cap: $7.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 0.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) owns four key properties: Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta), and Eagle Ford and Permian (both in Texas). In addition to natural gas, these fields produce large amounts of oil and natural gas liquids, such as propane and butane. That cuts the company’s reliance on gas. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, Encana produced an average of 383,400 barrels a day (66% gas, 34% oil and liquids). Due to recent asset sales, that’s down 10.9% from 430,100 barrels a year earlier. The company’s four main properties now supply 70% of its overall production. Low oil prices have forced Encana to write down the value of its properties by $607 million (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars)....
PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $2.08 (Toronto symbol PGF; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 547.4 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend suspended in January 2016; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.pengrowth.com) has more than tripled from its low of $0.66 in January 2016. That’s partly because prominent Toronto investor Seymour Schulich recently acquired 16.6% of the company’s shares. The purchase makes him Pengrowth’s largest shareholder. Meanwhile, the company continues to sell less-important properties to focus on its main Lindbergh oil sands project. That’s why its production in the first quarter of 2016 fell 10.5%, to 62,056 barrels a day (61% oil and liquids, 39% natural gas) from 67,934 barrels a year earlier. In addition, weaker oil and gas prices cut its cash flow per share by 4.8%, to $0.20 from $0.21. Pengrowth used the cash from its recent assets sales to pay down its long-term debt. It now stands at $1.7 billion (or 1.5 times its market cap). That’s down 9.3% since the end of 2015....
The wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, have forced Suncor and other oil sands producers to temporarily shut down their operations. The fires did not damage these facilities, which are surrounded by gravel fields and firebreaks. However, evacuation of the area does present staffing challenges. Suncor aims to restart production in the next few weeks. While the shutdown will weigh on the company’s earnings, it has also contributed to the recent rise in crude prices. That should help Suncor offset some of the lost revenue. Moreover, the company’s new projects and greater efficiency put it in a strong position to expand its long-term earnings and cash flow—even if oil prices remain at their current level....
ENBRIDGE INC. $51 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 928.9 million; Market cap: $47.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www. enbridge.com) has asked regulators to extend its permit to build the Northern Gateway pipeline by three years. This $7.9 billion project would pump crude oil from Alberta to the B.C. coast. However, the permit will expire if Enbridge does not begin construction by the end of 2016. The extra time would also help the company address significant political opposition to the project. For example, it will now give Aboriginal groups a 33% stake in the project, up from 10% under the original proposal. Even so, Ottawa’s plan to ban tanker traffic on B.C.’s northern coast hurts the project’s viability. Enbridge is still a hold.
EMERA INC. $47 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 148.2 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera .com) owns 100% of Nova Scotia Power, that province’s main electricity supplier. It also owns power utilities in the U.S. and the Caribbean. In September 2015, the company agreed to buy Teco Energy (New York symbol TE). This firm supplies electricity and natural gas to 1.05 million customers in Tampa Bay, Florida. A separate subsidiary distributes gas to 510,000 customers in New Mexico. Emera will pay $10.4 billion U.S., including Teco’s debt. It expects to complete the purchase in mid-2016....
MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $30 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 134.6 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 1.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaffoods.com) is Canada’s largest food processor. It mainly sells its products, including fresh and prepared meats and poultry, under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands. The company recently completed a multi-year restructuring plan that involved closing older meat processing plants and shifting their operations to newer, more efficient ones. Thanks to the success of this plan, Maple Leaf earned $42.3 million, or $0.31 a share, in the three months ended March 31, 2016. The results are a big improvement over the $2.9 million, or $0.02, it lost a year earlier. If you factor out unusual items, earnings per share jumped to $0.28 from $0.05....