Pat McKeough

A professional investment analyst for more than 30 years, Pat has developed a stock-selection technique that has proven reliable in both bull and bear markets. His proprietary ValuVesting System™ focuses on stocks that provide exceptional quality at relatively low prices. Many savvy investors and industry leaders consider it the most powerful stock-picking method ever created.

As early as 1980, Pat was recognized as #1 in the world of published investment advice by the Washington, DC–based Newsletter Publishers Association, and he was the first multi-year winner of The Globe and Mail’s stock picking contest.

Both CBS MarketWatch and The Hulbert Financial Digest recognized Pat as one of North America’s top stock analysts. The Wall Street Journal called him “one of only four investment newsletter advisors who have managed to serve their readers well over the long haul.”

A best-selling Canadian author, he wrote Riding the Bull, his 1993 book that predicted the stock-market boom of the last half of that decade. Through his many television appearances, he is well-known to investors for his insightful analysis and his candid, unpretentious style.

Bottom line: Pat’s conservative, reduced-risk strategy is a proven approach to safe investing.

Posts by the author
To determine when to buy an ETF, some investors use technical analysis and other tools. But you need to dig deeper.
STANTEC INC. $33.78 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 93.9 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) sells a range of consulting, project-delivery, design and technology services. Stantec has made a big acquisition that will give it a major global presence in the water infrastructure industry. It’s paying $795 million U.S. to buy MWH Global. The infrastructure firm has 187 offices in 26 countries. MWH Global works on a number of large water infrastructure projects around the world, including the Panama Canal Third Set of Locks project. It also develops dams, hydroelectric power plants, water treatment facilities, coastal restoration and environmental assessment programs....
PASON SYSTEMS $17.91 (Toronto symbol PSI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-301-3400; www.pason.com; Shares outstanding: 84.1 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Dividend yield: 3.8%) serves the drilling contractors of oil and gas firms in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Argentina. The company provides them with rental equipment for monitoring and managing landbased oil rigs. Its systems also let clients remotely collect data from their drilling operations. For the three months ended December 31, 2015, Pason’s revenue fell 56.7%, to $59.8 million from $138.2 million a year earlier. A rise in the U.S. dollar partially offset the slowdown in oil and gas drilling. The company lost $841,000, or $0.01 a share, compared to a profit of $47.2 million, or $0.57, a year ago. The lower revenue was the main reason for the decline. Cash flow per share was positive, though it was down sharply, to $0.21 from $0.72....
COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP $10.24 (Toronto symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-531-1300; www.cmgl.ca; Shares outstanding: 78.8 million; Market cap: $806.5 million; Dividend yield: 3.9%) sells software and services that help conventional oil and gas producers create 3D models of reservoirs. That lets them squeeze more out of those deposits by injecting steam or chemicals. Without the technology, they typically recover only 25% to 30% of the oil and gas. Producers using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, methods also use Computer Modelling’s software to determine the best drilling locations and depths. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s revenue fell 15.8%, to $21.2 million from $25.2 million a year earlier. Software licensing revenue (94% of the total) fell 13.8%, while consulting and professional services revenue (6%) fell 40.0%....
SASOL LTD. (ADR) $32.23 (New York symbol SSL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (082- 883-9697; www.sasol.com; ADRs outstanding: 651.4 million; Market cap: $21.3 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%) is a South Africa-based company that converts coal and natural gas into motor fuels. It also produces oil and gas and mines coal. Sasol now plans to delay the completion of its $8.9 billion plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Production will now start in 2019, rather than 2018. When finished, the facility will convert natural gas, or ethane, into ethylene— a chemical used to make plastics and other consumer products. The new plant should triple Sasol’s U.S. production. It should also help to offset some of the currency and political risks of operating in South Africa....
ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES $10.57 (Toronto symbol AF; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-267 -2001; www.alarmforce. com; Shares outstanding: 11.6 million; Market cap: $122.7 million; Dividend yield: 1.7%) sells twoway voice-alarm systems and monitoring services in Canada and in the U.S. In the three months ended January 31, 2016, the company’s sales rose 6.8%, to $14.5 million from $13.6 million. Earnings per share rose 5.0%, to $0.21 from $0.20, on more shares outstanding. AlarmForce offers a range of extra services that boosts revenue from subscribers to its home alarm service. They include: AlarmForce Connect, which lets subscribers control their home-security systems from a smartphone or tablet; and VideoRelay, which lets users watch their homes through mobile devices....
DOREL INDUSTRIES $28.28 (Toronto symbol DII.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-934-3034; www.dorel.com; Shares outstanding: 32.3 million; Market cap: $923.8 million; Dividend yield: 5.8%) makes a range of items: ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; and bicycles and other sporting goods. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Dorel’s sales fell 4.6%, to $668.9 million from $701.0 million (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). Sales of juvenile products fell 12.5%; sales of sporting goods dropped 2.5%. Those declines offset a 6.9% gain in home furnishings. Factoring out the effects of a higher U.S. dollar, overall sales rose 4.0%. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share in the latest quarter rose 26.5%, to $0.43 a share from $0.34. That came despite the fact that Dorel gets half of its sales from outside of the U.S. The high U.S. dollar cut the company’s earnings per share by $0.28....
FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $55.15 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.6 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) has bought Century Fire Protection, one of the largest full-service fire protection companies in the Southeastern U.S. Century installs, maintains and repairs the fire protection systems that it creates for commercial and residential clients. It employs 600 workers, operating from 12 offices throughout Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. FirstService will be able to sell Century’s services to its existing property management clients....
BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $4.67 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 152.3 million; Market cap: $711.3 million; No dividends paid) explores for, develops and produce oil and gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta-B.C. border. About 87% of its output is gas. The remaining 13% is oil. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share dropped 46.3%, to $0.22 from $0.41 a year earlier. Sharply lower oil and gas prices offset a 7.3% rise in daily production. The company continues to cut costs to support its cash flow. As well, in response to low prices, Birchcliff has reduced exploration and development spending for 2016. It will likely spend $128 million this year, down 45.0% from $242.7 million in 2015....
DELPHI ENERGY $1.17 (Toronto symbol DEE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-265-6171; www.delphienergy.ca; Shares outstanding: 155.5 million; Market cap: $182.0 million; No dividends paid) explores for, develops and produces oil and natural gas in Alberta. About 66% of its output is gas; the remaining 34% is oil. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Delphi’s production fell 26.8%, to 8,814 barrels of oil equivalent per day from 12,035 a year earlier. That was after the company sold some fields. The lower output offset a 9.9% average increase in realized oil and gas prices. The higher prices were due to hedging contracts, whereby the company sold its oil and gas forward at above-market prices. As a result, cash flow per share fell just 10%, to $0.09 from $0.10. For the rest of 2016, Delphi has sold 75% of its gas production at nearly double current market prices. It has also sold 50% of its 2017 gas output at similar prices....