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.

Posts by the author
TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP. $66 (New York symbol TUP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 50.4 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.tupperwarebrands.com) makes household goods, mainly plastic food and beverage containers, as well as cosmetics and fragrances.

The stock is down 32% from its peak of $97 in December 2013. That’s mainly because the company gets 75% of its sales from outside North America, and the recent rise in the U.S. dollar has hurt the contribution of its overseas operations.

In the quarter ended September 27, 2014, Tupperware’s sales fell 2.4%, to $588.7 million from $603.2 million a year earlier. But if you exclude the negative impact of currency rates, sales rose 4%. Gains in emerging nations like Indonesia and Brazil offset declines in established markets, particularly Germany.

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INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. $100 (New York symbol IFF; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.0 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.iff.com) makes over 36,000 compounds that improve the taste of food and the smell of consumer products.

In the third quarter of 2014, IFF’s sales rose 4.3%, to $773.8 million from $742.3 million a year earlier. That’s partly due to Israel-based Aromor Flavors and Fragrances, which IFF bought for $102.5 million in January 2014. Stronger demand in developing countries also contributed to the gain.

Earnings improved 8.4%, to $107.4 million from $99.0 million. Per-share earnings rose 9.2%, to $1.31 from $1.20, on fewer shares outstanding. Excluding unusual items, such as costs to integrate Aromor, earnings per share gained 8.2%, to $1.32 from $1.22. IFF spends over 8% of its sales on research, so it’s more profitable than it appears.

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INTEL CORP. $37 (Nasdaq symbol INTC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 4.9 billion; Market cap: $181.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.intel.com) expects its revenue to rise by about 5% in 2015, compared to the consensus forecast of a 3.4% increase. That’s because businesses are replacing their older computers more quickly than expected.

Intel only recently started making chips for mobile devices, so it offered manufacturers special discounts to encourage them to switch over. However, it expects to cut these subsidies, as it will soon launch a new mobile chip that combines a processor with a wireless modem. That cuts the need for two separate chips.

The company has also raised its dividend by 6.7%. The new annual rate of $0.96 a share yields 2.6%.

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TERADATA CORP. $45 (New York symbol TDC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 153.0 million; Market cap: $6.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teradata.com) makes computers and software that capture and store large amounts of a business’s data, including its sales and inventory. It then analyzes this information and identifies buying habits and other trends. That helps its clients maker better business decisions.

In the three months ended September 30, 2014, Teradata’s earnings fell 4.3%, to $111 million from $116 million a year earlier. But per-share earnings rose 1.4%, to $0.71 from $0.70, on fewer shares outstanding.

Revenue gained just 0.2%, to $667 million from $666 million. Revenue in the Americas (61% of the total) fell 1.0%, mainly because many of Teradata’s customers have already upgraded their data analytics systems, weakening demand for new equipment. However, revenue from Teradata’s international operations (39%) gained 1.9%.

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ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $73 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 498.7 million; Market cap: $36.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 8.9; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) makes software for publishing companies and website developers.

Its main products include Adobe Acrobat, which lets users create and edit electronic documents in the widely used PDF format, and its Creative Suite package of photo editing (Photoshop) and desktop publishing programs.

In 2012, Adobe started selling its Creative Suite software as a cloud-based service called Creative Cloud. Users pay a monthly subscription fee that lets them access the software and store documents online. That gives Adobe more predictable revenue streams than selling its products as a one-time purchase.

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APPLE INC. $119 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.9 billion; Market cap: $702.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.9; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apple.com) continues to profit from strong demand for its iPhone smartphone, which accounts for 56% of its sales. Other products include Mac computers (16%), iPad tablets (13%) and iPod music players and other services (15%).

In its 2014 fiscal year, which ended September 27, 2014, Apple’s earnings rose 6.7%, to $39.5 billion from $37.0 billion in 2013. The company spent $45.0 billion on share buybacks in the past year. As a result, earnings per share gained 13.6%, to $6.45 from $5.68 (all per-share amounts adjusted for a 7-for-1 split in June 2014). Sales rose 7.0%, to $182.8 billion from $170.9 billion.

The company recently launched a new mobile payment system called Apple Pay. This service lets users add credit card information to their phones and use them to make purchases at tap-and-payenabled cash registers and, in some cases, online. To prevent fraud, the phone will confirm the user’s identity with a fingerprint scan.

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BHP BILLITON LTD. ADRs $55 (New York symbol BHP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $88.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bhpbilliton.com) still plans to spin off its aluminum, manganese, nickel and silver operations, as well as some coal mines, into a separate company in the first half of 2015.

After the spinoff, BHP will focus on four main commodities: metallurgical coal, iron ore, copper and oil. In all, they account for 96% of its earnings.

Prices of these commodities have declined in the past few months, mainly due to slowing growth in China, Japan and Europe. In response, the company is laying off workers and making its main properties more productive.

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UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $110 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 911.7 million; Market cap: $100.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) has five main divisions: Climate, Controls & Security (26% of 2013 revenue, 27% of earnings) makes heating and air conditioning equipment under the Carrier brand, as well as burglar alarms and fire-safety products; Pratt & Whitney (23%, 19%) manufactures aircraft engines; Aerospace Systems (21%, 21%) makes engine control systems and other parts for aircraft; Otis (20%, 27%) makes elevators; and Sikorsky (10%, 6%) makes helicopters.

The company’s revenue rose 10.0%, from $52.9 billion in 2009 to $58.2 billion in 2011.

In 2012, it bought North Carolina-based Goodrich Corp., which makes aircraft parts (including landing gear, wheels and brakes) and maintains and fixes planes. United Technologies paid $18.3 billion, including assuming $1.9 billion of Goodrich’s debt. However, it also sold some less important businesses, so its revenue fell 0.8%, to $57.7 billion, in 2012.

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Shipping Terminal
Every Monday we feature “A Stock to Sell” as our daily post. With every stock we recommend as a sell, we give you a full explanation of why we advise against investing in the stock at this time. Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. (symbol WTE on Toronto; www.westshore.com) owns a coal storage and loading terminal at Roberts Bank, B.C., about 30 kilometres south of Vancouver. The terminal started up in 1970....