Altagas Ltd

ALA-T

Great business in Canada, and then they levered up to buy a gas company. No one in the market today likes debt. Numbers have stalled. There are more stable opportunities elsewhere.

Likes it. He's holding onto dividend payers like this one, but in an underweight position. Has a $20 target, and is comfortable with the dividend. A utility like this one is a good place to sit for the dividend. Massive downturn offers a great entry point. Cautionary note is the Alberta economy.

He doesn't think we have seen the final outcome of their takeover yet, so would wait to see how that materializes. There may be some regulation hurdles to still overcome.

A recovery story he missed. He prefers the dividend and growth that comes from Enbridge even as their business is more stable now.

He bailed. They made this transformational acquisition in Washington and they over levered themselves. They had to spin out Alberta Gas Canada. He still owns the bonds as they are deleveraging. He wouldn't go back even as it is safer now.

They are trying to rebalance following the Washington asset acquisition. No one liked the cut in dividend, but it was prudent. The stock has bounced and the yield is around 5%. He thinks the market is not valuing it fully. They are selling assets at good prices and Washington Power had a great earnings quarter. The propane export terminal in Vancouver is a huge investment that is starting to pay off.

(A Top Pick May 10/17, Down 23%) He kept averaging down as it plunged last year, so it's been a strong performer as it has bounced up. That bottom should never have happened. problem was, they reported in Q3 when utilities report their weakest earnings in the warmest weather; you don't use as much lighting and heating then. So, ALA made a major acquisition at this time when they reported weak, and the market didn't like that. A good Q4 report then triggered a rally. He predicts Q1 will push this further up. What's under the radar is their new propane exports terminal starting now, which will help ALA recover. Sometimes the market is focused on the short term. Be patient.

Own debt rather than the stock. Acquisition from 2016-17 got delayed, too much debt, management changes. Core focus has to be on what core assets are in US. Not top of his list in the space. Have to get the debt down and sell assets. For dividend investors, it's at an OK level.

They spun out Canadian assets to pay for an American purchase. Pays a good yield, but sees better cash flow growth and a better balance sheet elsewhere.

The preferred K, a rate-reset They've done a good job of splitting up the company into two stocks. They've got things on track. You can hold this preferred. The next reset is not till 2022. ALA has to do more work, but he is confident they can dig themselves out.

This is starting to recover. It was a darling and fell. A lot of bad news in 2018. They cut the dividend. They are now posturing the name for the next 5-10 years. He believes the company will grow. Yields about 5%. They have a number of businesses coming on stream.

A rough year last year and is up about 30% year to date. Their acquisition caused concern for the market. The assets are still top quality. They plan to sell $3 billion in assets. Their Ridley Island propane export terminal will help. The stock will continue to grind higher. He will continue to hold it.

ALA has recently risen from the low-teens to $16 He sold this in 2016. He didn't know it then, but ALA bought a big utility in Washington. They are de-leveraging when many other companies are. He isn't fond of the cost of that utility. They just changed CEO's under strange circumstances. The CEO has cut the dividend, but not enough has changed for him. Take profits or don't own.

The 5.9% dividend appears attractive, but is it sustainable? Maybe this is okay if you can take more risk.

A good name in terms of if you want to be prone to take some risk for potential returns. Similar to energy names it has lagged recently. You can be very patient with it if you want. Don’t expect it to break out easily. Buy the weakness and don’t chase strength. He does not go after it because it does not show any relative strength. It is a range trader.