ENBRIDGE INC. $56 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 860.1 million; Market cap: $48.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) gets 85% of its revenue from pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The remaining 15% mainly comes from distributing gas to 2.1 million consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.

The company recently completed the major reorganization it announced in December 2014.

< p>Under the plan, Enbridge transferred some of its assets to 19.9%-owned affiliate Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (Toronto symbol ENF). This company owns 42% of Enbridge Income Fund (Enbridge Inc. owns the remaining 58%), which holds oil and gas pipelines and solar and wind farms. The transfer included pipelines that pump oil sands crude to the U.S., along with wind farms in Alberta and Quebec.

< p>Transactions like this, called drop-downs, free up cash the parent company can use for new projects. The affiliate also benefits, because the new assets’ cash flow helps it maintain or raise its distributions to investors. The reorganization freed up more cash for dividends: Enbridge raised its quarterly payout by 32.9% with the March 2015 payment, to $0.465 a share from $0.35; the new annual rate of $1.86 yields 3.3%. The company now aims to pay out 75% to 85% of its adjusted annual earnings as dividends, up from its old target of 60% to 70%.

< p>Meanwhile, Enbridge’s revenue fell 13.9% in the three months ended June 30, 2015, to $8.6 billion from $10.0 billion a year earlier. That’s mainly because lower oil and gas prices hurt revenue at its energy-trading operations.

< p>Earnings jumped 54.0%, to $505 million from $328 million. Earnings per share rose at slower rate of 50.0%, to $0.60 from $0.40, on more shares outstanding. However, these gains are largely due to profits from commodity-hedging contracts Enbridge uses to lock in selling prices. Its pipeline business also benefited from lower operating costs, while higher rates increased earnings at the gas-distribution business.

< p>Enbridge aims to spur its growth with $38 billion of new oil and gas pipelines and other projects, like storage facilities. Customers have already signed $24 billion worth of contracts to use these operations, which cuts their risk. Enbridge will finish building them between 2015 and 2019.

< p>This plan excludes the $6.5-billion Northern Gateway pipeline, which would pump crude from Alberta to the B.C. coast. Regulators have approved the line, but it still faces a number of political and other hurdles. If Enbridge decides to build Northern Gateway, it could begin operating in 2019.

< p>The company expects to earn $2.05 to $2.35 a share in 2015, and the stock trades at a somewhat high 26.0 times the midpoint of that range. That leaves the shares vulnerable if Enbridge fails to meet its aggressive growth targets. Enbridge is a hold.