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.

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If you want to find out how to hire a stock broker who meets your needs, you need to watch out above all for conflicts of interest
WELLS FARGO & CO. $58 (New York symbol WFC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 5.2 billion; Market cap: $301.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.wellsfargo.com) operates through three divisions: Community Banking provides consumer mortgages, loans, credit cards and other financial services (57% of 2014 revenue, 59% of earnings); Wholesale Banking supplies business loans (27%, 32%); and Wealth, Brokerage and Retirement offers wealth management, brokerage and trust services to individuals and institutions, such as pension plans (16%, 9%). The U.S. supplies 95% of Wells Fargo’s revenue.

Weak loan demand and lower interest rates cut the bank’s revenue by 5.0%, from $85.2 billion in 2010 to $80.9 billion in 2011. Loan volumes improved in 2012, causing revenue to rise to $86.1 billion. Lower fee income cut the bank’s revenue to $83.8 billion in 2013. Revenue rebounded to $84.3 billion in 2014, thanks to gains at the bank’s wealth management business.

Earnings jumped 85.5%, from $2.21 a share (or a total of $12.4 billion) in 2010 to $4.10 a share (or $23.1 billion) in 2014.

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A big online gaming deal may pay off for NYX Gaming, but it still breaks many of our investment rules and remains a high risk investment.
When you look to buy Canadian dividend stocks, dividend yield is an important consideration but in some cases the yield can be misleading.
ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $57.58 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couchetard.com; Shares outstanding: 567.4 million; Market cap: $32.7 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) completed its $1.7-billion acquisition of The Pantry in March 2015. The move added 1,500 convenience stores in 13 southern U.S. states, bringing Couche-Tard’s total to 7,848 locations throughout North America.

In Europe, the company operates 2,230 stores across Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Poland, the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and Russia.

In the three months ended April 26, 2015, Couche-Tard’s sales fell 18.6%, to $7.29 billion from $8.95 billion a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars).

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MCCOY GLOBAL $4.53 (Toronto symbol MCB; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(780-453-8451; www.mccoyglobal.com; Shares outstanding: 27.7 million; Market cap: $128.2 million; Dividend yield: 4.4%) sold its heavy-duty truck-trailer unit last year and is now focused on its Energy Products and Services segment, which sells hydraulic gear, including power tongs, for drilling rigs. (Power tongs are large wrench-like tools that tighten and loosen the pipe in the drill hole.)

McCoy has international sales and service centres in Singapore, Dubai and Aberdeen, Scotland.

Profits up despite tough markets

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p>WAJAX CORP. $20.60 (Toronto symbol WJX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (905-212-3300; www.wajax.ca; Shares outstanding:20.0 million; Market cap: $414.1 million; Dividend yield: 4.9%) sells and services cranes, forklifts and other heavy equipment. It also provides related parts (such as bearings, motors, hoses and fittings) and power systems (including diesel engines and transmissions). The company’s customers are in the natural resource, construction, manufacturing and transportation industries.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, Wajax’s revenue fell 4.3%, to $317.2 million from $331.4 million a year earlier, as mining, oil and gas and oil sands firms made fewer purchases.

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ALAMOS GOLD $4.36 (Toronto symbol AGI TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681- 2802; www.alamosgold.com; Shares outstanding: 127.4 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; No dividends paid) is the company formed by the merger of Alamos Gold and Stock Pickers Digest recommendation AuRico Gold.

The combined firm owns the Mulatos mine in Mexico and the Young-Davidson project in northern Ontario, which holds as much as 5.6 million ounces of gold. Young- Davidson started up in 2013 and will reach full production in 2016. But meanwhile, it’s moving from open-pit to underground mining, which will sharply increase its costs.

Alamos Gold holds cash of $358.0 million, which it will use to fund the Young-Davidson mine and boost the combined firm’s gold output from 400,000 ounces this year to 700,000 in 2018.

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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $39.97 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 467.0 million; Market cap: $18.47billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%) took its current form on December 12, 2014, after Burger King Worldwide acquired Tim Hortons.

Burger King successfully launched six new meatless burgers at its outlets in India last year. As a result, it’s now considering expanding its vegetarian menu outside of that country.

Meatless burgers have sold poorly in the U.S. and other developed nations in the past. However, interest in vegetarianism is rising. Offering meatless products also makes it more likely that families with one or more vegetarians will visit Burger King instead of looking elsewhere for vegetarian options.

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AEROPOSTALE INC. $1.51 (New York symbol ARO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(646-485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 79.5 million; Market cap: $121.7 million; No dividends paid) plans to open licensed stores in India and Indonesia under agreements with Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd. in India and PT Mitra Adiperkasa TBK in Indonesia.

In India, the plan includes 50 stand-alone outlets, 150 in-store shops in select locations and the launch of e-commerce operations over the next five years, beginning in March 2016.

In Indonesia, Aeropostale expects to open 10 to 12 stand-alone stores over the next five years, with its first outlet opening in Jakarta in late 2016.

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