Top pick Barrick Mining just raised its dividend a whopping 140% as it generates record earnings and continues its strategic asset reorganization.
Warner Music Group Corp. is well-positioned for higher-margin catalog revenues, added streaming adoption, and new AI monetization opportunities.
ARC Resources keeps returning its cash flow to shareholders through a growing dividend and substantial share buybacks.
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CGI GROUP INC., $57.32, Toronto symbol GIB.A, is Canada’s largest provider of computer-outsourcing services. It helps its clients automate certain routine functions such as accounting and buying supplies. That makes companies more efficient and lets them focus on their main businesses. In its 2016 second quarter, which ended March 31, 2016, CGI earned $268.3 million. That’s a 6.8% increase from the $251.2 million it earned a year earlier. Per-share profits gained 10.3%, to $0.86 from $0.78, on fewer shares outstanding. That missed the consensus estimate of $0.88. In the latest quarter, higher revenue in France, the U.K. and parts of Asia offset declining contributions from CGI’s U.S. defense clients. Revenue improved 5.7%, to $2.75 billion from $2.60 billion. The consensus forecast had been $2.74 billion. The weaker Canadian dollar also helped to lift revenue, contributing an extra $173.7 million....
PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $80 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $216.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is one of the world’s largest makers of household and personal care goods. It began operating in the U.S. in 1837, and now sells its products in over 180 countries. Overseas markets account for 60% of its total sales. The company has five main business lines: fabric and home care products such as Tide laundry detergent (29% of fiscal 2015 sales, 24% of earnings); baby and family care goods, including Pampers diapers (27%, 26%); beauty items such as Olay cosmetics (24%, 23%); grooming products, including Gillette razors (10%, 16%); and health care items such as Crest toothpaste (10%, 11%). Wal-Mart accounts for 14% of the company’s sales. In response to rising competition from generic products, Procter is narrowing its focus from 166 different brands to 65. Of those remaining brands, 21 have annual sales of over $1 billion. Another 11 have annual sales of between $500 million and $1 billion....
GANNETT CO., INC. $18 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 116.5 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) publishes daily newspapers in 107 U.S. markets, including its flagship newspaper, USAToday. It also has 19 papers in the U.K., and over 200 magazines and other publications. The company has offered to buy Tribune Publishing Co. (New York symbol TPUB). This firm owns 11 daily papers, including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, as well as 160 weekly papers and 120 websites. Including Tribune’s debt, the offer is worth $815 million. Eliminating overlapping operations would let Gannett cut $50 million from its annual costs; it earned $209.1 million, or $1.79 a share, in 2015....
KRAFT HEINZ CO. $79 (Nasdaq symbol KHC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $94.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.2; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.kraftheinzcompany.com) makes condiments and sauces (such as Heinz Ketchup) as well as other packaged foods. These include Velveeta and Philadelphia Cream Cheese, processed meats (such as Oscar Meyer hot dogs) and beverages (such as Maxwell House coffee). Kraft Heinz took its current form on July 2, 2015, through the merger of Kraft Foods Group and H.J. Heinz. The combined firm is the fifth-largest food and beverage producer globally. The new company’s sales fell 5.8%, to $27.5 billion in 2015 from $29.1 billion in 2014. Adjusting for currency exchange rates and businesses it sold, sales for 2015 fell just 1.6%....