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It is important to note that some types of investments provide more security than others. Investors seeking safe investment options should look for well-established companies with hidden assets among other key characteristics.
Sun Life Financial Inc. and Manulife Financial Corp. each offers a combination of solid earnings growth, ongoing share repurchases, and impressive dividend yields.
Top pick Yum Brands Inc. gives you sales growth, steady EPS growth, and a solid dividend
Nutrien Ltd. offers exposure to potash and nitrogen prices, a stable retail base and strong profitability.
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Tax shelters in Canada aim to reduce or eliminate your tax liability, they are great ways for Canadian investors to cut their tax bills.
In some ways, stock buyback benefits are better than dividends. In particular, they give you a tax-deferral option that you don’t get with cash dividends.
CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $31 and CU.X [class B voting] $31; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 265.2 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.6; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadianutilities.com) is down 24% in the past year, largely due to concerns over Alberta’s slowing economy and new carbon taxes. However, most of the company’s 11 plants in the province generate power by burning natural gas, which produces fewer emissions than coal. Meanwhile, Canadian Utilities has raised its quarterly dividend by 10.2%, to $0.325 a share from $0.295. The new annual rate of $1.30 yields 4.2%. The company has now raised its payout each year since 1972. Canadian Utilities class A stock is a buy....
BLACKBERRY LTD. $10 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 525.7 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) continues to expand its software business, which provides it with recurring licensing fees and cuts its reliance on selling smartphones. The company recently paid $250 million for AtHoc, whose software lets users securely exchange messages during crises (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.). AtHoc’s clients include the U.S. defence and homeland security departments. BlackBerry also bought Good Technology, whose software improves the security of messages sent through mobile devices, for $425 million....
Enbridge and TransCanada are facing strong opposition to their big pipeline proposals, so they’re focusing on smaller projects instead. This will give both companies more cash for dividends, but we feel TransCanada is the better buy right now. ENBRIDGE INC. $43 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 867.6 million; Market cap: $37.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) received regulatory approval for its $7.9-billion Northern Gateway pipeline in June 2014. This project would pump crude from Alberta to Kitimat, B.C. From there, tankers would ship it to customers in Asia. However, Ottawa recently banned oil tankers off the northern B.C. coast. Meanwhile, Enbridge is making progress on its ambitious $38-billion growth plan, which includes expanding its oil and gas pipelines and wind farms. The company will finish building these projects between 2016 and 2019....
ANDREW PELLER LTD. $20 (Toronto symbol ADW.A; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 14.3 million; Market cap: $286.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest wine producer, after Constellation Brands. Peller continues to successfully launch premium-priced brands. In the second quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended September 30, 2015, the company’s sales rose 2.9%, to $85.2 million from $82.8 million a year earlier. Earnings jumped 41.7%, to $0.51 a share from $0.36. Without unusual items, such as losses on hedging contracts Peller uses to lock in foreign exchange rates, earnings gained 58.1%. Andrew Peller is a buy....