Pipelines and Energy in Focus for June, 2026

 

It's been a comfortable spring with some cool and rain days. With wild fires always a threat this time of year, more rain days are a good thing. 

The recent Big Bank earning reports were no surprise and upbeat. Notable to me was the Bank of Nova Scotia, BNS.TO buying into banks and investment firms in the US. Scotiabank gained over 52% in the last year and increased their dividend by 4% with the next ex-dividend date occurring on July 7th, 2026.

Unusual and unexpected (in a good way) is the higher increase in price of a covered-call Canadian Bank ETF I hold. BMO's ZWB has a current increase of 15% over the last 6 months, 41% in the last year. The distribution cash increased as well but that could change where covered-call ETFs tend to roll with Market ups and downs.

In focus for June is pipelines and energy related with my portfolio highlighted more these days as Canada is looked at as a trustworthy source of oil and natural gas with the Iran/US conflict continuing and the daily news about an on and then off possible resolution.

 A natural gas storage company I've been watching released it's 1st quarter report for 2026 with a majority stake holder being Brookfield and it's trillion dollars worth of assets. The gas goes through high and low demands during a year and during less demand, additional storage of the gas is needed.

Rockpoint Gas Storage, RGSI.TO is based in Alberta but also has storage facilities south of the border with California being the state highlighted. Expansion of  Warwick Gas and Battery Storage projects are ongoing. With investors, Rockwell is buying back stock and has a target of a 3 to 5% dividend increase going forward while increasing it's current dividend by 5% with an ex-dividend date of June 15th, 2026.

Personally, I believe it's an interesting company and provides a needed service for the natural gas producers which use it's storage facilitates. I'll see where it takes me with regards to earnings and income.

With the Globe and Mail, I read the monthly updates and insights from CIBC's Sid Mokhtari, Chief Marketing Technician who has a record of beating the TSX index. No doubt highly paid for his position and results so I take notice.

For June, utilities are more in focus but the pipeline and energy producer, Keyera, KEY.TO is a carryover over from May where he adjusts his portfolio by using his specific metrics.

KEY has been in the headlines making more acquisitions and a recent agreement with CNR to build a railway hub for more accessible transporting of their resources. Where I hold the stock, I'll grow my position there.

I rarely sell a stock unless the comparable price performance in that sector or general market is not performing as expected over time and/or the current dividend payout is in question.

In the second half of June, I'll be looking at more energy and pipeline stocks such as South Bow Corp., SOBO.TO and Gibson Energy, GEI.TO, perhaps a new addition to the portfolio. Capital Power, CPX.TO based in Alberta, is also on my radar in the last of week of June with my ex-dividend calendar.

I got interested in the Morningstar Canada Indexes and the stocks I hold are ranked within as a guide and reference. A great resource to look over for ideas as mentioned below. The higher the Star rating... the more undervalued a stock is within their ranking system with Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, BIPC ranked with 5 stars in their Top Performing Canada Dividend Stocks list for May and a June stock pick by Sid Mokhtari mentioned above but with the ticker BIP.UN  

The Best Dividend Stock Leaders: More Ideas to Consider

Investors who would like to find more top-performing or cheap dividend stocks can do the following:

• Use our Morningstar Stock Screener tool to find the best dividend stocks according to your specific criteria. You can search for stocks based on their dividend yields, valuation measures like price/earnings ratios, and more.
• Review the full list of dividend stocks included in the Morningstar Canada Dividend Yield Focus Index. Those dividend stocks with Morningstar Ratings of 4 or 5 stars are undervalued, according to our metrics.
• When it comes to buying stocks, it’s more than just dividends. Read here how valuations and competitive advantages—known as economic moats—matter when it comes to a stock’s potential for outperformance.
• Read Morningstar’s Guide to Stock Investing to learn how our approach to investing can inform your stock-picking process.

  

The 2026 BTSX and Banking in May

 

I recently seen a post about how the BTSX Portfolio is performing so far in 2026 and it is beating the TSX index thanks to the energy stocks. I get some of my best portfolio ideas and stock/ETF picks from Blogs, newsletters and various sources. 

The latest BTSX news is from Cut the Crap Investing in a post entitled, The 2026 Beat the TSX Portolfio has the Energy to outpace the TSX Composite where Dale highlights the 2026 10 stock portfolio and follows up with additional stocks and ETF's, the majority of which I own.

Years back I had a loose plan for long term investing until I came across an article in Canadian Money Saver Magazine about the BTSX strategy and that eventually made for a more concrete foundation for my portfolio as I got more interested in the concept.

I eventually tweaked it and called it the Modified BTSX where I looked into each of the 10 stocks in the list and didn't buy all 10 where a company wasn't to my liking and I didn't sell all the stocks at the end of each year as per the plan. I looked further down the list of top 20 dividend paying stocks in the TSX 60 to add substitutes.

That original list keeps expanding and I'm pleased with the total return results. 

The BTSX held a few banks in past years but they have certainly climbed in price these days and valuations are high causing yields to come down with only the Bank of Nova Scotia or Scotiabank, BNS.TO making the 2026 list while owners of that stock are being rewarded with gains and dividends.

In the last week of May, the Big Banks of Canada are reporting earnings and as always, I'll be interested in seeing the numbers and overviews.

Looking at ETFs, RCDC.TO holds 5 of the banks and other top corporations in Canada. I'm getting overweight compared to the other ETFs I hold but with a current yield around the 7% range, it's providing the preferred monthly distributions for income. That's not investment advice. Just my opinion on one of the many bank related ETFs on the market.

Some of the more popular ETFs out there hold one or more of the Big Banks for a reason such as VDY and XEI. Stability, growth and dividends with increases.

XIU, the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF, with a low Management Expence of 0.18% also holds the top 5 banks in Canada in it's top 10 and gained about 7.5% while the BTSX is around 14.5% year to date where energy related stocks are surging over the ongoing US/Iran conflict.

In June, several of my high flying energy and pipeline stocks are on my ex-dividend calendar such as Canadian Natural Resources, CNQ.TO, Pembina Pipeline, PPL.TO and Keyera, KEY.TO in the first half of the month.