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
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ CAE INC. $10 (www.cae.com) has sold six flight simulators to airlines in Turkey and Azerbaijan. These are the company’s first simulator sales in its 2014 fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2014....
TIM HORTONS INC. $54 (Toronto symbol THI; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 153.4 million; Market cap: $8.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 1.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.timhortons.com) is the largest fast-food company in Canada, with 3,453 outlets that mainly serve coffee and donuts. The company also has 808 U.S. stores.

The stock has moved up lately in response to demands from Highfields Capital Management, a U.S.-based activist investment firm that owns 1.5% of Tim Hortons’ shares. Highfields has proposed several ways to boost shareholder value, including slowing Tim Hortons’ expansion in the U.S., where it faces intense competition from larger chains like McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks.


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BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $4.68 and BBD.B $4.67; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $7.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bombardier.com) plans to begin test flights of its new CSeries jet planes by the end of June 2013.

The company’s plan to test the plane both in flight and using simulators should let it deliver the first CSeries in mid-2014.

The subordinate-voting class B shares are the better choice because of their slightly better liquidity and higher dividend yield.
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SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $31 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $46.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. suncor.com) has resumed normal operations at its oil refinery in Edmonton after it closed the facility for six weeks for unplanned maintenance.

The shutdown led to minor shortages at the company’s Petro-Canada gas stations in Western Canada. However, it also pushed up gas prices, which helped Suncor offset the lost sales.

Suncor is a buy.

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LINAMAR CORP. $28 ( T o r o n t o s y mb o l L N R ; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.7 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.linamar.com) is buying three plants in Germany that make automotive camshafts for various carmakers.

The company didn’t say how much it will pay for these facilities or when the deal will close. However, this purchase will add roughly $35 million to Linamar’s yearly sales of $3.2 billion. As well, the company plans to use this business’s expertise to improve its camshaft operations.

Linamar is a buy.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $46 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 280.9 million; Market cap: $12.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) is spending $100 million to upgrade its 77 Provigo and 32 Loblaw supermarkets in Quebec. That’s equal to 58% of its 2013 firstquarter earnings of $171 million, or $0.61 a share.

These improvements include faster checkout lines, a better selection of fresh products, and the addition of on-site baked bagels and juice bars. In addition, the company will rebrand six of its existing Loblaw stores, plus one under construction, as Provigo Le Marché.

Loblaw is a buy.

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BLACKBERRY INC. $14 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 524.0 million; Market cap: $7.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.blackberry.com) aims to increase its sales in developing markets like Africa, Asia and Latin America with the Q5, the third smartphone to use the company’s new BlackBerry 10 software.

Like the new Q10, this new model features a 3.1-inch display and a physical keyboard. However, it comes with less storage capacity and a slower processing chip. That will let the company sell the Q5 for about half the price of the Q10. The new phone should also help BlackBerry complete with low-cost phones powered by Google’s Android software.

BlackBerry is a hold.

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CGI GROUP INC. $30 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 309.3 million; Market cap: $9.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.cgi.com) has won contracts from the Kentucky and Louisiana health cooperatives. Created under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, these are private, non-profit organizations that sell low-cost health insurance to individuals and small businesses.

For the next five years, CGI’s computer-outsourcing expertise will help them automate their billing and claims-processing functions.

CGI Group is a buy....
TORSTAR CORP. $6.17 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Shares outstanding: 79.8 million; Market cap: $492.4 million; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; D i v i d e n d y i e l d : 7 . 7 % ; www.torstar.com) gets 70% of its revenue from its newspapers, including The Toronto Star, Canada’s largest daily newspaper by circulation. The remaining 30% comes from Harlequin, a leading romance novel publisher.

In the first quarter of 2013, Torstar’s earnings fell 76.2%, to $4.2 million, or $0.05 a share. A year earlier, it earned $17.5 million, or $0.22 a share. If you exclude unusual items, earnings per share would have declined 36.4%, to $0.14.

Revenue fell 4.8%, to $313.4 million from $329.3 million. Lower advertising revenue offset higher distribution revenue at Torstar’s weekly community papers as it expanded into new markets. Harlequin’s revenue fell 2.9%, excluding the negative impact of foreign exchange rates. That’s because rising e-book sales failed to offset slowing demand for printed books.
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