Pembina Pipeline CorpPPL.TOBUYJul 24, 2023Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jul 21, 2026. Market Open.
Both benefit from AI centre demand. Pembina is building a 1.8 gigawatt natural gas plant in Alberta. Half of ALA's business is in the US, regulated utilities, in Virginia--the world capital of data centre traffic. ALA also has activity in Western Canada. ALA's growth rate is higher than Pembina. ALA gets the slight edge.
APO has pretty smart people, and they're seeing an opportunity here. Purchase was from KKR, so nothing much changes.
As for PPL itself, trading a bit expensive with growth catalysts of 5-7%. Nice, visible project backlog. Nice dividend. Wouldn't add here, but you'll do OK if you own it.
Still thinks KEY is the better buy.
It isn't immune to the oil price though doesn't have a lot of raw commodity exposure. Its pipelines move 2.8 million barrels of oil and it scores 11 million barrels of oil. Also processes 5 billion cubic feet daily of natural gas. 70% of their revenues are take-or-pay contracts, plus 20% are fee-for-service. It's like a toll road. Pays a yield of 6% and trades at 15x PE, in line with peers. PPL is a reliable compounder over time, 8% annual compunded return.