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
If you want to ensure a higher (and safer) rate of return for your retirement portfolio, then it’s important to know what not to invest in after retirement
CIMAREX ENERGY $118.11 (New York symbol XEC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 87.0 million; Market cap: $10.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.5%) produces and explores for oil and gas. Gas makes up 50% of its output.

Cimarex’s properties are in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S., which includes Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas (49% of production); the Permian Basin of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico (47%); and the Texas Gulf Coast (4%).

In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Cimarex’s production averaged 704.9 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (including oil). That’s up 4.2% from 676.7 million cubic feet a year earlier.

...
DEVON ENERGY CORP. $68.68 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-235-3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 407.4 million; Market cap: $27.6 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%) is one of the largest U.S.-based oil and natural gas explorers and producers. Its production mix is 57% gas and 43% oil.

In 2011, Devon sold all of its international and Gulf of Mexico properties, which it saw as risky and expensive to develop. The company aimed to focus on its North American projects, which include conventional production, Texas shale oil and Alberta oil sands.

Devon recently narrowed its focus even further by selling some of its Canadian properties to Canadian Natural Resources (symbol CNQ on Toronto) for $2.8 billion.

...
AIMIA INC. $17.56 (Toronto symbol AIM; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-205-7315; www.aimia.com; Shares outstanding: 173.0 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Dividend yield: 3.9%) owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s largest loyalty program, with over 4.6 million members who collect Aeroplan miles from participating companies. Members can exchange miles for flights, car rentals, hotel rooms and merchandise.

Aimia also owns Nectar, the U.K.’s biggest loyalty program. In addition, it has interests in Air Miles Middle East and Nectar Italia, as well as Club Premier, the leading loyalty program in Mexico.

In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Aimia’s revenue rose 1.4%, to $687.6 million from $678.2 million a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share fell 5.8%, to $0.49 from $0.52. The earnings decline was due to an increase in the company’s cost per mile, mostly because its expenses rose as it expanded its operations.

...
ATM maker restructures in U.S., increases international sales
Muhaciov Artiom
DIEBOLD INC. (New York symbol DBD; www.diebold.com) is a leading maker of automated teller machines (ATMs). It also makes safes, vaults and building-security systems. The company gets 52% of its revenue from overseas....
MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. $64 (www.molsoncoors.com) reported that its earnings rose 2.3% in 2013, to $727.1 million from $710.5 million in 2012 (all amounts expect share price in U.S. dollars). Due to more shares outstanding, earnings per share gained 1.0%, to $3.95 from $3.91....
TIM HORTONS INC. $62 (Toronto symbol THI; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 138.2 million; Market cap: $8.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.timhortons.com) operates 3,588 coffee-and-donut stores in Canada, 859 in the U.S. and 38 in the Persian Gulf. Franchisees operate 99.6% of these outlets.

The company’s sales jumped 33.0%, from $1.7 billion in 2009 to $2.3 billion in 2013. That’s largely because it opened 573 new locations in Canada (up 19.0%) and 296 in the U.S. (up 52.6%). New menu items, like soups and panini sandwiches, also spurred sales.


...
LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $46 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 282.4 million; Market cap: $13.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) continues to expand its Joe Fresh business, which makes casual clothing and accessories. Loblaw mainly sells these goods in over 300 of its supermarkets and through 22 stand-alone stores in the U.S. and Canada.

The company plans to take advantage of the brand’s popularity by opening 140 more Joe Fresh stores in 23 countries outside of North America in the next four years. Loblaw will team up with local partners to build and operate these stores, which limits the risk of expanding in unfamiliar markets.

Loblaw is a buy....
CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $174 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 175.7 million; Market cap: $30.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.0; Dividend yield: 0.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpr.ca) has started charging oil producers a special surcharge for each older DOT-111 tanker car they use on its rail network.

CP hopes the charge will encourage these customers to upgrade to models with thicker hulls. That would make it less likely that oil will spill and catch fire in the event of a crash.

The company is also considering selling $2 billion worth of surplus real estate. These funds would help CP pay for its plan to buy back 3% of its shares over the next year.
...
ANDREW PELLER LTD. $14 (Toronto symbol ADW.A; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 14.3 million; Market cap: $200.2 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.andrewpeller.com) reported that its sales rose 2.6% in its fiscal 2014 third quarter, which ended December 31, 2013, to $81.9 million from $79.8 million a year earlier. That’s mainly due to strong demand for the company’s premium wines during the Christmas shopping season.

Earnings fell 9.2%, to $6.0 million, or $0.43 a share. A year earlier, Peller earned $6.6 million, or $0.47 a share. The company is paying more for wine and juice on international markets. The costs of a restructuring plan, which includes outsourcing distribution functions and cutting marketing expenses, also hurt its profits. If you exclude all unusual items, earnings fell 4.4%.

Andrew Peller is a buy....