Jim Bates

Jim is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for The Successful Investor and Wall Street Stock Forecaster and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Jim has held the Chartered Financial Analyst designation since 1992 and spent more than a decade at the Financial Post DataGroup before joining TSI Network. He has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Toronto.

Posts by the author
Growth Stocks
RTX Keeps Adding to Its Strong Backlog
RTX Corp. (formerly Raytheon Technologies Corp.) hits new all-time highs on unprecedented global demand.
4 min read
Jim Bates
Value Stocks
Finning International Has a Surging Backlog Amid Mining and Infrastructure Boom
2 min read
Jim Bates
McDonald's Corp. plans to keep aggressively opening locations to continue to power its sales.
Blue Chip Stocks
McDonald’s Reports Higher Sales Despite Economic Headwinds
2 min read
Jim Bates
Wealth Management
Stock market recommendations: FirstService reports higher revenue, lower earnings
FirstService Corp., symbol FSV on Toronto, serves the following areas of the real-estate market: commercial real estate; residential property management; and property improvement. We analyze FirstService in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that gives you our aggressive stock market recommendations. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, FirstService’s revenue jumped 18.9%, to $478.4 million from $402.4 million a year earlier (all figures except share prices in U.S. dollars)....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Dividend Stocks
Dividend stocks: Lower ATM demand weighs on Diebold’s earnings
Diebold Inc., symbol DBD on New York, is a leading maker of automated teller machines (ATMs). It also makes safes, vaults and building-security systems. Diebold recently raised its quarterly dividend by 3.7%, to $0.28 a share from $0.27. The dividend stock’s new annual rate of $1.12 yields 3.5%. The company has raised its dividend each year for the past 58 years. The company earned $2.5 million, or $0.04 a share, in the three months ended March 31, 2011. That’s down sharply from $24.9 million, or $0.37 a share, a year earlier. If you exclude costs related to the dividend stock’s restructuring and other one-time items, earnings per share fell 32.4%, to $0.23 from $0.34....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Daily Advice
Stock market trading: Higher costs weigh on Dorel’s earnings
Dorel Industries (Toronto symbol DII.B) makes a wide range of products, including ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; home furnishings, including chairs, tables, bunk beds, futons and step stools; and recreational products, including bicycles. It has 4,700 employees, and plants in 19 countries. We analyze Dorel in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive stock market trading. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Dorel’s revenue rose 1.9% to $607.8 million from $596.3 million on higher home furnishing and recreation/leisure sales. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.)...
1 min read
Jim Bates
Wealth Management
Our stock advice on the best way to cut your risk in the U.S. finance sector
The improving U.S. economy is helping more consumers repay their loans on time. That’s pushing down loan losses at a number of U.S. banks, and improving their profits. However, the outlook for the U.S. banking industry remains uncertain. High unemployment continues to hurt demand for new loans, and the industry faces greater regulations in the wake of the financial crisis.

Stock advice: Diversification is the key to lowering your risk in the U.S. finance sector

...
2 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Stock market investing: Macy’s results rise sharply
Macy’s Inc., New York symbol M, operates 850 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores in 45 states. It also sells goods over the Internet. Macy’s is one of the companies we cover in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for U.S. stock market investing. In its 2012 first quarter, which ended April 30, 2011, the company’s earnings jumped 233.3%, to $0.30 a share from $0.09 a year earlier. That easily beat the consensus earnings estimate of $0.18 a share....
1 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Stock picks: Strong quarter for Zhongpin
Zhongpin Inc., symbol HOGS on Nasdaq, is a China-based company that processes meat and other foods. Zhongpin specializes in pork and pork products, as well as fruit and vegetables. It sells 358 meat products, including chilled pork, frozen pork and prepared meats, as well as 34 fruit and vegetable products. Zhongpin focuses on prepared meat, with its higher profit margins, rather than bulk pork. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, the stock pick’s revenue jumped 39.9%, to $285.8 million from $204.3 million a year earlier. Earnings rose 27.1%, to $16.9 million from $13.3 million. Earnings per share rose 23.7%, to $0.47 from $0.38, on more shares outstanding. That beat the consensus earnings forecast of $0.45....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Wealth Management
Stock market recommendations: Symantec sales rise on data security concerns
Symantec Corp., symbol SYMC on Nasdaq, sells Internet security technology, including anti-virus and Internet content and email filtering software, to businesses and consumers. Symantec is one of the stocks we cover in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that covers more aggressive stock market recommendations. In the three months ended April 1, 2011, Symantec’s earnings fell 8.0%, to $297 million from $323 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 5.0%, to $0.38 from $0.40, on fewer shares outstanding. These figures exclude several unusual items, including asset writedowns and restructuring costs. On this basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.36 a share....
1 min read
Jim Bates
How To Invest
Stock picks: Broadridge reports higher results in latest quarter
Broadridge Financial Services Inc., symbol BR on New York, serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. It mails and processes 66% of all proxy votes. The company earned $32.6 million in the three months ended March 31, 2011. That’s up 5.8% from $30.8 million a year earlier. The stock pick’s earnings per share rose 13.6%, to $0.25 from $0.22, on fewer shares outstanding. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.20 a share. Revenue rose 7.4%, to $527.1 million from $490.8 million. That also beat the consensus revenue estimate of $521.0 million. The stock pick’s acquisitions were the main reasons for these gains: In December 2010, it paid $19.5 million for Forefield Inc., which makes web-based software that allows financial advisors to deliver educational and marketing materials to clients. In January 2011, Broadridge paid $201 million for Matrix Financial Solutions Inc., which processes trades and provides administrative services to mutual funds....
1 min read
Jim Bates
Growth Stocks
Growth stocks: Stanley Black & Decker reports higher sales and earnings
Stanley Black & Decker Inc., New York symbol SWK, makes power and hand tools and security devices. It took its current form on March 12, 2010. That’s when Stanley Works bought the Black & Decker Corp. for $3.5 billion in stock. At the time of the merger, Stanley shareholders owned 50.5% of the combined company, and Black & Decker investors owned the remaining 49.5%. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, the company earned $157.8 million, or $0.92 a share, compared to a loss of $108.6 million, or $1.11 a share, a year earlier. Excluding charges relating to the merger, the growth stock’s earnings per share would have risen 54.3%, to $1.08 from $0.70. The growth stock’s sales rose 89.0% in the quarter, to $2.4 billion from $1.3 billion. If you assume the purchase occurred at the start of 2010, sales would have risen 4%....
1 min read
Jim Bates
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