Copper shift will spur Teck shares

Article Excerpt

TECK RESOURCES LTD. $66 remains a buy for the Resources sector of your portfolio. The company (Toronto symbol TECK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 517.5 million; Market cap: $34.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; Dividend yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.teck.com) recently sold 20% of its metallurgical coal operations (called Elk Valley Resources) to Japanese steel maker Nippon Steel Corp., and a further 3% to South Korea’s POSCO. Metallurgical coal is a key ingredient in the making of steel. Switzerland-based mining company Glencore plc (Over-the-counter Pink Sheets symbol GLCNF) will buy the remaining 77% of Elk Valley Resources in the third quarter of 2024. In all, Teck will receive cash of $9.0 billion U.S. for 100% of this business. It will use some cash to pay down its total debt of $6.17 billion (as of March 31, 2024), which is equal to 18% of its market cap. It will also repurchase $500 million in shares. After the sale, Teck will focus on its copper…