Pembina Pipeline CorpPPL.TOTOP PICKMay 15, 2025Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 30, 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.
PPL is more pure-play pipeline infrastructure. Better dividend yield. Contracted cashflow gives you earnings and revenue visibility. This would be his preference.
ALA gives you a mix of energy infrastructure (~45%) with regulated utilities (~55%). Utility component gives more stability, but lower dividend. He's not a huge fan of utilities unless they're tied to AI infrastructure buildout.
Integrated across the entire value chain, from well head to end user. Earns revenue every step of the way for gas and oil molecules. 80-90% of earnings are contracted, and that's what the dividend is based on. Working on really big (for them) LNG export facility off coast of BC.
(Analysts’ price target is $60.58)Likes growth. Good operator, very little commodity price exposure, consistent earnings, very safe dividend. Long-term buy and hold. Yield is 5.4%, and the dividend continues to rise.