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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.
CONAGRA FOODS INC. $40 (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 429.2 million; Market cap: $17.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.conagrafoods.com) paid $4.75 billion for Ralcorp Holdings, the largest private-label food maker in the U.S., in January 2013. However, strong competition and higher ingredient costs have hurt Ralcorp’s earnings. In response, ConAgra aims to sell Ralcorp by the end of 2015. Excluding Ralcorp’s contribution and unusual items, ConAgra’s earnings rose 15.4% in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended August 30, 2015, to $0.45 a share from $0.39 a year earlier. Sales gained 1.1%, to $2.79 billion from $2.76 billion. Consumer foods, such as Chef Boyardee canned pasta and Hunt’s tomato sauce, now supply 61% of ConAgra’s revenue. These products’sales fell 0.3%, as unfavourable currency rates offset higher selling prices....
These three small-cap manufacturers continue to dominate their niche industries. They’re staying ahead of the competition by developing innovative products or building their businesses through timely acquisitions. But all three operate in cyclical industries, and their share prices have fallen lately as economic growth slows. The high U.S. dollar is also hurting the contribution from their overseas operations. We feel they’ll need signs of improving global growth to move higher. TENNANT CO. $55 (New York symbol TNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 18.3 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. tennantco.com) makes industrial floor-cleaning equipment, including scrubbers, sweepers and polishers. It also manufactures cleaning gear for garages, stadiums, parking lots and city streets....
DIEBOLD INC. $30 (New York symbol DBD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 65.0 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.diebold.com) continues to move ahead with a major restructuring aimed at improving its efficiency and shifting its focus from building automated teller machines to services and software. The changes should save Diebold a total of $200 million by the end of 2017. It plans to devote $100 million of that to acquisitions and other investments. Meantime, Diebold’s earnings fell 46.6% in the three months ended June 30, 2015, to $22.2 million, or $0.34 a share. A year earlier, it earned $41.6 million, or $0.64. If you exclude restructuring costs, earnings per share declined 6.4%, to $0.44 from $0.47. However, its gross profit margin improved to 26.0% from 25.5%....
MCKESSON CORP. $198 (New York symbol MCK; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 232.0 million; Market cap: $45.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.mckesson .com) is buying UDG Healthcare’s wholesale distribution operations. These businesses deliver prescription drugs and other products to drugstores in Ireland and Northern Ireland. McKesson also recently agreed to acquire 281 Sainsbury’s pharmacies in the U.K. The company expects to complete these purchases in the first half of 2016. It will pay roughly $600 million for both of these businesses, which together should add $0.10 to $0.14 a share to its annual earnings. To put these figures in context, McKesson earned $2.6 billion, or $11.11 a share, in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2015. These purchases are part of the company’s plan to cut its reliance on North America, which accounts for 90% of its revenue. However, using acquisitions to expand adds risk....