Stock price when the opinion was issued
This is the one he likes in the space. Part of its business is very utility-like. Steady dividend, which will rise over time. Dividend also looks attractive in the face of an economic slowdown when interest rates would fall. Hold for the long haul.
More pipeline builds would certainly be an opportunity for growth for this name, but that's not why he owns it.
Defensive assets are garnering less and less of a bid as people become more comfortable with economic risk. Used this name as a source of cash to add more beta to portfolios. Great company, but relative price performance has started to back off for the pipelines group. Pipelines carry a lot of debt, and financing costs could get more expensive if long-term yields stay high.
This was a top pick because he wanted to keep the betas low, just in case there is a market correction any time in the next year. All the talk is about Keystone and their oil pipelines, but nobody is really paying attention that this has been accumulating a lot of gas pipelines and gas assets. Natural gas prices have been in the toilet for a long time, and that bodes well for them, because it is going to be the less pollutant, cheaper choice for the US moving forward. The dividend has been growing roughly in the 10% range which he expects will continue. Dividend yield of 4.2%. Trading around 20X PE. (Analysts' price target is $72.50.)