Here’s our Pick of the Month

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ALTAGAS LTD. $18.22 (Toronto symbol ALA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-365-3535; www.altagas.ca; Shares outstanding: 275.6 million; Market cap: $5.1 billion; Dividend yield: 5.3%) processes, transports, stores and markets natural gas for producers. It also operates natural gas utilities and is a power generator, with gas-fired, coal-fired, wind, biomass and hydroelectric plants. Apart from the company’s remaining 37% stake in AltaGas Canada (Toronto symbol ACI), almost all of its assets are now in the U.S. That in part reflects its July 2018 purchase of Washington, D.C.-based utility WGL Holdings Inc. for $4 billion. For the three months ended December 31, 2018, AltaGas’s overall revenue jumped 131.8%, to $1.73 billion from $745.0 million a year earlier. The WGL acquisition drove the revenue gains. Earnings in the latest quarter, excluding one-time items, rose 90.5%, to $120.0 million from $63.0 million. Per-share earnings rose 22.2%, to $0.44 from $0.36, on more shares outstanding from the WGL purchase. AltaGas must continue to successfully integrate that acquisition. However, the process is going well,…