Activists apply pressure

STUART OLSON INC. $5.75 (Toronto symbol SOX; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (780-454-3667; www.stuartolson.com; Shares outstanding: 27.8 million; Market cap: $152.8 million; Dividend yield: 8.4%) is now in the sights of activist investors Crescendo Partners L.P. and Jamarant Capital L.P.
The New York-based investment firms have declared unspecified stock interests in… Read More

Updating Symantec Corp., Nissan Motor (ADR), and Stuart Olson Inc.

SYMANTEC CORP. $20.72 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (650-527-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 638.9 million; Market cap: $13.2 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) sells computer-security technology, including antivirus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers.
The company has now formed a partnership with Fortinet, symbol FTNT on Nasdaq. Both companies… Read More

Buy Russel, hold on to Stuart Olson

RUSSEL METALS $25.04 (Toronto symbol RUS; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (905-819-7777; www.russelmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 62.1 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Dividend yield: 6.1%) is one of North America’s largest metal distributors. It serves over 28,000 clients at 51 locations in Canada and 12 in the U.S.
In the three… Read More