Natural Gas Stocks are a Gas Gas Gas

Natural gas has tanked 39% this year, the worst performer of all the commodities. Natural gas should increase to $4 per million BTU pretty soon, according to Goldman Sachs (GS). This is primarily due to production cutbacks from major producers and increased demand from utilities this year. It is significant since gas dropped 39% this year, the worst performing of all utilities.

There are many publicly traded companies involved in the distribution of natural gas, to both homes and businesses, and over 15 over them have yields in excess of 3%. For example, TransCanada Corp. (TRP), based in Calgery, Alberta, Canada, owns and operates natural gas pipelines and regulated gas storage facilities throughout Northern California. The company, which trades at 20 times earnings, pays a generous yield of 4.0%. (Talk to your accountant about foreign withholding tax, especially when foreign stocks are put in a retirement plan.) Earnings for the latest quarter were up 37.5% on a 14.7% rise in revenues.

Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD) is another high yielder gas company, which yields 4.9%. The stock trades at 21.6 times earnings, and earnings for the latest reported quarter ending December 31, were up an amazing 351.3% year over year, on a revenue increase of 20.9%. The company reports earning on May 2.

More options are available and worth further research including Northwest Natural Gas (NWN) at a 3.9% yield, WGL Holdings Inc (WGL) paying 4.0%, and Sempra Energy (SRE) at 3.7%. You can access a free list of over 25 natural gas companies, along with their price to earnings data, at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

By Stockerblog.com