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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Lower prices for oil and other commodities are weighing on Encana and Finning (see box). However, both firms are aggressively cutting costs, which puts them in a better position to grow when prices recover. ENCANA CORP. $9.14 (Toronto symbol ECA; Con- servative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 845.7 million; Market cap: $7.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) raised $2.7 billion in 2015 by selling less important properties (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). These sales are part of the company’s plan to focus on four key projects: Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta) and Eagle Ford and Permian (both in Texas). These fields produce large amounts of oil and natural gas liquids, such as propane and butane, which cuts Encana’s reliance on natural gas. They’re also efficient, which helps the company cope with low oil and gas prices....
FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $18 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 169.3 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.finning.com) sells and services Caterpillar-brand heavy equipment. Its main customers are in the oil, mining, forest-products and construction industries. Weaker commodity prices continue to hurt equipment demand. In response, Finning has laid off 13% of its workforce and closed 11 of its locations in Western Canada. The company is now looking at other ways to lower its costs, such as shipping parts directly to customers instead of through dealerships. Meanwhile, Finning’s earnings fell 42.4% in the three months ended September 30, 2015, to $0.19 a share from $0.33 a year earlier. Without one-time items, the company earned $0.34 a share in the latest quarter....
SHAWCOR LTD. $27 (Toronto symbol SCL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares out- standing: 64.5 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.shawcor.com) has acquired certain businesses from Flint Field Services. These operations inspect and make plastic liners for pipelines. The company paid $35.5 million for the Flint businesses, which is equal to 93% of the $38.1 million, or $0.59 a share, it earned in the third quarter of 2015. The purchase will add $46 million to its annual revenue of $1.9 billion. ShawCor is a buy....
TORONTO-DOMINION BANK $54 (Toronto symbol TD; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $102.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.td.com) earned $8.75 billion, or $4.61 a share, in its 2015 fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2015. That’s up 7.7% from $8.1 billion, or $4.27 a share, in 2014. Revenue rose 4.9%, to $31.4 billion from $30.0 billion. Low interest rates continue to spur loan demand at TD’s retail banking operations in Canada and the U.S. Higher trading volumes and underwriting fees also contributed to the gains. Due to the higher loan volumes, the bank’s loan-loss provisions rose 8.1%, to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion....