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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Stock investment clubs can help new investors find quality stocks and develop their own investing style. But watch out for the drawbacks.
SONY CORP. ADRs $16 (New York symbol SNE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $16.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.sony.com) has brought in a new restructuring plan that involves selling its money-losing Vaio personal computer business and cutting 3% of its workforce. The company also plans to set up its struggling TV operations as a separate firm, which would make it easier to sell a minority stake in this business.

However, slow sales have forced Sony to write down its remaining computer inventories. Weaker DVD demand has also prompted it to write down the value of its disc-manufacturing operations.

As a result, Sony lost $1.25 billion, or $1.21 per ADR, in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014 (each American Depositary Receipt represents one common share). In 2013, it earned $458 million, or $0.43 per ADR. Revenue rose 4.2%, to $75.4 billion from $72.3 billion, on stronger smartphone sales and the launch of its PlayStation 4 video game console. However, without the benefit of currency exchange rates, revenue in Japanese yen fell 2%.

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THE BOEING CO. $134 (New York symbol BA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 729.2 million; Market cap: $97.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.boeing.com) announced that it now has 5,100 commercial planes on back order. In all, these deals are worth $374 billion. In addition, the order backlog at its military operations is $67 billion.

The total order backlog of $441 billion is equal to 5.0 times Boeing’s likely 2014 revenue of $89.0 billion. The company expects to earn between $7.15 and $7.35 a share this year. The stock trades at a still-reasonable 18.5 times the midpoint of that range.

Boeing is a buy.

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CEDAR FAIR L.P. $52 (New York symbol FUN; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Units outstanding: 55.8 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 5.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cedarfair.com) lost $1.51 a share in the first quarter of 2014, compared to a loss of $1.95 a year earlier. Cedar Fair typically loses money in the first quarter, as most of its 11 amusement parks and four water parks close during the winter.

Revenue fell 3.2%, to $40.5 million from $41.8 million, as Easter and spring break fell in the second quarter of 2014. However, revenue rose at its Knott’s Berry Farm year-round park in southern California.

Cedar Fair is a hold.

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NORDSTROM INC. $67 (New York symbol JWN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 189.7 million; Market cap: $12.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nordstrom.com) aims to sell part of its credit card business, which has $2 billion in outstanding loans, to a bank. The sale would free up cash that Nordstrom can use to build new department stores and expand its e-commerce business. It would also shift the burden of collecting these loans to its partner.

Meanwhile, Nordstrom expects its same-store sales to rise 2% to 4% for the current fiscal year. The stock also trades at a reasonable 17.4 times its projected earnings of $3.85 a share.

Nordstrom is a buy.

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WINDSTREAM HOLDINGS INC. $9.69 (Nasdaq symbol WIN; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 602.7 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 10.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.windstream.com) provides telephone and other communication services to 3.7 million consumers and businesses, mainly in rural parts of the U.S.

Following its November 2011 purchase of PAETEC Holding Corp., which sells telecommunication services to businesses, Windstream now gets two-thirds of its revenue from corporate customers.

However, the company continues to face strong competition, which is luring away consumer and business clients. That’s why Windstream’s revenue fell 2.1% in the first quarter of 2014, to $1.46 billion from $1.50 billion a year earlier.

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FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS CORP. $5.95 (Nasdaq symbol FTR; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 1.0 billion; Market cap: $6.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 6.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.frontier.com) sells phone, Internet and TV services to 3.1 million customers in 27 states.

The company recently agreed to pay $2.0 billion for AT&T’s traditional phone business in Connecticut. These operations sell phone, high-speed Internet and digital TV service to over 900,000 customers.

Frontier expects to close the deal by the end of 2014. The move should increase its annual revenue by 26% and its operating earnings by 18%.

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ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO., $44 (New York symbol ADM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 654.5 million; Market cap: $28.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.adm.com) processes corn, wheat, soybeans, canola, flax seed, peanuts, cocoa and other crops into a wide variety of food ingredients, such as flour, oils and sweeteners. It is also the largest maker of ethanol from corn in the U.S.

The company is making good progress with its plan to improve its efficiency and sell less-profitable businesses. As a result, it now expects these moves to cut its annual costs by $400 million by the end of this year, up from its earlier goal of $200 million. To put these figures in context, Archer Daniels earned $1.3 billion, or $2.02 a share, in 2013.

Archer Daniels Midland is a buy.

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CHEVRON CORP. $123 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $233.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 3.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.chevron.com) plans to increase production at its Permian shale oil properties in west Texas by two-thirds, to 250,000 barrels a day, by 2020. That’s equal to 9.7% of its overall production in the first quarter of 2014.

Moreover, the company does not have to pay royalties to landholders on over half of its Permian holdings, which will make these properties more profitable.

In addition, Chevron raised its dividend by 7.0%. The new annual rate of $4.28 a share yields 3.5%.

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MOLSON COORS BREWING CO. $64 (New York symbol TAP; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 184.8 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) is the world’s fifth-largest brewer by volume.

Beer sales are rising slowly in developed regions like North America. That’s why Molson Coors bought StarBev, which owns nine breweries in central and eastern Europe, for $3.5 billion in June 2012.

The company continues to do a good job of cutting StarBev’s costs and making it more efficient.

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