Updating TRANSCANADA CORP., NORDION INC. and SUNCOR ENERGY INC.

Article Excerpt

TRANSCANADA CORP. $38 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 696.0 million; Market cap: $26.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 4.2%; SI Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) earned $374 million in the three months ended September 30, 2010. That’s up 11.6% from $335 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 10.2%, to $0.54 from $0.49, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude gains and losses on contracts TransCanada uses to lock in prices on natural gas it has in storage. Revenue rose 3.9%, to $2.1 billion from $2.05 billion. Lower costs and higher production at the Bruce nuclear power complex in Ontario helped spur TransCanada’s earnings in the latest quarter. (The company owns 48.8% of the Bruce A reactors and 31.6% of the Bruce B reactors.) As well, TransCanada recently opened the first phase of its $12-billion U.S. Keystone pipeline, which pumps crude oil from Alberta to refineries in the U.S. Midwest. Keystone’s second phase should begin…