Search

Offshore investing may seem like an attractive option to lower your taxes, but you need to be aware of the risks.

Blackberry counts on software sales, growing demand for Priv smartphone

If you’re investing less than 20% of your portfolio in energy stocks, you may want to research the common problems with wind energy first.

Index mutual funds can provide a low-cost way to invest in the stock market. However, they have disadvantages and there are better alternatives.

Tegna Inc. is using cash from ad revenue to pay down debt, buy back shares and purchase TV stations

PFIZER INC. $32 (New York symbol PFE; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 6.5 billion; Market cap: $208.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.0; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pfizer.com) is the world’s largest pharmaceutical company.

Pfizer gets about 45% of its revenue from 10 drugs, each of which generates over $1 billion in annual sales. They include Lipitor (for high cholesterol), Enbrel (rheumatoid arthritis), Lyrica (epilepsy), Celebrex (arthritis), Viagra (erectile dysfunction), Norvasc (hypertension), Prevnar (a pneumonia vaccine), Sutent (stomach cancer), Premarin (hormone replacement) and Zyvox (bacterial infections).

The company is also the world’s fifth-largest maker of overthe- counter drugs. Brands include Advil (pain relief), Centrum (vitamins) and Robitussin (cough syrup).
...

Sharing our proven guidelines for successfully picking penny stocks to recommend to our clients and in our newsletters

Portfolio models offer new investors the wrong strategy for long term investment success.

There is a right and wrong way of transferring shares from one broker to another. Do you know which one you’ve been using?

BCE INC. $58 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 865.6 million; Market cap: $49.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 4.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest telephone provider, with 6.7 million customers in Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. It also has 3.4 million high-speed Internet users and 2.7 million TV subscribers. In all, these operations supplied 56% of BCE’s revenue in 2015. The company also sells wireless services (32% of revenue) to 8.25 million cellphone users across Canada. The remaining 12% of BCE’s revenue comes from its Bell Media division, which owns CTV Television (30 stations), 34 specialty channels (including TSN, Discovery, Comedy and Space), pay TV services (including the Movie Network and HBO Canada) and 106 radio stations....

CAE INC. $14 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 269.9 million; Market cap: $3.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) earned $59.4 million in its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended December 31, 2015. That’s up 14.0% from $52.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share also jumped 10.0%, rising to $0.22 from $0.20, on more shares outstanding. Revenue gained 10.2%, to $616.3 million from $559.1 million. About 90% of the company’s revenue comes from foreign customers, so it’s benefiting from the lower Canadian dollar. Sales of flight simulators and pilottraining services to airlines (54% of total revenue) gained 3.9%. CAE sold nine simulators during the quarter, for a total of 39 in the first nine months of fiscal 2016. It expects its full-year total to exceed the 41 sold in fiscal 2015....

TELUS CORP. $40 (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 599.9 million; Market cap: $24.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; Dividend yield: 4.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) is Canada’s second-largest wireless telephone service provider, after Rogers Communications, with 8.5 million subscribers. Wireless now supplies 56% of Telus’s revenue and 66% of its earnings. The remaining 44% of revenue and 34% of earnings come from its wireline division, which serves 1.5 million residential phone customers in B.C., Alberta and eastern Quebec. This business also has 1.6 million high-speed Internet users and 1.0 million TV clients. The stock is down 11% from its July 2015 peak of $45. That’s partly due to Shaw Communications’ (Toronto symbol SJR.B) recent deal to pay $1.6 billion for wireless carrier Wind Mobile, which operates in Ontario, Alberta and B.C....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $32 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 79.3 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mts.ca) recently completed the sale of its Allstream division to U.S.-based Zayo Group Holdings (New York symbol ZAYO). Prior to the deal, Allstream, which offers telephone, Internet and other communication services to businesses across Canada, supplied 40% of Manitoba Telecom’s revenue. The remaining 60% came from its MTS division, which has 1.3 million telephone and wireless customers in Manitoba. Manitoba Telecom received $420.0 million, net of transaction costs, for Allstream. The company will use $200.0 million to buy back roughly 8% of its outstanding shares. It will put a further $190.0 million to its total debt of $1.1 billion, which is equal to 44% of its market cap. The company will hang on to the remaining $30.0 million for now....

POTASH CORP. OF SASKATCHEWAN $21 (Toronto symbol POT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 836.5 million; Market cap: $17.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 6.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.potashcorp.com) earned $1.52 a share in 2015, down 16.5% from $1.82 in 2014 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Revenue declined 11.7%, to $6.3 billion from $7.1 billion. High global potash inventories have cut demand, while record North American harvests have hurt crop prices, leaving farmers with less to spend on fertilizers. In response, Potash Corp. has suspended production at its $2.2-billion (Canadian) potash mine in Picadilly, New Brunswick, which only started up in early 2015. It also cut its dividend by 34.2%; the new annual rate of $1.00 U.S. a share yields 6.6%....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $66 (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $99.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) is selling its RBC General Insurance subsidiary to Aviva Canada. This business mainly sells home and auto insurance. As part of the sale, Royal’s customers can also access all of Aviva’s insurance products for the next 15 years. The sale makes sense, as regulators prevent Canadian banks from selling insurance policies through their branches. That limits Royal’s ability to expand this business. However, the bank will continue to sell life and health insurance through separate offices and online....

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $30 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $42.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. suncor.com) is Canada’s largest oil producer. It also operates four refineries and 1,500 Petro-Canada gas stations, which supply 63% of its revenue. The company produced an average of 577,800 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2015, up 8.0% from 534,900 barrels in 2014. Suncor’s oil sands projects accounted for 80% of its output. However, Suncor lost $2.0 billion, or $1.38 a share, mainly because it wrote down the value of its reserves in response to the oil-price drop. It also wrote down its operations in Libya and some of its offshore projects. But without unusual items, Suncor earned $1.01 a share. In 2014, it earned $4.6 billion, or $3.15 a share....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $41 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Shares outstanding: 847.6 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) gets about 90% of its crude oil from its Alberta oil sands operations, including its 25% stake in the Syncrude project. In addition, it has conventional oil and natural gas operations, also in Western Canada, and owns stakes in projects off the coast of Atlantic Canada. Imperial also owns three refineries, petrochemical plants and 1,700 gas stations, which operate under the Esso banner....

PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $0.91 (Toronto symbol PGF; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 543.0 million; Market cap: $494.1 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend suspended in January 2016; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.pengrowth.com) has suspended its $0.01-a-share quarterly dividend in response to the sharp decline in oil prices. It will also reduce its capital spending to between $60 million to $70 million in 2016, from $184 million in 2015. The company has also laid off workers, which should save it $25 million in 2016, and aims to sell $600 million of less important properties. It will probably put these funds toward its $2.1-billion debt, which is now a high 4.3 times its depressed market cap. Pengrowth is a hold.

CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $14 (Toronto symbol CVE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 833.2 million; Market cap: $11.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cenovus.com) gets 35% of its revenue from its Western Canadian oil sands properties and conventional oil and gas wells. Chief among these assets are its 50%-owned Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands projects; ConocoPhilips (New York symbol COP) owns the remaining 50%. Refining supplies the remaining 65% of Cenovus’s revenue. The company ships its oil to its 50%-owned refineries in Illinois and Texas. Phillips 66 (New York symbol PSX) owns the other 50%. Low crude prices have prompted Cenovus to cut its capital spending by 26.5%, to about $1.25 billion in 2016 from $1.7 billion in 2015....

ENCANA CORP. $4.86 (Toronto symbol ECA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 849.8 million; Market cap: $4.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.encana.com) plans to spend $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion upgrading its properties in 2016, down 25% from 2015 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Even with the drop, it expects production at its four main oil projects—Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta) and Eagle Ford and Permian (both in Texas)—will rise 12% this year. It has also cut its annual dividend rate by 78.6%, to $0.06 a share from $0.28. In addition, Encana has eliminated the 2% price discount it offered to shareholders who chose to reinvest their dividends in new shares. In all, these moves will save $185 million a year. Encana is still a buy for long-term gains.

CGI GROUP INC. $57 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 313.4 million; Market cap: $17.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.cgi.com) is one of eight firms the U.S. Navy has chosen to help it upgrade its computer systems. CGI hasn’t yet said how much it would receive under its initial one-year contract. However, the Navy has set aside a total of $809.5 million U.S. for this project, which it expects to complete in 2020. The company’s strong reputation should continue to help it win more contracts from military clients. Moreover, CGI’s $21.5-billion backlog of contracts (at December 31, 2015) is equal to 2.1 times its annual revenue....

IGM FINANCIAL INC. $33 (Toronto symbol IGM; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 244.8 million; Market cap: $8.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 5.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.igmfinancial.com) had $131.0 billion worth of assets under management as of January 31, 2016, down 9.9% from $145.5 billion a year earlier. The company’s fee income rises and falls with the value of the mutual funds and other securities it manages, so its revenue and earnings decline when the price of these assets falls. The drop is mainly due to the recent volatility in global stock markets. In January 2016, the S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 1.4%, while the S&P 500 Index declined 5.1%. However, IGM sells most of its funds through its own salesforce. This leaves it less dependent on selling through the brokerage industry than its competitors. This salesforce also lets IGM form close relationships with clients, and keep redemption rates down....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC. $43 (Toronto symbol QSR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 467.6 million; Market cap: $20.1 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.rbi.com) is the world’s thirdlargest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 4,845 Tim Hortons and 14,669 Burger King outlets locations in 100 countries. The company recently announced that its North American locations plan to use only eggs from chickens raised outside of cages. The move will help enhance its appeal with health-conscious, environmentally aware consumers. It will also help it compete with other fast-food chains also switching to cage-free eggs. Farmers need time to adjust, so Restaurant Brands plans to complete the switch by 2025....

SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $40 (Toronto symbol SNC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 149.8 million; Market cap: $6.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snclavalin.com) has won a contract from the United Arab Emirate’s state-owned aluminum company to supply engineering services to its two smelters. SNC did not say how much the deal is worth, but it should complete the work in July 2018. The company’s $12.7-billion order backlog, as of September 30, 2015, is equal to 1.3 times its annual revenue. However, oil and mining jobs account for a third of that total. Low commodity prices could force these clients to postpone or cancel these projects. SNC-Lavalin is a hold.

AGRIUM INC. $114 (Toronto symbol AGU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 138.2 million; Market cap: $15.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agrium.com) continues to benefit from its shift away from making fertilizers to selling them, along with seeds and other products, to farmers. That cuts its exposure to volatile bulk-fertilizer prices. In 2015, Agrium’s 1,250 retail stores in North America, South America and Australia supplied 82% of its sales, and 70% of its earnings. The remaining 18% of sales and 30% of earnings came from making nitrogen-based fertilizers from natural gas. Agrium also operates potash and phosphate fertilizer mines....