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.

SYMANTEC CORP. $18.82 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (650-527-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 675.5 million; Market cap: $12.9 billion; Dividend yield: 3.2%) continues to strengthen its fast-growing cybersecurity business. It’s also selling its data backup and recovery operation. In its fiscal 2016 second quarter, which ended October 2, 2015, Symantec’s earnings fell 9.3%, to $301 million, or $0.44 a share, from $332 million, or $0.48. Sales declined 7.4%, to $1.5 billion from $1.6 billion. Businesses continue to spend heavily to protect their data from online intruders. However, sales to consumers fell as the company shifts users to a cloudbased service. That will make it easier for them to receive security updates and encourage them to renew their subscriptions. Symantec expects to complete these conversions in mid-2016....
AGT FOOD & INGREDIENTS $36.50 (Toronto symbol AGT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604-231-1100; www.agtfoods.com; Shares outstanding: 23.8 million; Market cap: $862.3 million; Dividend yield: 1.6%) buys and processes a range of pulses—which include peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas—as well as other specialty crops.

Saskatchewan-based AGT owns 13 processing plants in Canada, nine in Turkey, four in Australia, two in the U.S., one in China and one in South Africa.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, AGT earned $0.51 a share, up 10.9% from $0.46 a year earlier....
BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $3.35 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 152.3 million; Market cap: $461.5 million; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and gas in Western Canada. In the quarter ended September 30, 2015, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share dropped 42.0%, to $0.29 from $0.50 a year earlier. Sharply lower oil and gas prices offset a 12.3% production rise. Now more than ever, it’s crucial for oil and gas producers to have sound balance sheets that can weather a long downturn....
NISSAN MOTOR (ADR) $18.07 (Nasdaq symbol NSANY; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average) (310-771-3111; www.nissan-global.com; ADRs outstanding 2.3 billion; Market cap: $42.8 billion; Yield: 3.3%) is Japan’s second-largest automaker, after Toyota and ahead of Honda. In December 2015, the company sold a record 139,300 vehicles in the U.S., up 18.7% from 117,318 in December 2014. Sales of crossovers, trucks and SUVs (46% of the total) jumped 43.9%, thanks to new models such as its updated Rogue (up 78.0%) and Murano (up 62.2%)....
COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL GROUP $58.39 (Toronto symbol CIG ; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-202-695-4200; www.colliers.com; Shares o/s: 36.7 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; Divd. yield: 0.2%) is one of the world’s top three commercial real estate firms, offering a range of services in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Latin America. The company has 16,300 employees operating from 502 offices in 67 countries. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Colliers’ revenue rose 12.8%, to $420.3 million from $372.6 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). If you exclude one-time items, the company’s earnings jumped 57.7%, to $20.0 million from $12.7 million. Per-share profits rose 48.6%, to $0.52 from $0.35, on more shares outstanding....
FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $50.53 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.7 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) spun off its Colliers International subsidiary (see below) on June 2, 2015, when it handed out Colliers shares to its investors. Shareholders are only liable for capital gains taxes on the transaction when they sell their FirstService or Colliers shares. Now that the spinoff is complete, FirstService is carrying on with its residential property management and property-improvement businesses. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s revenue gained 12.0%, to $349.5 million from $312.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). If you set aside one-time items, earnings per share jumped 28.2%, to $0.50 from $0.39. The second and third quarters are FirstService’s busiest....
CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL $465.50 (New York symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (303-595-4000; www.chipotle.com; Shares outstanding: 31.2 million; Market cap: $14.6 billion; No dividends paid) continues to suffer as it copes with food-safety concerns at its restaurants. In October and November 2015, E. coli infections sickened 52 customers at Chipotle locations in nine states and forced the company to temporarily close some outlets. Recent norovirus outbreaks at restaurants in California and Massachusetts have added to the bad publicity. Norovirus, which causes stomach problems, is highly infectious, though not fatal. Chipotle now believes these problems cut its same-restaurant sales by 14.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015. It also expects to spend $14.0 million to $16.0 million to test and replace food and improve its food-safety procedures....
ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $87.94 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 498.8 million; Market cap: $44.4 billion; No dividends paid) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. Graphic designers also use its programs to create print publications and web pages. In its fiscal 2015 fourth quarter, which ended November 27, 2015, Adobe earned $0.62 a share, up 59.0% from $0.39 a year earlier. Revenue jumped 21.7%, to a record $1.31 billion from $1.07 billion. In the latest quarter, the company added 833,000 Creative Cloud subscribers (net of cancellations). This service now has 6.2 million users, up 78.6% from a year ago. Adobe is also seeing strong demand for its newer cloud-based offerings, including Document Cloud, which lets users create, manage and sign online documents for a monthly fee....
ACI WORLDWIDE $18.83 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-390-7600; www.aciworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 118.3 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; No dividends paid) makes software for processing transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. Its products also help cut fraud. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, ACI’s revenue fell 4.3% to $238.7 million from $249.6 million a year earlier. Earnings declined 6.1%, to $14.8 million, or $0.13 a share, from $15.7 million, or $0.14. The higher U.S. dollar cut revenue and earnings at the company’s international operations. ACI is benefiting from the shift to chip-and-PIN debit and credit cards. That migration is the result of a liability shift for the EMV (EuroPay, MaterCard and VISA) payment networks, which came into effect in October 2015....