We expect these acquisitions to pay off

Article Excerpt

Enbridge is now in the process of buying three U.S. natural gas utilities. While big purchases like these add risk, rate-regulated businesses generate predictable cash flows, which the company can then use to pay down the loans it took out to fund the deals. Moreover, the improved cash flow will let the company keep raising your dividend. ENBRIDGE INC. $55 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $110.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 6.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada eastward as well as to the U.S. Its network transports 30% of the crude oil produced in North America, and 20% of the natural gas consumed in the U.S. Enbridge’s revenue fell 21.9%, from $50.07 billion in 2019 to $39.09 billion in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hurt oil demand and prices. Revenue rebounded 20.4% to $47.07 billion in 2021,…