A Yield to Caution

Article Excerpt

SUPERIOR PLUS CORP. $11.31 (Toronto symbol SPB; Shares outstanding: 142.8 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Dividend yield: 6.4%; www.superiorplus.com) distributes propane in Canada and the U.S. The company also produces and distributes specialty chemicals, including sodium chlorate and chloralkali; they’re used for bleaching pulp (wood fibres). Superior currently trades at just 7.1 times its forecast 2017 cash flow of $1.60 a share. It also yields a high 6.4%. In March 2017, the company agreed to pay $434.8 million to buy the Canwest industrial propane business of Gibson Energy. As a result, Superior faces a number of risks: The company’s total debt has risen from $541.7 million at the end of 2016 to today’s $935.9 million. That equals a high 58% of Superior’s $1.6 billion market cap. In addition, propane has diverse residential and commercial uses, but most propane users switch to natural gas when gas prices fall. That means the company faces gradual shrinkage in its already-competitive market. Superior’s exposure to the cyclical pulp and paper…