Topic: How To Invest

Our top natural gas pick.

Article Excerpt

Here are some natural gas producers we recommend: Encana Corp., $20.18, symbol ECA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 736.3 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; www.encana.com), is a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our conservative-growth advisory. Encana is one of North America’s largest natural gas producers. The company was a pioneer in the development of unconventional gas reserves (also called “tight gas”). This is natural gas that is trapped in rock formations. As the technology for extracting tight gas improved, production ballooned. That rise in supply, along with warmer-than-normal winter weather, pushed down gas prices. This depressed Encana’s stock price, along with those of many other producers. The company’s shares should rise as natural gas prices recover. Meanwhile, its cash flow, along with proceeds from planned asset sales, should let it keep paying quarterly dividends of $0.20 U.S. a share, for a 4.0% annualized yield. Encana is a buy. Pengrowth, $5.57, symbol PGF on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 512.6 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; www.pengrowth.com), is also a..