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.

STANTEC INC. $31.87 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 94.0 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) sells a range of consulting, project-delivery, design and technology services. Its clients operate in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, transportation and construction.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Stantec’s acquisitions and the stronger U.S. dollar boosted its revenue by 12.0%, to $593.9 million from $530.3 million a year ago. However, earnings fell 2.6%, to $43.2 million, or $0.46 a share, from $44.3 million, or $0.47. The decline came from fewer oil and gas projects and the cost of integrating recently purchased firms.

Meantime, Stantec continues to grow through acquisitions. One of its latest is VI Engineering, a 30- person electrical-engineering firm based in Houston. VI’s clients include MidAmerican Energy, Statoil, Public Service Electric and Gas, Valero Refining, Bayer and Enterprise Products Partners.

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MITEL NETWORKS $10.41 (Toronto symbol MNW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(613-592-2122; www.mitel.ca; Shares outstanding: 120.0 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; No dividends paid) develops and markets products centred on business telephone systems, including technology that integrates land lines and mobile phones. The company also offers call centre and videoconferencing products.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Mitel’s revenue rose slightly, to $292.3 million from $291.7 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars).

Earnings per share fell 14.3%, to $0.18 from $0.21, as the stronger dollar lowered the value of the company’s international sales. However, the latest earnings matched the consensus estimate.

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ACI WORLDWIDE $22.65 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(402- 390-7600; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 117.8 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; No dividends paid) reported revenue of $265.8 million in the three months ended June 30, 2015, up 4.3% from $254.8 million a year earlier. The company earned $0.26 a share, up sharply from $0.12. Cost-cutting measures helped improve the latest quarterly results.

ACI’s growth by acquisition has increased its goodwill and intangible assets to $1.0 billion, or a high 37.0% of its market cap.

The company is well positioned to benefit from the global shift toward online payments. However, the stock trades at a high 30.2 times ACI’s forecast 2015 earnings of $0.75 a share. Any major problems integrating its acquisitions could sharply cut that estimate.

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FAIR ISAAC CORP. $87.87 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average)(415-472-2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 31.1 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.1%) makes FICO Scores, the program that dominates the market for software businesses use to evaluate customer creditworthiness. Fair Isaac also profits by selling programs that help credit card issuers control fraud and analyze cardholders’ spending patterns.

In its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which ended June 30, 2015, Fair Isaac’s revenue rose 5.9%, to $209.3 million from $197.6 million a year earlier. Sales at its applications division (61% of the total) fell 2.1% on weaker demand for marketing and fraud-detection software. However, sales of credit-scoring programs (27%) jumped 23.0%, while sales of analytics software (12%) gained 18.1%.

The company earned $32.3 million, up 10.3% from $29.2 million. Earnings per share jumped 20.5%, to $1.00 from $0.83, on fewer shares outstanding. Fair Isaac spends around 12% of its revenue on research, which lets it produce innovative products that keep it ahead of the competition.

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BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $55.76 (New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 119.9 million; Market cap: $6.7 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. The company processes 90% of all proxy votes in the U.S. and Canada.

Without one-time items, Broadridge earned $171.5 million in its fiscal 2015 fourth quarter, which ended June 30, 2015. That’s up 18.6% from $144.6 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 20.7%, to $1.40 from $1.16, on fewer shares outstanding.

Revenue gained 4.9%, to $929.6 million from $885.9 million. The company continues to add new clients and is doing a good job of holding on to existing ones. Recurring fee revenue rose 7% in the latest quarter and accounted for 65% of the total.

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DOREL INDUSTRIES $34.73 (Toronto symbol DII.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-934- 3034; www.dorel.com; Shares outstanding: 32.3 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Dividend yield: 4.6%) makes a number of items, including readyto- assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; and sporting goods, mainly bicycles.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Dorel’s sales rose 2.1%, to $669.6 million from $655.8 million a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars).

Even with the higher sales, earnings fell 16.2%, to $16.6 million, or $0.51 share, from $19.8 million, or $0.61 a share. The high U.S. dollar cut $0.23 a share from the company’s international earnings.

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WESTJET AIRLINES $24.67 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 125.8 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.3%) serves 93 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Its fleet of 107 modern Boeing 737s are 30% more fuel efficient than older jets.

In June 2013, the company launched WestJet Encore, its Canadian regional airline. This business now operates 22 Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop planes, which seat 78 passengers.

The Canadian airline market remains highly competitive, especially with Air Canada expanding its Rouge budget airline to serve more leisure destinations in Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and the U.S. However, WestJet is now taking delivery of its Boeing 767 widebody aircraft. That will let it compete with Air Canada internationally; it could add more cities in Europe, as well as South America or Asia.

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Aggressive growth has given CF Industries a strong position in natural gas fertilizers, but in this field our buy goes to a Canadian rival.