Contracts cut risk for TRP

Article Excerpt

TRANSCANADA CORP. $57.82 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 799.8 million; Market cap: $48.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) operates 90,300 kilometres of natural gas pipelines and generates over 3,100 megawatts of power in Canada and the U.S. The company recently completed its acquisition of Texas-based Columbia Pipeline Group for $13.0 billion U.S. That firm operates natural gas pipelines in the U.S. Northeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions, as well as underground gas storage terminals. Thanks to the addition of Columbia, regulated businesses and long-term shipping contracts now account for 92% of the combined firm’s earnings. Including Columbia, TransCanada is now working on $25 billion of new pipelines. The company is forecast to earn $2.79 a share in 2017, while the stock trades at 20.7 times theat forecast. That multiple is reasonable in light of TransCanada’s expansion plans. TransCanada Corp. is a buy. buy…