Personal Finance 101

Spectra Energy Increases Dividend

Growing Dividend

As a spin-off of the successful Duke Energy, Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE:SE) has had a rather successful first 16 months in business and has recently declared an 8.7 percent increase in its quarterly cash dividend
on its common stock, from $0.23 to $0.25 per share. The dividend is payable September 15, 2008, to shareholders of record at the close of business August 15, 2008.

Spectra has what appears to be a very assertive, yet stable, long term growth plan that is focused on organic growth and project development. This includes a very lucrative joint venture with Conaco Phillips and already transports some 12% of the natural gas consumed in the United States.

With these facts in mind, let’s take a look at what the Chief Financial Officer (Soon to be CEO at the end of 2008) of Spectra Energy, Greg Ebel has to say to investors looking to purchase stock in the company:

I think the key reasons are, first and foremost, a home grown stable of expansion projects that give visibility on earnings growth to the better-than-the-pack earnings growth and opportunities they see. Also, solid dividend growth opportunity, sound financial management and overall a relatively safe harbor in what is a somewhat dodgy financial market situation and economic situation we see out there today.

A Closer Look At Spectra Energy

Spectra Energy is one of North America’s premier natural gas infrastructure companies serving three key links in the natural gas value chain: gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. With very solid transportation contracts into the foreseeable future, there is little concern for profitability and optimism for increasing shareholder value. However, any lagging demand for natural gas would certainly be a concern for the company moving forward.

Spectra Energy owns and operates critically important pipelines and related infrastructure connecting natural gas supply sources to premium markets. Based in Houston, Texas, the company operates in the United States and Canada approximately 18,000 miles of transmission pipeline, 265 billion cubic feet of storage, natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids operations and local distribution assets.

Spectra Energy Corp also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, the largest natural gas gatherer and processor in the United States.

Why Pipeline Stocks?

It has been said before, but pipeline stocks are like railroads for natural gas. Simply put, the demand for natural gas is up and correlates somewhat with oil prices, but the upside with pipelines is that they do not have the competition from other forms of transportation. In order to move and significant volume of natural gas a pipeline must be used.

Pipelines are traditionally managed very conservatively, as is Spectra Energy, and make their money through cost-of-service contracts and other required services. This means that cash flow is relatively stable and predictable when compared to the market as a whole. This can be referenced by viewing the Beta coefficients of pipeline stocks which show significantly less volatility than the broader markets.

I have stated before, and I will state again that pipelines are great recession proof stocks.

On top of preserving and likely growing capital, investors can collect a healthy (and growing) dividend yield.

Spectra’s current yield is 3.28%.

Spectra also boasts Return on Equity and Return on Investment numbers that are markedly abov ethe industry average at 17.1% and 5.76 % respectively.

For those of you looking to preserve capital during these rough market times and collect a solid dividend, I highly recommend pipeline stocks. Along, with Spectra Energy I suggest looking at Trans Canada Pipeline (TRP).

Full Disclosure: The Author does not own shares of Spectra Energy, but does own some Trans Canada Pipeline.

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Check Out This Recession Proof Stock

If you are looking to “recession proof” your portfolio, then look no further than TransCanada Pipeline (TRP). Throughout this post, evidence of a strong strong stock for a defensive portfolio will be discussed.

After some thorough research, I believe that TransCanada’s earnings, cash flow and growth are not likely to be impacted by a recession and the recent downturn in stock price offers us an excellent buying opportunity.

TransCanada’s business is essentially recession-proof for a few key reasons:

• Its earnings and cash flow are earned through cost-of-service arrangements, contracts and other required services.

• The company is led by a very strong management team that maintains a financially conservative discipline.

• TransCanada is in its best financial position in recent years, with a superior debt rating of “A”, the strongest balance sheet in over a decade (55% debt at September 30/2007) and over $2.5 billion of annual cash flow (>$1.5 billion post dividends and Capital Spending)

TransCanada offers an outstanding valuation at this time. The stock is currently within 6% of its 52-week low and boasts huge dividend yield for a pipeline 3.70%.

The dividend payout ratio is sitting at a respectable 63% and the company has grown its dividend at a steady rate of 7.3%. The ROI is right on the industry average at 5.07% and the Return on Equity (ROE) is well above the average for the industry at 13.00%.

The chart shows support at $37.00, which also coincides with the 50-Day Moving Average support. These two factors make an entry at around $37.00 a very attractive proposition.

Still Not Convinced

How about adding the recently announced quarterly dividend of $0.36 per common share, a six per cent increase over the $0.34 per share paid in each of the previous four quarters. The dividend is payable on April 30, 2008 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31, 2008.

What are your favorite “recession proof” stocks?

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