transcanada

TRANSCANADA CORP. $44.88 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 704.5 million; Market cap: $31.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) has won a contract to build and operate a 90-kilometre pipeline that will pump bitumen from the Fort Hills oil sands project to an upgrading facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta.

This new line, called the Northern Courier Pipeline, will cost $660 million.

Regulators still need to approve the project. TransCanada will submit an initial application in late 2012; it hasn’t said when it would begin construction.

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RESEARCH IN MOTION LTD., $7.52, Toronto symbol RIM, jumped 20% this week, mainly because the company reported a lower-than-expected loss in its latest quarter. Its revenue was also higher than the consensus estimate. In its fiscal 2013 second quarter, which ended September 1, 2012, RIM lost $235 million, or $0.45 a share (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). The latest results include a $93-million (after-tax) charge related to RIM’s restructuring plan, which includes laying off 30% of its workforce and simplifying its product lines. Without these costs, the company would have lost $0.27 a share in the latest quarter. That’s much better that consensus estimate of a $0.47-a-share loss. A year earlier, RIM earned $329 million, or $0.63 a share....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $44.88 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 704.5 million; Market cap: $31.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) has won a contract to build and operate a 90-kilometre pipeline that will pump bitumen from the Fort Hills oil sands project to an upgrading facility near Fort McMurray, Alberta. This new line, called the Northern Courier Pipeline, will cost $660 million. Regulators still need to approve the project. TransCanada will submit an initial application in late 2012; it hasn’t said when it would begin construction....

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $45.95 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 704.4 million; Market cap: $32.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.transcanada.com) operates 68,500 kilometres of pipelines that pump natural gas in Canada and the U.S.

The company also owns or has interests in over 10,800 megawatts of power generation. That includes Bruce Power LP, a nuclear power plant in Ontario.

In the three months ended June 30, 2012, TransCanada’s revenue rose slightly, to $1.81 billion from $1.80 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 9.8%, to $0.46 from $0.51, mostly due to the negative impact of lower natural gas and power demand on its operations.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $45 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 704.0 million; Market cap: $31.7 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) operates a 68,500- kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. The company’s pipelines supply 20% of North America’s natural gas. In 2011, they provided 49% of TransCanada’s revenue and 60% of its earnings.

In the past few years, the company has aggressively diversified into other businesses, mainly through acquisitions and big new projects.

It now owns or invests in over 20 electrical power plants in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern U.S. In all, these facilities have over 10,800 megawatts of generating capacity. Trans- Canada’s electrical power business now provides 42% of its revenue and 26% of its earnings.

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TransCanada continues to attract a lot of media attention, mainly because environmentalists and some politicians oppose its planned Keystone XL pipeline, which would pump crude from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries in Texas and Louisiana. However, Keystone XL is just one of the many growth projects TransCanada is working on. The others—including big investments in its nuclear power business—have received much less attention, but they still enhance the company’s long-term prospects. They should also give it plenty of cash for dividends. TRANSCANADA CORP. $45 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 704.0 million; Market cap: $31.7 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) operates a 68,500- kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. The company’s pipelines supply 20% of North America’s natural gas. In 2011, they provided 49% of TransCanada’s revenue and 60% of its earnings....

ENBRIDGE INC., $39.86, Toronto symbol ENB, has finished repairing a leaking pipeline in Wisconsin. This line pumps crude oil from Western Canada to refineries in the U.S. Midwest. However, U.S. regulators have stopped Enbridge from restarting the pipeline until the company submits a new plan outlining its environmental and maintenance procedures. This delay is not likely to have a meaningful impact on Enbridge’s growth. Meanwhile, the company earned $277 million in the three months ended June 30, 2012. That’s up 7.4% from $258 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 5.9%, to $0.36 from $0.34, on more shares outstanding....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $45.95 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 704.4 million; Market cap: $32.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.transcanada.com) operates 68,500 kilometres of pipelines that pump natural gas in Canada and the U.S. The company also owns or has interests in over 10,800 megawatts of power generation. That includes Bruce Power LP, a nuclear power plant in Ontario. In the three months ended June 30, 2012, TransCanada’s revenue rose slightly, to $1.81 billion from $1.80 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 9.8%, to $0.46 from $0.51, mostly due to the negative impact of lower natural gas and power demand on its operations....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $43 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 704.0 million; Market cap: $30.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) is now building its Keystone XL pipeline in sections. In January 2012, the U.S. government rejected the full project, which aims to pump crude oil from Alberta to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast.

The company will soon start work on the southern section, from Oklahoma to Texas. It has now changed its path for the northern section and reapplied for the necessary permit.

TransCanada is a buy.

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