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DEVON ENERGY $26.22 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-235-3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 510.3 million; Market cap: $12.5 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) is undertaking a number of measures to conserve cash and shore up its balance sheet while it waits for oil and gas prices to recover. The company plans to cut its workforce by 20%. This will save it up to $500 million a year when combined with other cost cutting. Devon will also reduce its quarterly dividend by 75%, to $0.06 from $0.24. The shares now yield 0.9%. The dividend cut will save it $320 million a year. Devon plans to lower its exploration and development spending this year, to between $900 million and $1.1 billion. That’s down 75% from 2015. As well, the company will sell as many as 79.4 million shares at $18.75 each to raise $1.5 billion....
STANTEC INC. $30.47 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 94.4 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) continues to grow by acquisition. Its latest is Bury Inc., a 300-person building design firm based in Austin, Texas. Bury’s recent projects include the George W. Bush Presidential Library in Dallas, and the redevelopment of Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. Stantec cuts its costs by sharing administrative expenses, financing and employee benefits among its divisions. But continually buying new firms adds risk, including the risk of writedowns....
DREAM OFFICE REIT $20.59 (Toronto symbol D.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-365-3535; www.dream.ca/office; Units outstanding: 107.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 7.3%) is up more than 23% since its recent announcement of a three-year strategic plan to push up its unit price. The trust will sell non-essential properties worth $1.2 billion to realize their full market value. These properties represent about 17% of its holdings. It will use some of the proceeds to pay down debt, and possibly to buy back units. The trust will also cut its annualized distribution by 33.0%, to $1.50 from $2.24. This will lower its payout ratio to 67% of forecast 2016 cash flow. Dream will also suspend its dividend reinvestment program. The DRIP has a high 38% participation rate. That program lets it conserve cash, but issuing more shares at low prices dilutes the interests of current unitholders. The units yield 7.3%....
WAJAX CORP. $16.85 (Toronto symbol WJX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (905-212-3300; www.wajax.ca; Shares outstanding:20.0 million; Market cap: $335.9 million; Dividend yield: 5.9%) sells and services cranes, forklifts and other heavy equipment. It also provides related parts (such as ball bearings, motors, hoses and fittings) and power systems (including diesel engines and transmissions). The company’s customers are in the natural resource, construction, manufacturing and transportation industries. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Wajax’s clients in mining and oil and gas made fewer purchases. As a result, revenue fell 16.0%, to $324.4 million from $386.1 million a year earlier. Earnings, excluding one-time items, declined sharply, to $4.0 million, or $0.20 a share, from $11.0 million, or $0.66....