The Canadian consumer sector is highly competitive. Aside from other domestic retailers, Canadian retailers face rising competition from large U.S. discount retailers, like Wal-Mart and Costco. As well, consumer stocks are more exposed to swings in the overall economy than companies in some other sectors, such as utilities.

That’s especially true when you indulge in aggressive investing in consumer stocks …read more »

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we’re picking high return investments to recommend in our investment advisories, including Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that covers the U.S. stock market.

By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. When a company’s assets are wholly or partially …read more »

Our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter helps you find the aggressive investing stocks that could greatly enhance your portfolio’s results. These undervalued, often overlooked companies have the potential to explode for large returns of 50% or more in six months or less.

It’s important to keep in mind that all aggressive investing stocks – including those we recommend in Stock Pickers Digest …read more »

FORTRESS PAPER $23.45 (Toronto symbol FTP; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (1-888-820-3888; www.fortresspaper.com; Shares outstanding: 10.2 million; Market cap: $240.0 million; No dividends paid) is a Canadian specialty paper producer. Fortress has plants in Germany and Switzerland.

The company gets 62% of its sales by making high-quality wallpaper-base products, as well as high-grade graphic papers and other specialty papers. The remaining 38% …read more »

AMAZON.COM $146.43 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 445.5 million; Market cap: $65.2 billion; No dividends paid) has received approval from the federal government to open a $20-million distribution centre in Canada.

In 2002, the government let Amazon open a Canadian web site, www.amazon.ca, but would not let the company build a warehouse because of concerns …read more »

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $18.47 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: SI Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 183.6 million; Market cap: $3.4 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) has launched a $1.9-billion hostile takeover bid for Casey’s General Stores (symbol CASY on Nasdaq).

Casey’s owns 1,507 convenience stores in the U.S. Midwest. The stores offer a wide variety of food and non-food merchandise, as well as …read more »

INDIGO BOOKS & MUSIC INC. $18 (Toronto symbol IDG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 24.5 million; Market cap: $441.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.2%; SI Rating: Average) will face stronger competition from online bookseller Amazon.com now that the federal government will let Amazon build a warehouse in Canada. This warehouse will lower Amazon’s distribution costs, and …read more »

THE WESTAIM CORP. $0.71 has completed its purchase of Montreal-based Jevco Insurance Co. from Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (Toronto symbol KFS). Jevco sells insurance to high-risk drivers, as well as owners of motorcycles, snowmobiles and recreational vehicles. Jevco operates in Quebec and Ontario.

Westaim paid $264.2 million for Jevco. Most of the money came from the $275 million that Westaim raised …read more »

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $55 (Nasdaq symbol TROW; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 259.0 million; Market cap: $14.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 7.7; Dividend yield: 2.0%; WSSF Rating: Average) sells mutual funds and wealth-management services.

The company’s assets under management rose 41.6%, to $391.3 billion at the end of 2009 from $276.3 billion a year earlier. Rising stock markets …read more »

STATE STREET CORP. $45 (New York symbol STT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 495.4 million; Market cap: $22.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 0.1%; WSSF Rating: Extra Risk) makes most of its money providing accounting and record-keeping services to large institutional investors, such as mutual funds and pension plans.

State Street has agreed to pay $313 million to …read more »

WESTERN UNION CO. $17 (New York symbol WU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 682.8 million; Market cap: $11.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 1.4%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) provides money-transfer and foreign-exchange services in over 200 countries.

The company recently completed a restructuring that included closing some outlets and outsourcing certain administrative functions. These moves should save it …read more »

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS INC. $22 (New York symbol BR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 134.8 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.6%; WSSF Rating: Average) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications; securities processing; and transaction clearing. The company mails and processes 70% of all proxy votes.

Broadridge stands to gain as …read more »

ARKANSAS BEST CORP. $29 (Nasdaq symbol ABFS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 25.3 million; Market cap: $733.7 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 0.4%; WSSF Rating: Average) lost $127.9 million, or $5.12 a share, in 2009. That figure included a $64-million writedown of goodwill and a one-time, $4.6-million pension contribution. Without these costs, the company would …read more »

Our Successful Investor Stock Picker Fund is one of four “pooled funds” we offer as part of our Successful Investor Wealth Management service. The fund takes its name from our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter, which focuses on investments that would be suitable for your aggressive portfolio.

Our pooled funds operate like traditional mutual funds. They give us a way to offer …read more »

INTACT FINANCIAL CORP. $42.95 (Toronto symbol IFC; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-341-1464; www.intactfc.com; Shares outstanding: 119.9 million; Market cap: $5.1 billion; Dividend yield: 3.2%) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance, based on premiums. Its brands include Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink, belairdirect and Grey Power. Intact Financial has over four million clients. It controls roughly 11% of the Canadian …read more »

BMTC GROUP $36.51 (Toronto symbol GBT.A; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (514-648-5757; No web site; Shares outstanding: 26.3 million; Market cap: $960.2 million; Dividend yield: 1.1%) is one of Quebec’s largest retailers of furniture, electronic goods and household appliances.

In the three months ended December 30, 2009, BMTC’s revenue rose 3.3%, to $223.9 million from $216.8 million. Earnings per share (excluding one-time …read more »

YAMANA GOLD INC. $10.28 (Toronto symbol YRI; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 733.4 million; Market cap: $7.5 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) reports that its revenue soared 355.2% in the three months ended December 31, 2009, to $399.8 million from $87.8 million a year earlier. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Earnings (before one-time …read more »

ATLANTIC TELE-NETWORK $41.59 (Nasdaq symbol ATNI; SI Rating: Speculative) (340-777-8000; www.atni.com; Shares outstanding: 15.2 million; Market cap: $632.2 million; Dividend yield: 1.9%) gets 49% of its revenue from its 80% interest in Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company. The rest comes from wireless interests in the Caribbean and Bermuda, and from small U.S. holdings.

Atlantic is working to finish the integration of …read more »

LINAMAR CORP. $18 (Toronto symbol LNR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.7 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.3%; SI Rating: Extra Risk) is Canada’s second-largest auto-parts maker after Magna International Inc. Linamar specializes in engines, transmissions and other precision-machined parts for the North American, European and Asian car and truck markets. …read more »

SHAWCOR LTD. $28 (Toronto symbol SCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 70.5 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.0%; SI Rating: Average) gets 90% of its revenue by making sealants and coatings that protect onshore and offshore oil and natural-gas pipelines from corrosion. The remaining 10% comes from making industrial equipment, such …read more »

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $52 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 151.2 million; Market cap: $7.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 1.3%; SI Rating: Average) is a leading Canadian engineering and construction company. SNC designs and builds large-scale public-works projects, such as roads, bridges, transit systems and water-treatment plants. It also builds mines, chemical …read more »

We generally focus on market leaders when analyzing stocks in the more volatile Manufacturing & Industry sector. That’s because they have spent decades building large client bases. That cuts their risk, since long-time customers are unlikely to switch to unproven suppliers. Their strong reputations also help them attract new customers.

These four industrial companies’ earnings should rebound with the overall economy. …read more »

HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $42 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 34.7 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 1.5%; SI Rating: Average) is the parent company of Home Trust Company, which is a federally regulated firm that provides residential first mortgages to small business owners, the self-employed and others who don’t meet …read more »

J.C. PENNEY CO. INC. $28 (New York symbol JCP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 236.0 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 3.1%; WSSF Rating: Average) operates 1,108 department stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

In the fiscal year ended January 30, 2010, the retailer’s earnings fell 56.1%, to $249.0 million from $567.0 million in …read more »

Aggressive investments should make up no more than, say, 30% of your portfolio. You can cut your risk all the more by taking a conservative approach to your aggressive holdings.

To start, your aggressive portfolio should still reflect our three-pronged Successful Investor wealth-building philosophy. That is, invest mainly in well-established companies; spread your money out across most if not all of …read more »

KINGSWAY FINANCIAL SERVICES $1.70 (Toronto symbol KFS; SI Rating: Speculative) (905-629-7888; www.kingswayfinancial.com; Shares outstanding: 52.1 million; Market cap: $88.6 million; No dividends paid) has agreed to sell its Jevco Insurance Co. subsidiary for $263 million. This price does not include a $40-million dividend that Jevco will pay Kingsway before the sale is completed.

Jevco sells insurance to high-risk drivers, as well …read more »

AEROPOSTALE INC. $34.83 (New York symbol ARO; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (646-485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 62.7 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; No dividends paid) is splitting its shares on a 3-for-2 basis. Shareholders will get one additional Aeropostale share for every two shares they hold. The company will have 94 million outstanding shares after the split. It now has 62.7 …read more »

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $20.54 (Toronto symbol FSV; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 28.3 million; Market cap: $581.3 million; No dividends paid) serves the following areas of the real-estate market: commercial real estate; residential property management; and property improvement. FirstService has more than 17,000 employees worldwide.

In the three months ended September 30, 2009, FirstService’s revenue rose slightly, to $451.1 …read more »

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $5.40 and BBD.B $5.42; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market share: $9.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 1.9%; SI Rating: Extra Risk) delivered 302 aircraft in its latest fiscal year, which ended January 31, 2010. That’s down 13.5% from 349 in the prior year. Business-jet deliveries fell 25.1%, …read more »

INDIGO BOOKS & MUSIC INC. $16 (Toronto symbol IDG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 24.5 million; Market cap: $392.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield; 2.5%; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s largest bookseller. The company operates 96 superstores under the Indigo and Chapters banners. It also has 151 mall-based stores under the Coles, Indigo, Indigospirit, SmithBooks and The …read more »

WASHINGTON FEDERAL INC. $19 (Nasdaq symbol WFSL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 112.4 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.1; Dividend yield: 1.1%; WSSF Rating: Average) earned $7.9 million in its first quarter, which ended December 31, 2009. That’s a 63.2% drop from its year-earlier earnings of $21.5 million. Earnings per share fell 69.6%, to $0.07 from …read more »

LA-Z-BOY INC. $11 (New York symbol LZB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 51.6 million; Market cap: $567.6 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; No dividends paid since March 2009; WSSF Rating: Speculative) makes upholstered reclining chairs and sofas. It also imports wooden furniture, such as tables and entertainment centres.

The company sells its products through both large department stores …read more »

WESTERN UNION CO. $18 has raised its dividend by 500%. The new annual rate of $0.24 yields 1.3%. The money-transfer specialist will also buy back $1 billion of its shares over the next three years. That’s equal to 8% of its market cap. Best Buy.

TENNANT CO. $25 has increased its dividend by 7.7%. The new annual rate of $0.56 yields …read more »

Demand for medical devices and supplies will undoubtedly continue to grow as the population ages. Companies in this fast-changing field make a wide range of products, from laboratory instruments to bandages and surgical tools.

Some medical-equipment firms are large and well-established, like C.R. Bard (symbol BCR on New York), one of the stocks we cover in our Wall Street Stock …read more »

AMERICAN WOODMARK $19.77 (Nasdaq symbol AMWD; SI Rating: Speculative) (540-665-9100;www.americanwoodmark.com; Shares outstanding: 14.1 million; Market cap: $279.7 million; Dividend yield: 1.8%) is a U.S.-based maker of cabinets for kitchens and bathrooms. It offers more than 380 cabinet lines in a variety of designs, materials and finishes. The company mainly sells these through a network of dealers and distributors. It also …read more »

AEROPOSTALE INC. $34.54 (New York symbol ARO; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (646-485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 66.1 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; No dividends paid) reports that its December same-store sales rose 10% from a year earlier.

Same-store sales compare results from stores that have been open for a year or more. This lets investors see how much of a retailer’s sales …read more »

DOMINO’S PIZZA $11.16 (New York symbol DPZ; SI Rating: Average)(734-930-3030; www.dominos.com; Shares outstanding: 58.4 million; Market cap: $652.1 million; No dividends paid) rose sharply in January. The gain was mostly due to positive investor reaction to Domino’s new television ads for its new pizza.

The company is aiming to increase its market share by changing its main pizza recipe. It will …read more »

CGI GROUP INC. $15 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 297.0 million; Market cap: $4.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; No dividends paid; SI Rating: Extra Risk) is Canada’s largest provider of computer-outsourcing and information-technology services. It also operates in 15 other countries. Canada provided 57% of CGI’s revenue in its latest year, followed by …read more »

AGRIUM INC. $70 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 157.0 million; Market cap: $11.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 0.2%; SI Rating: Average) is spending $800 million to expand production at its potash mine at Vanscoy, Saskatchewan (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). The company earned $46 million, or $0.29 …read more »

POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN $122 should benefit from the improving outlook for potash and other fertilizers. Prices fell sharply in 2009, because farmers used less fertilizer in light of lower crop prices. As well, good weather and large amounts of residual fertilizer in the soil led to better-than-expected harvests. However, use should return to normal levels in 2010. As well, …read more »

On January 15, Stock Picker’s Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing, will unveil a stock that’s well positioned for explosive profits in 2010 — and if you hold it for a couple of years, there’s a great chance that it could skyrocket even further. In fact, we think this company’s prospects are so bright we’ve named it Stock Picker’s Digest’s …read more »

When you subscribe to The Successful Investor, our flagship publication, you get access to three high-quality portfolios we’ve built to help you profit over the long term.

We update all three regularly, and keep them under constant review to make sure you always get our very best picks among high return investments.

(We’ve updated our buy/sell/hold advice on a company …read more »

NCR CORP. $11 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 159.2 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; No dividends paid; WSSF Rating: Average) has a broader product line than Diebold, and gets just a third of its revenue from making and servicing ATMs. The rest comes from selling checkout scanners, cash registers …read more »

DIEBOLD INC. $27 (New York symbol DBD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 66.3 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 3.9%; WSSF Rating: Average) makes automated teller machines (ATMs), as well as safes, vaults and building security systems.

To cut its reliance on ATMs and related equipment, Diebold is offering more services to its …read more »

ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES $6.66 (Toronto symbol AF: SI Rating: Speculative) (1-800-267-2001; www.alarmforce.com; Shares outstanding: 12.2 million; Market cap: $81.3 million; No dividends paid) continues to hit all-time highs as it adds subscribers. The company reports that it had 102,000 subscribers as of October 31, 2009. That’s up 12% from a year earlier.

AlarmForce mainly attracts new customers by aggressively promoting itself through …read more »

TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $27.03 (Toronto symbol TIH; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (416-667-5511; www.toromont.com; Shares outstanding: 64.7 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) has two divisions: the equipment group and the compression group.

The equipment group’s Caterpillar dealership is one of the world’s largest, covering Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nunavut.

Toromont’s U.S.-based compression group designs, engineers, builds and installs …read more »

TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $12 (Toronto symbol TCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 80.8 million; Market cap: $969.6 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.7%; SI Rating: Average) is the largest commercial printer in Canada, and the sixth-largest in North America. This business provides 60% of its revenue and profit. The company also publishes newspapers and magazines (25% of revenue, …read more »

METRO INC. $37 (Toronto symbol MRU.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 108.5 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 1.5%; SI Rating: Average) is Canada’s third-largest supermarket operator, after Loblaw and Sobeys. Metro operates roughly 660 grocery stores in Quebec and Ontario. Its major banners include Metro, Super C and Food Basics. The company also …read more »

For most of its 62-year history, grocery-store operator Metro focused solely on its home province of Quebec. In 2005, it successfully expanded to Ontario with its acquisition of the A&P chain. This purchase gave Metro the size it needed to compete with other supermarket chains, such as Loblaw, and with non-traditional food sellers, such as Wal-Mart.

The company now aims to …read more »

AGRIUM INC. $68 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 157.0 million; Market cap: $10.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 0.2%; SI Rating: Average) is still trying to buy U.S.-based fertilizer maker CF Industries Holdings Inc. (New York symbol CF). Agrium is offering $5.3 billion in cash and shares (all amounts except share price and market …read more »