Keystone clears hurdle

Article Excerpt

TRANSCANADA CORP. $43 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 703.0 million; Market cap: $30.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) continues to face strong opposition from environmentalists and celebrities over its proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would pump crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast. (Keystone XL is the third and fourth phases of the four-phase Keystone project; the first two phases are already pumping oil from Alberta to the U.S. Midwest.) These activists oppose the development of the oil sands, due to concerns that they will produce large amounts of greenhouse gases, and contribute to global warming. They also worry that the pipeline could leak and contaminate underground water tables. However, it’s looking more likely that Keystone XL will be built. As the pipeline crosses an international border, the U.S. State Department must approve the project. It recently concluded that Keystone XL will have no…