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
ACI WORLDWIDE $54.45 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-334-5101; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 39.5 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; No dividends paid) makes software for processing transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. Its products also help cut fraud.

In the quarter ended June 30, 2013, ACI’s revenue rose 30.0%, to $208.0 million from $160.0 million a year earlier. That’s mainly due to the contribution from Online Resources Corp., which ACI bought for $126.6 million early this year. The purchase has helped ACI further expand into online banking and bill payments.

Without one-time items, earnings per share dropped to $0.14 from $0.16. The decline was largely due to the cost of integrating acquisitions.
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AASTRA TECHNOLOGIES $20.78 (Toronto symbol AAH; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (905-760- 4200; www.aastra.com; Shares outstanding: 11.8 million; Market cap: $245.1 million; Dividend yield: 3.9%) develops and markets products and systems for accessing communication networks, including the Internet. Its technology is centred around business telephone systems and includes products that integrate land lines and mobile phones.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Aastra’s sales rose 2.5%, to $150.8 million from $147.1 million a year earlier, as the company’s key markets in Germany and France improved significantly. Earnings per share jumped to $0.21 from $0.13.

Aastra holds cash of $132.5 million, or a high $11.42 a share, and has no long-term debt. It spends a high 11% of its revenue on research.
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AIMIA INC. $18.30 (Toronto symbol AIM; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-205-7315; www.aimia.com; Shares outstanding: 172.6 million; Market cap: $3.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.7%) has reached an agreement with TD Bank and CIBC to share its Aeroplan loyalty program.

TD Bank is now the primary credit card issuer for Aeroplan. However, the deal will let CIBC, the former main card issuer, hang on to Aeroplan accounts held by customers who also bank at CIBC. That’s about half the Aeroplan portfolio.

CIBC will receive an upfront payment of $200 million from TD and Aimia. As well, TD will pay CIBC $37.5 million annually for the next three years.
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BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $32.80 (New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 119.1 million; Market cap: $3.9 billion; Dividend yield: 2.6%) continues to hit all-time highs, but we think the stock still has room to rise.

Broadridge serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. It processes 90% of all proxy votes in the U.S. and Canada.

In its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter, which ended June 30, 2013, Broadridge’s earnings jumped 61.4%, to $134.6 million from $83.4 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 67.2%, to $1.12 from $0.67, on fewer shares outstanding.
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SeaDrill operates near full capacity, builds more rigs
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on stocks 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....
Efficiency drive and acquisitions are Metro’s answer to rising competition
METRO INC. (Toronto symbol MRU; www.metro.ca) operates about 600 supermarkets in Quebec and Ontario. It also has over 250 drugstores under the Brunet, The Pharmacy and Drug Basics banners....
Cisco strives to maintain dominance with new technologies—and cost cuts
CISCO SYSTEMS INC. (Nasdaq symbol CSCO; www.cisco.com) is a leading maker of hardware and software that links and manages computer networks. The company’s hardware includes routers, local area network (LAN) and asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switches, and server computers. Cisco mainly sells this equipment to large businesses and government agencies....
Parent and spinoff stock both look for big growth in economic recovery
Heavy equipment distributor Toromont Industries Ltd. completed the spinoff of its natural gas equipment division, Enerflex Ltd., in July 2011. Shareholders received shares of the new Toromont and shares of Enerflex. Here is our latest report on these two Canadian stocks which we follow in our advisory for more aggressive investing, Stock Pickers Digest....
TORSTAR CORP. $5.99 (www.torstar.com) is shutting down its digital division, which mainly operates its websites. This business accounts for about 11% of Torstar’s revenue. The company will shift these operations into its daily and community newspaper divisions. The move will let it cut jobs and improve efficiency. Buy.