Search

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $53.00 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.6 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) provides residential property management and property improvement services. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s revenue gained 12.0%, to $316.1 million from $282.2 million a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, earnings per share more than doubled, to $0.28 from $0.13. The higher earnings came from the increased revenue, cost cuts and a focus on more profitable business units. FirstService is raising its quarterly dividend by 10.0% with the April 2016 payment, to $0.11 U.S. from $0.10 U.S. The stock now yields 1.1%....

INTACT FINANCIAL $84.98 (Toronto symbol IFC; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-341-1464; www.intactfc.com; Shares outstanding: 131.5 million; Market cap: $11.2 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance. Its brands include Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink and belairdirect. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Intact’s revenue rose 7.5%, to $1.91 billion from $1.78 billion a year earlier. Revenue improved across all of the company’s insurance lines and geographic regions. Canadian Direct Insurance, which Intact purchased for $197 million in early 2015, also added to its sales....

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES $18.60 (Toronto symbol CTY; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (613- 599-8600; www.calian.com; Shares outstanding: 7.4 million; Market cap: $137.6 million; Dividend yield: 6.0%) has two main divisions: Business and Technology Services (which supplies 70% of the company’s revenue) provides engineers, health care workers and other skilled professionals on a contract basis; Systems Engineering (30% of revenue) sells hardware and software for testing, operating and managing satellite and other communication systems. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s revenue rose 15.2%, to a record $64.5 million from $56.0 million a year earlier. Excluding onetime items, Calian earned $3.3 million, or $0.45 a share. That’s up 22.2% from $2.7 million, or $0.37 a share, a year earlier. The Business and Technology Services division continues to benefit from recurring orders from Canadian federal government departments, including the Department of National Defence. This segment’s revenue rose 9.0% in the latest quarter....

ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES $10.20 (Toronto symbol AF; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-267-2001; www.alarmforce. com; Shares outstanding: 11.6 million; Market cap: $118.0 million; Dividend yield: 1.8%) sells two-way voice-alarm systems and monitoring services in Canada and in the U.S. The company’s sales were $14,4 million in the three months ended October 31, 2015. That’s an 8.7% jump from $13.3 million a year earlier. However, earnings per share fell 29.4%, to $0.12 from $0.17 as it spent more to develop and market its products. AlarmForce’s long-term outlook is positive, and the high U.S. dollar is boosting the amount its U.S. operations contribute to its earnings. However, it will have to keep spending heavily to sell its services in a competitive market and continue its U.S. expansion....

DOMINO’S PIZZA $112.95 (New York symbol DPZ; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (734-930-3008; www.dominos.com; Shares outstanding: 54.6 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) is the world’s largest chain of pizza stores that offer takeout and delivery. It operates 12,100 outlets in the U.S. and 80 other countries. Franchisees run most of these stores. In the three months ended September 6, 2015, the company’s earnings per share rose 6.3%, to $0.67 from $0.63 a year earlier. Sales gained 8.5%, to $484.7 million from $446.6 million. Same-store sales rose 7.7% internationally, but more important, they increased 10.5% in the U.S., home to most of the company’s stores....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $34.51 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 467.0 million; Market cap: $16.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%) took its current form on December 12, 2014, after Burger King Worldwide acquired Tim Hortons. The company is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 15,004 Burger King outlets and 4,413 Tim Hortons stores in 100 countries. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Restaurant Brands earned $165.7 million, up 31.7% from $125.8 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 34.6%, to $0.35 from $0.26, on fewer shares outstanding....

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL $514.01 (New York symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (303-595-4000; www.chipotle.com; Shares outstanding: 31.2 million; Market cap: $14.8 billion; No dividends paid) has implemented a number of measures to address food-safety concerns after E. coli sickened 52 customers late last year at its restaurants in nine states. The measures include: changes to food preparation and handling practices such as shredding cheese before it gets to its stores, blanching some produce in boiling water before serving and new rules for marinating chicken and steak. Chipotle will also implement regular training on safety standards for all workers. As well, it now offers paid sick leave to keep workers at home when they are ill....

WESTJET AIRLINES $15.18 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 109.1 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; Dividend yield: 3.7%) serves 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Its fleet of 108 modern Boeing 737s are 30% more fuel efficient than older jets. The company reported lower revenue and profits in the latest quarter. Weakness in the Alberta market offset the benefit of 25% lower fuel prices. Fuel typically accounts for a third of the airline’s operating expenses. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, WestJet’s revenue fell 3.6%, to $958.7 million from $994.4 million a year earlier. Earnings fell 30.1%, to $63.4 million, or $0.51 a share. A year earlier, they were $90.7 million, or $0.71 a share. Aside from the revenue drop, higher costs, including maintenance and salaries, contributed to the earnings decline. The latest quarter also included a pre-tax foreign exchange loss of $10.0 million....

SYMANTEC CORP. $19.97 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (650-527-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 675.5 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) has completed the sale of its Veritas Technologies subsidiary to the Carlyle Group (Nasdaq symbol CG). This business makes products for data backup and recovery. Symantec received $6.6 billion in cash ($5.3 billion after taxes). It also retained a $400 million equity stake in Veritas. Symantec has earmarked $2.3 billion of the proceeds for share repurchases it aims to complete by March 2017. The company has also lowered its regular quarterly dividend by 50.0%, to $0.075 a share from $0.15, because of the Veritas sale. The new annual rate of $0.30 yields 1.5%. It will, however, pay a special dividend of $4.00 a share on March 22, 2016....

COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL GROUP $44.51 (Toronto symbol CIG ; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-202-695-4200; www.colliers.com; Shares outstanding: 37.2 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) is one of the world’s top three commercial real estate firms, offering a range of services in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Latin America. Colliers continues to fuel its growth through acquisitions. Its latest is WPM Group NV, the leading property management firm in the Netherlands. The purchase price was not disclosed. Founded in 1987, WPM employs 180 people from five offices. Colliers will combine WPM with its existing operations in the Netherlands. The new unit will have 4.5 million square feet of real estate under management....

MITEL NETWORKS $9.69 (Toronto symbol MNW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (613-592-2122; www.mitel.ca; Shares outstanding: 120.8 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; No dividends paid) moved up recently after it announced that it now expects to report earnings per share of $0.27 to $0.28 in the fourth quarter of 2015, on revenue of $330 million to $335 million. The company previously forecast fourth-quarter earnings to a range of $0.22 to $0.27 per share on revenue of $315 million to $340 million. Mitel is increasingly moving from selling programs that are installed at its customers’ offices to a cloud model, where it keeps its software on its own servers and sells it by subscription. That provides steadier recurring revenue. The company added 152,000 cloud subscriptions in the 2015 third quarter and now has 1.76 million cloud users, up 69.7% from 1.04 million a year earlier....

NISSAN MOTOR (ADR) $17.41 (Nasdaq symbol NSANY; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average) (310- 771-3111; www.nissan-global.com; ADRs outstanding 2.3 billion; Market cap: $38.8 billion; Yield: 3.4%) is Japan’s secondlargest automaker, after Toyota and ahead of Honda. For 2016, Nissan extended the range of its Leaf electric car to 172 kilometres from 135 kilometres. The 25% increase comes from a more powerful 30-kilowatt battery, up from 24 kilowatts. Despite the increased range, battery recharging times and a shortage of refuelling stations may limit sales for all electric car makers—not just Nissan. Low gas prices also make gas-powered vehicles more competitive....

STANTEC INC. $32.04 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 94.4 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) continues to grow by acquisition. Its latest is VOA Associates, a 280-person architecture and planning firm based in Chicago. VOA’s recent Chicago projects include the 32-story Wabash “vertical campus” Building at Roosevelt University and waterfront reconstruction of the landmark Navy Pier. Stantec cuts its costs by sharing administrative expenses, financing and employee benefits among its divisions. But continually buying new firms adds risk, including the risk of writedowns....

WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE $68.94 (New York symbol WYN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (973-753-6000; www.wyndhamworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 116.1 million; Market cap: $7.6 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%) is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, with 7,800 franchised hotels worldwide. It also manages vacation resorts, rental properties, luxury clubs and timeshares. The company has 112,000 vacation-rental properties in 100 countries. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Wyndham’s revenue rose 6.5%, to $1.31 billion from $1.23 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 8.9% before onetime items, to $0.98 from $0.90. The company is raising its quarterly dividend by 19.0%, to $0.50 from $0.42. The stock now yields 2.5%....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $55.43 New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 118.6 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. The company processes 90% of all proxy votes in the U.S. and Canada. Without one-time items, Broadridge earned $46.5 million in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended December 31, 2015. That’s up 16.5% from $39.9 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 18.8%, to $0.38 from $0.32, on fewer shares outstanding. Recurring revenue cuts risk...

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $30.78 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 268.9 million; Market cap: $8.2 billion; Dividend yield: 0.9%) is one of the world’s largest tire makers, with 52 plants in 22 countries. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Goodyear’s revenue fell 6.7%, to $4.06 billion from $4.36 billion a year earlier. The rising U.S. dollar lowered the value of the company’s foreign sales (particularly in Europe and Brazil) by $339 million. Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 12.0%, to $257.0 million, or $0.93 a share. A year earlier, the company earned $166.0 million, or $0.59 a share....

We think DRIP investing is worth looking at for most investors, but you should know all of the pros and cons.

SolarWindow Technologies needs money to bring thin-film panels to the market and justify high share price

Anti-nuclear sentiment cuts demand for uranium but Fission Uranium attracts new customer, investor—CGN Mining.

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).
...