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

INNERGEX RENEWABLE ENERGY $9.15 (Toronto symbol INE; Shares outstanding: 95.0 million; Market cap: $869.4 million; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield 6.3%; www.innergex.com) operates 23 hydroelectric facilities, five wind farms and one solar-power plant in Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and Idaho. Innergex gets 59% of its power from hydroelectric facilities. Wind farms supply 36% and solar generates 5%.

In contrast to Algonquin, Innergex is growing slowly, mostly by building its own hydroelectric and wind plants, rather than through acquisitions. Right now, it is developing or building eight projects.

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ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. $6.79 (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares outstanding: 205.6 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.0%) has nearly tripled in size over the last year through a series of acquisitions.

Algonquin made four acquisitions in 2012, and it has completed another four so far in 2013. Most recently, it paid $140.7 million U.S. for a natural gas distributor in Georgia that serves 64,000 clients.

The company’s regulated utility businesses now provide water, electricity and natural gas to over 470,000 customers, up from 120,000 a year ago. In addition, Algonquin’s hydroelectric, thermal energy and wind facilities generate 1,100 megawatts of power, up from 460.
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TRANSCANADA CORP. $47.15 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 707.0 million; Market cap: $33.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.transcanada.com) has completed the purchase of two more Ontario solar power facilities from Canadian Solar (Nasdaq symbol CSIQ) for $470 million.

TransCanada now owns three of the nine solar farms it agreed to buy from Canadian Solar in December 2011. It expects to take possession of the remaining six by the end of 2014.

The company has 20-year deals to sell the power from these nine solar farms, which cuts the risk of this investment.
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SUN LIFE FINANCIAL $35.32 (Toronto symbol SLF; Shares outstanding: 606.0 million; Market cap: $21.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.1%; www.sunlife.ca) sells savings, retirement, pension and life insurance products to individuals and corporations.

The company mainly operates in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K., but it has expanded into Asia, China and India. Sun Life has $590 billion of assets under management.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Sun Life’s earnings per share jumped 69.0%, to $0.71 from $0.42. Revenue rose 18.5%, to $3.7 billion from $3.1 billion.
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MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $29.44 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 67.8 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 5.8%; www.mts.ca) is down over 9% since the federal government’s October 8, 2013, decision to block the company’s recent deal to sell its Allstream subsidiary to an Egyptian billionaire.

Allstream provides integrated telephone, Internet and other communication services to over 50,000 businesses across Canada, as well as government agencies. Ottawa felt that selling Allstream to a foreign investor could risk national security.

Manitoba Tel’s main telecom business continues to perform well, thanks to strong demand for wireless and high-speed Internet services. However, Allstream is still incurring big losses.
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CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY $151.56 (Toronto symbol CP; Shares outstanding: 175.1 million; Market cap: $26.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.9%; www.cpr.ca), transports freight between Montreal and Vancouver and connects with hubs in the U.S. Midwest and northeast.

In the quarter ended September 30, 2013, CP’s revenue rose 5.7%, to $1.53 billion from $1.45 billion a year earlier. Earnings jumped 144.7%, to $331 million, or $1.88 a share, from $224 million, or $1.31.

CP’s operating ratio improved to 65.9% from 74.1% a year ago. (Operating ratio is calculated by dividing regular operating costs by revenue. The lower the ratio, the better.) The company shipped more goods and made better use of its assets in the latest quarter. CEO Hunter Harrison feels he can cut CP’s operating ratio even further.
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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. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “The best analyst research reports are full of valuable data, but that alone doesn’t mean investors should fall in line with their buy, hold or sell recommendations.”...
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