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.

Our view on Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan and whether its high dividend can stand up to weaker demand and lower prices.
WAL-MART STORES INC. $60 (New York symbol WMT; Conservative Growth Portfolio: Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 3.2 billion; Market cap: $192.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.walmart- .com) has launched Walmart Pay, an app that lets customers pay for their purchases at Wal-Mart stores with their Apple or Androidpowered mobile devices. Users can download the app and link it to their credit cards, debit cards or gift cards. They can then scan their device at the checkout, and the system will email a receipt. The company plans to install the service in all of its U.S. stores by the end of 2016. The app will also let Wal-Mart track users’ shopping habits, which it can then use to create unique discounts and other promotions. Moreover, introducing its own mobile payment system means Wal-Mart doesn’t have to share any processing fees with rival services like Apple Pay....
HONDA MOTOR CO. LTD. ADRs $33 (New York symbol HMC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $59.4 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.honda.com) has received approval from U.S. regulators to start selling its new business plane, called the HondaJet. The aircraft’s engines are on top its wings instead of below; it’s 15% more fuel efficient than comparable models; and it has 20% more cargo room. The company has orders for over 100 of these planes, which it is currently building at its North Carolina plant. It should begin delivering them in 2016. Honda is a buy.
UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $95 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 887.0 million; Market cap: $84.3 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) has announced a new restructuring plan that mainly involves closing high-cost plants in the U.S. and Europe and shifting their operations to other facilities. The company expects these moves to cost $1.5 billion. However, they should cut $900 million from United Technologies’ annual expenses when they’re finished in 2018. The savings will help the company offset weaker demand for its Otis elevators in China, as well as higher-than-expected expenses related to the development of a new jet engine at its Pratt & Whitney division....
NCR CORP. $27 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 169.9 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) makes automated teller machines, cash registers, self-serve checkouts and kiosks for theatres and arenas. Private equity firm Blackstone Group (New York symbol BX) recently purchased $820 million worth of preferred shares that can be converted to common shares at $30.00 each. If Blackstone converted all of these holdings, it would own 17% of NCR. Blackstone’s expertise should help NCR expand its software and services businesses, which are more profitable than making ATMs and other equipment....
NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $45 (New York symbol NWL; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 267.1 million; Market cap: $12.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newellrubbermaid.com) is buying Jarden Corp. (New York symbol JAH), which makes a wide variety of consumer products, including Sunbeam kitchen appliances, Mr. Coffee coffee makers, Ball jars, Crock-Pot cookers and Rawlings baseball mitts. Jarden shareholders will receive $21.00 a share in cash plus 0.862 of a Newell common share. The offer is worth a total of $13.2 billion. Shares of Jarden are trading at 3.7% below the offer’s value, which indicates investors do not expect a higher bid. Newell expects to complete the deal in the second quarter of 2016....
CHEVRON CORP. $93 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $176.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.chevron.com) produced an average of 2.54 million barrels of oil a day (including natural gas) in the three months ended September 30, 2015. That’s down 1.1% from 2.57 million barrels a day a year earlier. The decrease is mainly because Chevron has sold $11 billion worth of less important businesses since 2014; the company aims to sell another $5 billion to $10 billion worth of assets by the end of 2017. In addition to the lower production, Chevron’s realized oil price plunged 51.7% in the latest quarter, while gas prices fell 43.4%....
NEWMONT MINING CORP. $19 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 529.1 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) is one of the world’s largest gold and copper producers, with major mines in the U.S., Peru, Suriname, Australia, Ghana and Indonesia. In August 2015, Newmont paid $821 million for the Cripple Creek & Victor mine in Colorado. This project will produce 350,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold a year once the company completes the mine’s current expansion in 2016. The Cripple Creek acquisition helped increase Newmont’s gold production by 16.1% in the three months ended September 30, 2015, to 1.34 million ounces from 1.15 million ounces a year earlier. Copper output surged 269.2% on higher ore grades at the Batu Hijau mine in Indonesia....
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC. $47 (New York symbol VZ, Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 4.1 billion; Market cap: $192.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.verizon.com) has 110.8 million wireless users, 18.7 million traditional phone clients and 19.7 million high-speed Internet and TV subscribers. The company recently paid $4.4 billion for AOL, which operates several popular websites, including The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget. Verizon has since launched go90, a free app that lets users watch videos on mobile devices. This service incorporates AOL’s unique technology, which uses analytics software to place ads on websites. That should help it attract advertisers and offset its costs....