TRP will lower its exposure to LNG

Article Excerpt

TRANSCANADA CORP. $56 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 914.0 million; Market cap: $51.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.9; Dividend yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) operates a 91,900-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. Other operations include 4,900 kilometres of crude oil pipelines and 11 power plants. The company recently started work on its Coastal GasLink pipeline project, which will pump natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Kitimat, B.C. From there, tankers will carry the LNG to markets in Asia. The pipeline should start operating in 2023. TransCanada is now looking for partners to help offset the $6.2 billion cost. It plans to retain 25% to 49% of the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The cash from that sale would help the company with its plan to spend $36.4 billion on new projects and upgrades by 2023. TransCanada is a buy. buy…