Topic: How To Invest

TRANSCANADA CORP. $45.95 – Toronto symbol TRP

TRANSCANADA CORP. $45.95 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 704.4 million; Market cap: $32.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.transcanada.com) operates 68,500 kilometres of pipelines that pump natural gas in Canada and the U.S.

The company also owns or has interests in over 10,800 megawatts of power generation. That includes Bruce Power LP, a nuclear power plant in Ontario.

In the three months ended June 30, 2012, TransCanada’s revenue rose slightly, to $1.81 billion from $1.80 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 9.8%, to $0.46 from $0.51, mostly due to the negative impact of lower natural gas and power demand on its operations.

Like Enbridge (see left) Trans- Canada has faced high-profile environmental and political objections to a major pipeline project.

The U.S. government initially refused to approve TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, but the company feels that a new route, which would avoid environmentally sensitive areas in Nebraska, will help it win the required permits. It aims to start building the line in early 2013.

But even without Keystone, TransCanada’s prospects for growth—and dividend increases—are bright.

TransCanada trades at 20.7 times the $2.22 a share that it should earn this year. The shares yield 3.8%.

TransCanada is a buy

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