Pembina offers low-risk growth and income

Article Excerpt

PEMBINA PIPELINE CORP. $43 (Toronto symbol PPL; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio; Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 503.0 million; Market cap: $21.6 billion; Dividend yield: 5.0%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.pembina.com) owns pipelines that carry almost all of B.C.’s oil and half of Alberta’s conventional oil. Its network also carries 30% of Western Canada’s natural gas liquids (NGLs). Pembina owns extensive facilities to extract, process and store NGLs; in addition, it operates natural-gas processing plants. Thanks to acquisitions and the expansion of its own pipeline systems, the company saw its revenue jump 77.1%, from $3.4 billion in 2012 to $6.1 billion in 2014. Revenue then fell to $4.6 billion in 2015 and to $4.3 billion in 2016. That’s mainly because lower selling prices for NGLs hurt revenue at Pembina’s midstream operations. However, the company’s cash flow soared 99.6%, from $494 million in 2012 to $986 million in 2016. Due to more shares outstanding, cash flow per share rose at a slower rate of…