Enbridge rewards investors

Article Excerpt

ENBRIDGE INC. $64 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 2.2 billion; Market cap: $140.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 5.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to eastern Canada and the U.S. It also distributes gas to 7 million consumers in Ontario and Quebec, and five U.S. states. While U.S. tariffs on Canadian oil imports could hurt Enbridge’s shipping volumes, the company still plans to spend $7 billion on new projects and upgrades in 2025. Combined with its recent acquisition of regulated gas utility firms in the U.S. for $14.0 billion U.S., those new assets should increase Enbridge’s gross earnings by roughly 9% in 2025, to between $19.4 billion and $20.0 billion. Thanks to those higher earnings, Enbridge will raise your quarterly dividend by 3.0%. Starting with the March 2025 payment, investors will receive $0.9425 a share instead of $0.915. The new annual…