Three Canadian stock picks from top-rated analysts ALA is one of the three :
AltaGas Ltd. (David Quezada at Raymond James and Benjamin Pham at BMO Capital)
Altagas (ALA) operates regulated natural-gas utilities in the U.S. and midstream assets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin. In the quarter ending March 31, the Calgary-based company recorded net income of $380-million on revenues of $3.89-billion. It is a defensive play, paying a dividend yielding almost 4 per cent. Analysts such as Mr. Quezada and Mr. Pham have applauded the company’s recent acquisition of the remaining stake in Petrogas Energy Corp. that it did not already own, giving AltaGas full control of the company. The transaction will be immediately accretive to earnings, financed without issuing new equity, and supportive of AltaGas’s capacity to export liquefied petroleum gases from the West Coast.