Hidden value offsets ATCO’s lower yield

Article Excerpt

ATCO LTD. (Toronto symbols ACO.X (class I non-voting) $51 and ACO.Y (class II voting) $51; Shares outstanding: 58.4 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.1%; SI Rating: Above Average) is a Calgary-based holding company. ATCO’s main subsidiary is 52.2%-owned Canadian Utilities Ltd. (also in this issue). ATCO has three main divisions: Utilities (which distributes electricity and natural gas); Energy (which operates power plants); and Structures & Logistics (which provides services to energy exploration and construction companies). ATCO owns 75.5% of the Structures & Logistics division; Canadian Utilities owns the remaining 24.5%. Earlier this year, the company paid a $3.0 million premium in connection with the buyback of $150 million of its preferred shares. However, the buyback should save it $3.9 million in dividend payments in 2010. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, ATCO’s earnings rose 24.1%, to $61.7 million. A year earlier, it earned $49.7 million. Earnings per share gained 23.3%, to $1.06 from $0.86, on…