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BUCKEYE PARTNERS L.P. $67 (www.buckeye.com) is seeing strong demand for its oil-storage terminals as many producers store their crude instead of selling it at today’s depressed prices. However, lower prices are hurting revenue at Buckeye’s wholesaling business, which sells refined fuels, such as gasoline, home heating oil and propane....

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $97 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 887.0 million; Market cap: $86.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) has four main businesses: Climate, Controls & Security (30% of revenue, 32% of earnings) makes heating and air conditioning equipment under the Carrier brand, as well as burglar alarms and fire-safety products; Aerospace Systems (25%, 24%) makes enginecontrol systems and other parts for aircraft; Pratt & Whitney (23%, 17%) manufactures aircraft engines; and Otis (22%, 27%) makes elevators.

Major takeover paid off

The company’s revenue rose 7.1%, from $54.3 billion in 2010 to $58.2 billion in 2011. In 2012, it paid $18.3 billion for North Carolina-based Goodrich Corp., which makes aircraft parts (such as landing gear, wheels and brakes) and maintains and fixes planes. However, it also sold smaller businesses, so its revenue fell 0.8%, to $57.7 billion, in 2012.

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DIEBOLD INC. $34 (New York symbol DBD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 65.0 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.diebold.com) is buying German ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf AG for $1.8 billion (80% in cash and 20% in stock).

The combined firm will be the world’s largest maker of ATMs, with 35% of the market and $5.2 billion in annual revenue. Diebold aims to close the deal in mid-2016.

The company plans to borrow $2.8 billion to pay for Wincor, which will increase its total debt to around $3.5 billion. However, it should save $160 million a year by eliminating overlapping operations, which will help it pay down this debt. It will also cut its dividend rate by 67%, from $1.15 to $0.38, which would yield 1.1%.

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SHERWIN-WILLIAMS CO. $276 (New York symbol SHW; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 93.1 million; Market cap: $25.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.sherwin-williams.com) reported $3.15 billion of sales in the three months ended September 30, 2015, unchanged from a year earlier. Consumers bought more paint, offsetting lower sales to industrial clients and weakness in Latin America. Excluding exchange rates, sales gained 3.7%.

Earnings rose 14.8%, to $374.5 million from $326.2 million. Per-share profits gained 18.5%, to $3.97 from $3.35, on fewer shares outstanding. For all of 2015, the company expects to earn $10.75 to $11.00 a share. However, the stock is expensive at 25.4 times the midpoint of that range.

Sherwin-Williams is a hold.

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MONSANTO CO. $96 (New York symbol MON, Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 439.8 million; Market cap: $42.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.monsanto.com) plans to cut 12% of its workforce over the next two years. That’s because low prices for corn, soybeans and wheat are prompting farmers to buy fewer of its genetically modified seeds and other agricultural products.

The company now expects the cuts to save it $500 million annually by fiscal 2018 (fiscal years end August 31), up from its earlier target of $300 million. Monsanto earned $2.8 billion, or $5.73 a share, in fiscal 2015.

Monsanto is still a buy.

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KEYSIGHT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $31 (New York symbol KEYS; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 170.0 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.keysight.com) reported a 2.6% revenue decline in its 2015 fiscal year, which ended October 31, 2015, to $2.86 billion from $2.93 billion in 2014. Excluding exchange rates, revenue rose 1%.

Before unusual items, earnings fell 15.0%, to $432 million from $508 million. Due to more shares outstanding, per-share earnings fell 17.1%, to $2.52 from $3.04. That’s partly because Keysight raised its research spending by 7.2%, to $387 million (or 13.6% of revenue) from $361 million (or 12.3%).

The company aims to shift away from manufacturing testing equipment for electronic devices to more profitable businesses like software and services. However, its short-term outlook is weak, which is why the stock trades at just 12.0 times the $2.59 a share Keysight will probably earn in fiscal 2016.

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SNAP-ON INC. $171 (New York symbol SNA; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 58.1 million; Market cap: $9.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.snapon.com) makes tools for auto mechanics and sells them through a fleet of franchised vans that visit garages. It also makes specialized tools for industrial customers.

Snap-On continues to expand beyond the U.S., which supplies 65% of its revenue. In August 2015, it paid $13.1 million for Ecotechnic, an Italian maker of equipment for maintaining vehicle air conditioning systems. The purchase should add roughly $13 million to Snap-On’s annual revenue.

The company is also seeing strong demand for its tools and other products. In the three months ended October 3, 2015, its revenue gained 1.9%, to $821.5 million from $806.3 million a year earlier. Excluding exchange rates and acquisitions, sales gained 7.3%. Earnings per share rose 12.5%, to $1.98 from $1.76.

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GENUINE PARTS CO. $91 (New York symbol GPC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 150.8 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) gets about half of its sales and earnings by selling replacement auto parts. The company operates 1,100 outlets under the NAPA banner, and its distribution business serves 4,900 independent stores in North America, Australia and New Zealand.

Genuine also distributes industrial parts, office products and electrical equipment. It gets 80% of its revenue from the U.S.

The company recently agreed to buy Covs Parts, an auto-parts distributor in Western Australia.

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ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. $36 (New York symbol ADM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 596.7 million; Market cap: $21.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.3; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.adm.com) processes corn, wheat, soybeans, canola, flax seed, peanuts and other crops into a variety of food ingredients, such as flour, oils and sweeteners. It’s also the largest maker of ethanol from corn in the U.S.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Archer’s earnings fell 66.3%, to $252 million from $747 million a year earlier. It spent $1.8 billion on share buybacks in the first nine months of 2015, so per-share profits declined 64.0%, to $0.41 from $1.14, on fewer shares outstanding.

Without unusual items, mainly gains on asset sales, earnings per share fell 30.2%, to $0.60 from $0.86. Revenue declined 8.6%, to $16.6 billion from $18.1 billion. International markets supply half of the company’s revenue, so the high U.S. dollar hurts the contribution from its overseas operations. Record crop harvests have also depressed prices and profits at its grain-trading business.

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NORDSTROM INC. $58 (New York symbol JWN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 185.4 million; Market cap: $10.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nordstrom.com) is down 30% from its peak of $83 in March 2015. The company is seeing slowing sales, and it’s investing in new websites and stores in Canada. That’s squeezing its profit margins.

In its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended October 31, 2015, sales rose 6.5%, to $3.2 billion from $3.0 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales rose 0.9%, well below the consensus forecast of a 3.6% gain. Earnings fell 21.9%, to $0.57 a share from $0.73.

Nordstrom now expects same-store sales growth of 2.5% to 3.0% for all of fiscal 2016, down from its earlier forecast of 3.5% to 4.5%. It also cut its full-year earnings outlook to $3.35 a share from $3.75. The stock trades at 17.3 times the new estimate. That’s a reasonable multiple, as the company’s margins should improve once its new investments begin contributing to its profits.

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TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP. $58 (New York symbol TUP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 50.4 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 4.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.tupperwarebrands.com) makes household goods, mainly plastic food and beverage containers, as well as cosmetics and fragrances.

In the three months ended September 26, 2015, Tupperware’s sales fell 11.5%, to $521.0 million from $588.7 million a year earlier. Overseas markets supplied 73% of Tupperware’s sales, so if you exclude the negative impact of the high U.S. dollar, sales rose 7%. Earnings declined 12.2%, to $0.79 a share from $0.90.

For all of 2015, the company expects its sales to rise 4% to 5%, along with earnings of $4.39 to $4.44 a share, excluding exchange rates. The stock trades at 13.1 times the midpoint of that range, which is reasonable in light of Tupperware’s large international operations. The $2.72 dividend seems safe and yields 4.7%.

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NVIDIA CORP. $31 (Nasdaq symbol NVDA; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 538.0 million; Market cap: $16.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.5; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.nvidia.com) is a leading designer of 3D-capable video chips, which make video games run more smoothly and appear more lifelike.

Nvidia aims to cut its reliance on personal computers and smartphones by focusing on chips for games, high-definition TVs, cars and cloud computing. As part of this plan, it hoped to sell its Icera subsidiary, which designs mobile-phone chips. However, it was unable to find a buyer, so it now plans to wind down Icera in the next few months.

If you exclude a writedown of Icera and other unusual items, Nvidia earned $255 million in its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended October 25, 2015, up 15.9% from $220 million a year earlier. Per-share profits rose 17.9%, to $0.46 from $0.39, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue gained 6.5%, to $1.3 billion from $1.2 billion.

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CISCO SYSTEMS INC. $27 (Nasdaq symbol CSCO; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.1 billion; Market cap: $137.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cisco.com) is a leading maker of hardware and software that links and manages computer networks.

Its hardware includes routers, as well as local area network and asynchronous transfer mode switches. The company is selling or discontinuing less profitable products as it shifts toward better-selling technology, such as computer security systems and software.

Cisco recently sold its set-top-box and cable-modem business for $600 million. It will also phase out its Invicta products, which store data on flash chips instead of disk drives.

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INTEL CORP. $34 (Nasdaq symbol INTC; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 4.7 billion; Market cap: $159.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.9; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.intel.com) is the world’s leading chip maker. Its products power 80% of all personal computers.

In the three months ended September 26, 2015, Intel’s earnings fell 6.3%, to $3.1 billion from $3.3 billion a year earlier. The company repurchased $1.0 billion of its shares during the quarter, so per-share profits declined just 3.0%, to $0.64 from $0.66. Overall revenue slipped 0.6%, to $14.47 billion from $14.55 billion.

Revenue from chips for computers and mobile devices (59% of the total) fell 7.5%, partly because Intel is offering fewer subsidies to mobile-device makers.

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PFIZER INC. $33 (New York symbol PFE; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 6.2 billion; Market cap: $204.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.1; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pfizer.com) has agreed to merge with Irish drug maker Allergan plc (New York symbol AGN).

Allergan makes a variety of drugs, including treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, depression, dry eye, enlarged prostate, overactive bladder, cystic fibrosis and bacterial infections. It also makes the anti-wrinkle drug Botox.

Under the deal, Allergan shareholders will receive 11.3 Pfizer shares for each share they hold. That will give them a 44% stake in the combined company, which will be the world’s biggest pharmaceutical maker.

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CAMPBELL SOUP CO. $53 (New York symbol CPB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 309.8 million; Market cap: $16.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.campbellsoupcompany.com) is the world’s largest maker of canned soups. It also makes Prego canned pasta and sauces, Pepperidge Farm cookies and V8 vegetable juices. Campbell’s sales were flat, at $7.7 billion, in 2011 and 2012 (fiscal years end July 31). In 2013, it cut its reliance on canned foods through two acquisitions: a $1.55-billion deal for Bolthouse Farms, a producer of carrots, dressings and fruit juices; and $249 million for organic food maker Plum.

These additions increased sales to $8.3 billion in 2014. However, unfavourable currency rates cut sales to $8.1 billion in 2015.

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CONAGRA FOODS INC. $42 (New York symbol CAG; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 432.9 million; Market cap: $18.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.conagrafoods.com) makes packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter, Orville Redenbacher popcorn and Reddi-wip whipped cream.

Consumers supply 70% of ConAgra’s sales. Businesses, including restaurants and other food makers, provide the remaining 30%. ConAgra’s sales jumped 44.2%, from $12.3 billion in 2011 to $17.7 billion in 2014 (fiscal years end May 31). That’s mainly due to its $4.75-billion acquisition of Ralcorp Holdings, the largest privatelabel food maker in the U.S., in January 2013.

However, the purchase didn’t work out as ConAgra hoped, so the company agreed to sell most of the Ralcorp business to TreeHouse Foods (New York symbol THS) for $2.7 billion in November 2015. Excluding Ralcorp, ConAgra’s overall sales fell to $15.8 billion in fiscal 2015.

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BCE INC. $57 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 849.4 million; Market cap: $48.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) continues to benefit from strong demand for its wireless and high-speed Fibe Internet and TV services. In the quarter ended September 30, 2015, BCE’s earnings rose 21.9%, to $790 million from $648 million a year earlier. Per-share profits gained just 12.0%, to $0.93 from $0.83, on more shares outstanding. Revenue rose 2.9%, to $5.3 billion from $5.2 billion. The company added 77,655 new wireless subscribers under long-term contracts, net of cancellations, beating the consensus forecast of 77,400. Most of these customers use smartphones, which generate higher monthly fees than regular cellphones....

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $42 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Shares outstanding: 848.0 million; Market cap: $35.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) produced 386,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in the three months ended September 30, 2015, up 25.7% from 307,000 a year earlier. That’s because Imperial recently completed the second phase of its 71%-owned Kearl oil sands project in northern Alberta. However, lower oil prices cut its revenue by 25.9%, to $7.2 billion from $9.7 billion. Cash flow per share fell 32.9%, to $1.10 from $1.64. Even so, Imperial plans to keep expanding Kearl and Cold Lake, its other main oil sands project. These operations, which should last decades, will prosper when oil prices rebound....

ENBRIDGE INC. $50 (www.enbridge.com) is paying $750 million for 24.9% of the 400-megawatt Rampion offshore wind project in the English Channel. To put that price in context, Enbridge earned $399 million, or $0.79 a share, in the third quarter of 2015. Construction on this wind farm began in September 2015, and it should start up in 2018....

With an improving U.S. economy, cost-cutting and smart growth, we view Wells Fargo as a lower-risk value stock for conservative investors.

At a time of lower commodity prices, the mining stocks with the greatest speculative appeal are those with new projects that enhance their value even before prices rebound. Today we look at Hecla Mining and Amerigo Resources, two mining firms that are moving ahead with large developments. In both cases these projects promise to expand production considerably. Hecla is beginning production at a Mexican silver mine that last operated a decade ago, and has also purchased one of North America’s largest undeveloped silver deposits. Amerigo has launched a new copper tailings project in Chile that could double its production by next year.

HECLA MINING COMPANY (New York symbol HL; www.hecla-mining.com) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S. and Mexico. Most of the company’s silver output comes from its Greens Creek mine in Alaska and its Lucky Friday project in Idaho. Hecla’s Casa Berardi mine in Quebec supplies the majority of its gold production.

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Top regional airline Chorus Aviation is a rising growth stock, but its affiliation with Air Canada may prove to bring as much risk as reward.

One of our top U.S. dividend stocks, Procter & Gamble knows which products to keep and which to sell off for greater long-term profits.

AASTRA TECHNOLOGIES $37.48 (Toronto symbol AAH; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (905-760-4200; www.aastra.com; Shares outstanding: 11.8 million; Market cap: $430.6 million; Dividend yield: 2.1%) has jumped over 80% since we recommended it in our last issue.
< br /> The stock surged because Aastra agreed to a friendly takeover offer from business communications products and software rival Mitel Networks (symbol MNW on Toronto).
< br /> Mitel is offering $6.52 U.S. in cash and 3.6 of its common shares for each share of Aastra. Based on today’s price for Mitel stock, the offer is worth $38.60 per Aastra share.
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