Scott Clayton

Scott is an associate editor at TSI Network. He is the lead reporter and analyst for Dividend Advisor, Power Growth Investor and Canadian Wealth Advisor and a member of the Investment Planning Committee. Scott began his investment and financial career working with Pat McKeough at The Investment Reporter in the 1980s. Subsequently, he worked at the Financial Post Corporation Service for 10 years. He joined TSI Network in 1998. He is a Bachelor of Economics graduate of York University, and he also has an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business.

Posts by the author
ETFs
Canadian Blue Chips Dominate These Two Canadian ETFs
These two Canadian ETFs track Canada’s best-established indexes and provide low-fee exposure to widely traded blue chip stocks.
3 min read
Scott Clayton
Dividend Stocks
Our Top LNG and Natural Gas Infrastructure Picks
5 min read
Scott Clayton
ETFs
The Best Income Funds for Retirees - What you need to know
5 min read
Scott Clayton
Wealth Management
Stock market recommendations: Higher package volumes push up FedEx earnings
FedEx Corp., New York symbol FDX, delivers packages and documents in the U.S. and over 220 countries and territories. FedEx is one of the stocks we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that offers stock market recommendations for the U.S. markets. For the fiscal year ended May 31, 2011, FedEx’s revenue rose 13.2%, to $39.3 billion from $34.7 billion in 2010. The company earned $1.45 billion, or $4.57 a share, up 22.6% from $1.2 billion, or $3.76 a share. If you exclude unusual items, FedEx earned $4.90 a share in 2011. That matched the consensus estimate....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
How To Invest
E-book costs weigh on this Canadian stock pick’s earnings
Indigo Books & Music Inc., Toronto symbol IDG, is Canada’s largest bookseller. The company operates 97 superstores under the Chapters and Indigo banners. It also has 149 mall-based stores, and sells books, movies and music through its web site. Indigo is one of the Canadian stock picks we analyze in our Successful Investor newsletter. In its latest fiscal year, which ended April 2, 2011, the Canadian stock pick’s revenue rose 5.0% to $1.0 billion from $968.9 million in the prior year. Even so, earnings fell 67.5%, to $11.3 million, or $0.45 a share, from $34.9 million, or $1.39 a share....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Blue Chip Stocks
Large cap stocks: Campbell Soup earnings rise in the latest quarter
Campbell Soup Co., symbol CPB on New York, is the world’s largest maker of canned soups. It also makes Prego canned pasta and sauces, Pepperidge Farm cookies and V8 vegetable juices. In the three months ended May 1, 2011, the large cap stock’s earnings rose 11.3%, to $187 million from $168 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 16.3%, to $0.57 from $0.49, on fewer shares outstanding. That beat the consensus earnings estimate of $0.52 a share. If you exclude one-time charges in the year-earlier period related to a restructuring and changes in the new U.S. health-care law, earnings per share would have risen 5.6%. Revenue rose just 0.6%, to $1.81 billion from $1.80 billion. Sales at the large cap stock’s U.S. Soups, Sauces and Beverages division (43% of total revenue) fell 8%. That’s mainly because the company raised its prices to offset higher ingredient costs. This business is also facing stronger competition from other ready-to-eat foods, such as frozen pizza....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
How To Invest
Stock trading: Rising costs hurt Aeropostale earnings
Aeropostale Inc., symbol ARO on New York, is a mall-based retailer of casual clothing and accessories. The company has 974 Aeropostale stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. It mainly sells its clothing to 14-to-17-year-olds. Aeropostale’s 57 “P.S. from Aeropostale” stores in the U.S. are aimed at seven-to-12-year-old elementary-school children. We analyze Aeropostale in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive stock trading. In the three months ended April 30, 2011, Aeropostale’s sales rose 1.2%, to $469.2 million from $463.6 million. Same-store sales declined 7%, compared with an increase of 8% a year earlier. Sales from the company’s e-commerce business jumped 18.5%, to $28.2 million from $23.8 million....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Growth Stocks
World Stock Market: ABB earnings jump in latest quarter
ABB LTD. ADRs, New York symbol ABB, manufactures transformers, transmission switches and other equipment for distributing electricity. It also makes automation systems and robotics that increase the productivity of manufacturing plants. Switzerland-based ABB has clients in a variety of industries. The company is one of the world stock market investments we analyze in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter The company earned $655 million in the three months ended March 31, 2011, up 41.2% from $464 million a year earlier. Earnings per ADR gained 45.0%, to $0.29 from $0.20, on fewer ADRs outstanding. (Each American Depositary Receipt represents one ABB common share.) Revenue rose 21.2% to $8.4 billion from $6.9 billion. Rising industrial development and higher commodity prices are prompting the company’s clients to increase their capacity and make their plants more efficient. These factors are pushing up demand for ABB’s products. Orders for new equipment rose 25% during the quarter. The company’s order backlog is now a record $29.3 billion....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Mining Stocks
Canadian mining stocks: Shipping delays hold back Breakwater’s results
Breakwater Resources, symbol BWR on Toronto, mainly produces zinc. The Canadian mining stocks operations include the Myra Falls mine in B.C., the Mochito mine in Honduras and the Toqui mine in Chile. Work is on schedule to restart the Langlois Mine in Quebec in the first quarter of 2012. We analyze Breakwater in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Breakwater earned $30.8 million, or $0.39 a share. Of this, $19.0 million, or $0.24 a share, was from an income-tax recovery. In the first quarter of 2010, the company earned $24.9 million, or $0.36 a share....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Growth Stocks
U.S.A. stock market: PetSmart earnings rise in latest quarter
PetSmart Inc., Nasdaq symbol PETM, operates 1,192 pet stores in the U.S. and Canada. It also has 184 in-store PetsHotel dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart is one of the stocks we analyze in Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter for U.S.A. stock market investing. In its 2012 first quarter, which ended May 1, 2011, PetSmart’s earnings rose 27.5%, to $70.9 million from $55.6 million a year earlier. The company spent $102 million on share buybacks in the quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 32.6%, to $0.61 from $0.46. That easily beat the consensus earnings forecast of $0.49 a share....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Daily Advice
Stock market investments: Baxter reports higher sales and earnings
Baxter International Inc., New York symbol BAX, has two divisions: Medical Products (57% of sales) makes intravenous pumps, syringes and kidney-dialysis equipment; and BioScience (43%) makes vaccines and drugs. Overseas markets account for 60% of its sales. As well, about half of Baxter’s sales are single-use medical products that hospitals and clinics must continually reorder. Baxter’s sales in the first quarter of 2011 rose 12.2%, to $3.3 billion from $2.9 billion a year earlier. The company is seeing strong demand for intravenous and nutritional therapies. Demand for injectable drugs is also rising....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
Growth Stocks
Canadian dividend stocks: Russel Metals’ earnings soar in latest quarter
Russel Metals, symbol RUS on Toronto, is one of North America’s largest metal distribution companies. Russel has three divisions: metals service centres (55% of sales) sells carbon steel and non-ferrous metals; energy tubular products (34%) sells tubular products to the energy industry in Western Canada and the U.S.; and steel distributors (11%) sells steel in large volumes, mainly to other metals distributors and original equipment manufacturers in Canada and the U.S. The Canadian dividend stock’s quarterly payout is $0.274 a share. That gives the shares a 4.5% yield on an annualized basis. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Russel earned $33 million, or $0.55 a share. That’s up sharply from $9.1 million, or $0.15 a share, a year earlier....
1 min read
Scott Clayton
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