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 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
TORSTAR $5.67 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Shares outstanding: 79.9 million; Market cap: $402.8 million; TSINetwork Rating: (NEW) Average; Dividend yield: 9.3%; www.torstar.com) continues to cut costs as more people get their news from the Internet.

This secular trend is working against newspapers and print advertising. As a result, we’ve cut Torstar’s TSINetwork Rating from “Above Average” to “Average.” However, we feel its lower costs put it in a good position to rebound as the economy grows. The company also owns oneof- a-kind trophy assets like The Toronto Star, and it could unlock some of its hidden value by spinning off its Harlequin book business. As well, the dividend seems safe for now.

Torstar is a buy....

VERESEN $16.24 (Toronto symbol VSN; Shares outstanding: 201.5 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Yield: 6.2%) owns pipelines, power plants and gas-processing facilities across North America.

A major holding is 50% of the Alliance gas line, which runs 3,000 kilometres between Chicago and Fort St. John, B.C. It also owns the Alberta Ethane Gathering System, 42.7% of the Aux Sable NGL plant and the Hythe/Steeprock natural gas gathering and processing complex in the Cutbank Ridge region of Alberta and B.C.

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PEMBINA PIPELINE $39.96 (Toronto symbol PPL; Shares outstanding: 320.0 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Div. yield: 4.2%; www.pembina.com) owns pipelines that carry half of Alberta’s conventional oil, 30% of Western Canada’s natural gas liquids (NGLs) and almost all of B.C.’s conventional oil.

Pembina also bought rival Provident Energy in 2012 for $3.2 billion, and that’s now paying off. Provident extracts, transports and stores natural gas liquids (NGLs).

In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, Pembina’s cash flow jumped 39.6%, to $194.0 million from $139.0 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share gained 29.2%, to $0.62 from $0.48, on more shares outstanding.
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BCE INC. $48.33 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 775.9 million; Market cap: $37.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.1%; www.bce.ca) earned $540 million, or $0.70 a share, in the three months ended December 31, 2013. That’s up 16.4% from $464 million, or $0.60 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 4.3%, to $5.4 billion from $5.2 billion. In addition to the contribution from recently acquired Astral Media, the company is attracting more wireless, high-speed Internet and digital TV customers. That’s helping offset lower revenue from traditional phones.

The company added 93,700 new wireless subscribers, net of cancellations, in the latest quarter (it now has 7.8 million users across Canada). That’s down 10.8% from a year earlier.
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IMPERIAL OIL $50.82 (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $42.7 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.0%; www.imperialoil.ca) is a major integrated oil company with oil sands projects in Alberta and conventional oil and gas operations across Western Canada. It also operates four refineries and 1,850 Esso gas stations.

In the three months ended December 31, 2013, Imperial produced an average of 329,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 15.4% from 285,000 barrels a year earlier. The gain was mainly due to the start-up of its Kearl oil sands project in April 2013.

The higher production increased Imperial’s revenue by 7.2%, to $8.4 billion from $7.8 billion. However, insufficient pipeline capacity has made it difficult for the company to sell its oil in higher-priced markets. That cut its earnings per share by 1.5%, to $1.24 from $1.26. Cash flow per share fell 11.7%, to $1.67 from $1.89.
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Rising drug firm aims to break through with ‘bad cholestrol’ drug
red and yellow pills on white background
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on stocks to buy as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle....
Canon, Philips strive to keep up with fast-changing technology
Investors can gain international exposure through multinationals that trade on New York as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs). To qualify as ADRs, they have to conform to U.S. accounting and listing requirements, which cuts their risk....
Investor toolkit photo small
Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice that will help you develop a successful approach to investing. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental tip and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “While many numbers and statistics frequently prove to be of limited value in judging stocks, there is one that is often undervalued: market cap.”...
Strong cash flow lets these two utilities boost spending, keep dividends high
BELL ALIANT INC. (Toronto symbol BA; www.aliant.ca) sells phone and Internet services to 2.5 million customers in Atlantic Canada and rural Ontario and Quebec. It also provides wireless services through an alliance with BCE, which owns 45% of Bell Aliant....