IPO will help AltaGas pay for big acquisition

Article Excerpt

ALTAGAS LTD. $21 (Toronto symbol ALA; Shares outstanding: 267.4 million; Market cap: $5.6 billion; Dividend yield: 10.4%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.altagas.com) 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 new projects increased AltaGas’s revenue by 17.8%, from $2.0 billion in 2013 to $2.4 billion in 2014. Revenue then fell to $2.2 billion in 2015, due to lower selling prices for natural gas and weaker power prices in Alberta. In February 2016, the company sold some of its less-important gas-gathering and processing operations in the province to Tidewater Midstream and Infrastructure (Toronto symbol TWM). AltaGas received $30.0 million plus $64.9 million worth of Tidewater shares. Due to that sale, overall revenue was unchanged at $2.2 billion in 2016. Revenue then improved 16.7% in 2017, to $2.6 billion. Overall cash flow rose 17.4%, from $402 million in 2013 to $472 million in 2014. Due…