#1 pick vaults ahead!

Article Excerpt

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $39.60 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couchetard.com; Shares outstanding: 179.4 million; Market cap: $7.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%) has jumped over $5 since it announced that it is buying Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA for $2.8 billion U.S. Couche-Tard is now up 29% since we made it our #1 stock Pick for 2012 in our February issue at $30.55. Statoil, Norway’s largest North Sea oil producer, owns 54% of publicly traded Statoil Fuel. The 2,300-station acquisition will give Couche-Tard the largest chain of gas stations in Scandinavia and the Baltic states, as well as a growing presence in Poland. Statoil Fuel will add $12.9 billion U.S. in sales to Couche-Tard’s yearly sales of over $24 billion U.S. It will also immediately add to earnings per share. Growth by acquisition can be risky, especially with a deal this big. But Couche-Tard has a long record of successfully integrating acquisitions. It’s also buying Statoil Fuel at a bargain due to Europe’s…