Updates on Enerplus Corp., Sun Life Financial, and TransCanada Corp.

Article Excerpt

ENERPLUS CORP. $14.19 (Toronto symbol ERF; Shares outstanding: 242.1 million; Market cap: $3.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Dividend yield: 0.9%) plans to spend between $535 million and $585 million on exploration and development this year. The company will invest 90% of those funds in its North Dakota light oil properties. It expects to boost output by up to 30% in that region. Enerplus also plans to drill up to three new oil wells in Colorado. Drilling there last year yielded strong results. The company believes that concentrating on North Dakota offers the best chance of success. Recent U.S. tax cuts add to the appeal of drilling in that country. Enerplus Corp. is a buy. SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $52.86 (Toronto symbol SLF; Shares outstanding: 612.0 million; Market cap: $33.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.4%; www.sunlife.ca) sells life insurance, savings, retirement and pension products. The company mainly operates in Canada, the U.S., Asia and the U.K. Sun Life will now add medical marijuana as…