Topic: How To Invest

Hi Mr. McKeough: Please what is your opinion on AltaGas? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

AltaGas Ltd., $30.89, symbol ALA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 147.3 million; Market cap: $4.5 billion; www.altagas.ca), processes, transports, stores and markets natural gas for producers. The company also operates natural gas utilities, and it is a power generator, with gas-fired, coal-fired, wind, biomass and hydroelectric plants. Acquisitions and $1.7 billion in new projects increased AltaGas’s revenue from $1.3 billion in 2011 to $2.4 billion in 2014—an 88% jump. Revenue then fell to $2.2 billion in 2015, due to lower selling prices for natural gas and weaker power prices in Alberta. Cash flow per share gained 42.5%, from $2.61 in 2011 to $3.72 in 2014; it declined to $3.41 in 2015. In February 2016, AltaGas sold some of its less-important gas gathering and processing operations in Alberta to Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure (symbol TWM on Toronto). The company received $30.0 million plus 43.7 million shares of Tidewater. It now holds a 20% stake in that company and realized a $4 million gain on the…