New pipelines will drive growth

Article Excerpt

Alberta’s new NDP government plans to withdraw the province’s support for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline, which would pump crude oil to the U.S. Gulf Coast. But Keystone XL is just one of many new projects the company is working on. And as these developments come onstream, the cash flow they generate will fuel TransCanada’s plan to hike its dividend by at least 8% annually through 2017. TRANSCANADA CORP. $53 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 709.0 million; Market cap: $37.6 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 3.8; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) operates a 68,000- kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The company’s pipelines supply 20% of North America’s natural gas needs. In 2014, they provided 48% of TransCanada’s revenue and 53% of its earnings. The company also owns or invests in 21 power plants in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern U.S. In all,…