Portfolio change for Torstar

Article Excerpt

TORSTAR $1.79 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Shares outstanding: 80.6 million; Market cap: $145.3 million; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.6%; www.torstar.com) had revenue of $188.4 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2016. That’s down 11.9% from $213.7 million a year earlier. Growth at the company’s Internet businesses failed to offset weaker ad sales for print publications. In response, Torstar continues to cut costs. That’s why it earned $0.16 a share in the latest quarter. A year earlier, it lost $0.10. We still think Torstar is worth holding, and we plan to keep it as an aggressive recommendation of our Successful Investor newsletter. However, in our Safety-conscious Stock Portfolio (see next page), we focus on companies with strong business prospects and leading positions in healthy industries. As a result, we have removed Torstar from this portfolio. Torstar is a hold. hold…