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.

A history of thriving on acquisitions makes Alimentation Couche-Tard a top growth stock for us and one of the best investments in Canada
Over-the-counter trading is for investors who don’t mind risk and are willing to chance losing their money
Investors can use special ETFs called bear funds to hedge their positions in a market downturn.
EBAY INC. $28 (www.ebay.com) earned $529 million in the third quarter of 2015, down 8.6% from $579 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings fell at a slower pace of 6.5%, to $0.43 from $0.46, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue declined 2.4%, to $2.10 billion from $2.15 billion. That’s partly because Google changed its search methods, which made it harder for potential buyers to find merchandise on eBay’s auction websites. Hold.
DIEBOLD INC. $37 (www.diebold.com) is selling its North American electronic-security business, which includes burglar and fire alarms and video systems for accessing and monitoring buildings. The company will receive $350 million for these operations....
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $77 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $207.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) makes products in five main categories: fabric and home care items, such as Tide laundry detergent (29% of sales, 24% of earnings); baby goods, including Pampers diapers (27%, 26%); beauty products, like Olay cosmetics (24%, 23%); grooming items, including Gillette razors (10%, 16%); and health care products, such as Crest toothpaste (10%, 11%). Wal-Mart supplies 14% of the company’s sales.

Latest sale set to deliver big gains

In the past few years, Procter has sold many of its less profitable brands, including its recent deal to transfer 43 beauty product lines, including Wella, Clairol, Max Factor and CoverGirl, to Coty Inc. (New York symbol COTY).

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TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. $59 (Nasdaq symbol TXN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $59.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.6; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ti.comtarget=”_blank”) earned $798 million in the three months ended September 30, 2015, down 3.4% from $826 million a year earlier. The company spent $790 million on share buybacks during the quarter. As a result, earnings per share were unchanged at $0.76.

Revenue declined 2.1%, to $3.4 billion from $3.5 billion. Sales of analog chips (64% of the total) rose 1.5%. (Analog chips convert inputs like touch and sound into electronic signals computers can understand.) Revenue from embedded processor chips (21%), which perform mathematical calculations, gained 2.0%. But revenue from other chips and calculators (15%) declined by 18.6%.

However, free cash flow (cash flow less capital expenditures) rose 4.2% in the past 12 months, to $3.6 billion. That gives the company plenty of flexibility to keep buying back shares and raising its dividend.

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FEDEX CORP. $155 (New York symbol FDX; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 282.4 million; Market cap: $43.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.fedex.com) has received approval from European regulators for its deal to buy Netherlands-based courier TNT Express NV. FedEx expects to complete the purchase by October 31, 2015.

The company will pay $4.8 billion. It held cash of $3.5 billion as of August 31, 2015, so it will borrow the funds it needs. Its long-term debt of $7.2 billion is a low 16% of its market cap, so it has lots of room to borrow more, especially at today’s low interest rates.

FedEx is a buy.

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C.R. BARD INC. $184 (New York symbol BCR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 73.9 million; Market cap: $13.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.0; Dividend yield: 0.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.crbard.com) earned $174.7 million in the three months ended September 30, 2015, up 4.7% from $166.9 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 6.0%, to $2.28 from $2.15, on fewer shares outstanding.

Sales gained 4.3%, to $865.7 million from $830.0 million. Without the high U.S. dollar’s negative impact, sales rose 8%.

The company is also buying the 50% of Medicon, a joint venture that distributes Bard’s medical devices in Japan. The company will pay $93 million for this stake. Owning all of Medicon will add $40 million to its annual sales.

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