Pembina Pipeline Income Fund is now Pembina Pipeline Corp (TSX: PPL, OTC: PBNPF). As promised by management, the company’s conversion to a corporation occurred with no change in the monthly distribution of CAD0.13 per share. Moreover, US investors who hold Pembina in an IRA account will no longer be withheld 15 percent of dividends by the Canadian government, amounting to an effective 17.6 percent dividend increase.

When trusts convert to corporations, trading symbols change. Usually, the Toronto symbol changes immediately and only by eliminating the “-U” or “.UN” suffix. In Pembina’s case, the first three call letters have changed as well, from PIF to PPL.

When a trust trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) converts, its US trading symbol also changes immediately. Pembina, however, trades “over the counter” (OTC) in the US. As has been the case with every other OTC-listed trust to convert, Pembina’s previous OTC symbol–PMBIF–is not currently trading. The “pending listing” as of Tuesday evening is for the symbol PBNPF; it take a few days, however, for US brokers to adjust their systems and for the change to the new shares to be reflected in accounts.

Until the “pending listing” becomes official the only way for US investors to get quotes will be from the Toronto Stock Exchange under the new PPL symbol. We can’t do anything about that. But we have updated the symbol on the Canadian Edge website, both in How They Rate and in the Portfolio table. These are Toronto Stock Exchange quotes expressed in US dollars, so readers will be able to keep up with Pembina’s share price.

The good news is the company is doing very well, and the stock has been making new highs in the wake of its conversion. The share price is now a bit above my buy target, meaning new purchases are best postponed for now. But for anyone who’s bought Pembina over the past year at lower prices, there’s every reason to keep holding on as we await the next round of quarterly results.

Editor’s Note: For additional information on this topic, check out Roger Conrad’s latest report on Top Canadian Income Trusts.