The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Nov. 3, edition that by suspending its dividend reinvestment plan Enbridge is signalling that it does not need -- or want -- the crutch of being able to pay investors with shares instead of cash. The Globe's John Heinzl writes that the company is also effectively saying that it considers its current share price to be well below its intrinsic value. Just as it probably would not want to do a formal equity issue at the stock's current levels, it does not want to dilute investors by steadily issuing shares under its DRIP.
Veritas Investment analyst Darryl McCoubrey says Enbridge's decision to suspend the DRIP is a positive development. He says, "In the long term this is a really good sign because it is suggesting that a lot of that worry around their financial risk and balance sheet should start to fade away."
Selling new equity -- which is effectively what a DRIP accomplishes -- is also expensive for Enbridge, says Mr. McCoubrey. Not only do the shares carry a yield of more than 6 per cent, but the company's DRIP gave investors a 2-per-cent discount on new shares.
Enbridge said on Friday that it no longer needs the DRIP as a source of financing.
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