Acquisitions increase their risk exposure

Article Excerpt

ENBRIDGE INC. $55.27 (Toronto symbol ENB; Shares outstanding: 934.2 million; Market cap: $52.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.enbridge.com) operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also distributes gas to over 2 million consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. The company’s revenue rose 4.8% in the quarter ended December 31, 2016, to $9.3 billion from $8.9 billion a year earlier. It earned $522 million, up 5.7% from $494 million. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings fell 3.4%, to $0.56 from $0.58. Enbridge completed the purchase of Spectra Energy Corp. (New York symbol SE) on February 27, 2017. Based in Houston, Texas, Spectra operates 143,520 kilometres of crude oil and natural gas pipelines in the U.S. and Canada. It also owns oil and gas storage facilities. Enbridge recently increased its quarterly dividend by 10.0%, to $0.583 a share from $0.53. The new annual rate of $2.33…