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WEIGHT WATCHERS INTERNATIONAL $26.61 (New York symbol WTW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (212-589-2700; www.weightwatchers.com; Shares outstanding: 57.2 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; No dividends paid) declined steadily from over $80 a share in 2012 to a recent low of just under $7. However, the shares jumped on October 19, 2015, when Oprah Winfrey said she had purchased 10% of the company.

Oprah bought 6.4 million shares for $6.79 each and has an option to purchase 3.5 million more at $6.97. She will also join the company’s board of directors.

Founded in 1961, Weight Watchers offers weightloss services in 23 countries. The company promotes a program of lifestyle changes through 36,000 weekly meetings and online. It gets 80% of its revenue through meeting fees and 20% from product sales.

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INTACT FINANCIAL $88.20 (Toronto symbol IFC; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-341- 1464; www.intactfc.com; Shares outstanding: 131.5 million; Market cap: $11.5 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance, based on premiums. Its brands include Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink and belairdirect.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Intact’s revenue rose 9.4%, to $2.09 billion from $1.91 billion a year earlier. Revenue improved across all of the company’s insurance lines and geographic regions.

Earnings rose 7.6%, to $199 million, or $1.47 a share, from $185 million, or $1.37.

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AGT FOOD & INGREDIENTS $31.83 (Toronto symbol AGT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (306-525- 4490; www.agtfoods.com; Shares outstanding: 23.1 million; Market cap: $737.8 million; Dividend yield: 1.9%) buys and processes a range of pulses, which include peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas, as well as other specialty crops....

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $48.83 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.6 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) is a leading North American provider of residential property management and property improvement services.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s revenue gained 12.0%, to $349.5 million from $312.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, earnings per share jumped 28.2%, to $0.50 from $0.39. The second and third quarters are FirstService’s busiest.

The company’s outlook remains strong. However, the stock trades at a high 30.5 times the $1.20 a share FirstService will likely earn this year.

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WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE $77.38 (New York symbol WYN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (973- 753-6000; www.wyndhamworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 116.1 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) has now added all of its hotel rooms to the TripAdvisor Instant Booking platform. With Instant Booking, travellers click on the “Book on TripAdvisor” button to set up a reservation.

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site. It reaches over 340 million unique visitors a month and has more than 225 million traveller reviews and opinions. It launched its Instant Booking platform in the U.S. in June 2014 and has since expanded it to the U.K., with other international markets to follow.

Wyndham Worldwide is a hold.

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GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $33.45 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 268.9 million; Market cap: $8.7 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%) is the world’s largest tire maker, with 52 plants in 22 countries.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Goodyear’s revenue fell 10.2%, to $4.18 billion from $4.66 billion a year earlier. The rising U.S. dollar cut the value of the company’s foreign sales (particularly in Europe and Brazil) by $430 million.

Earnings rose 12.0%, to $271.0 million, or $0.99 a share. A year earlier, the company earned $242.0 million, or $0.87 a share.

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DELPHI ENERGY $0.72 (Toronto symbol DEE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(403- 265-6171; www.delphienergy.ca; Shares outstanding: 155.5 million; Market cap: $110.4 million; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas. About 70% of its output is gas; the remaining 30% is oil.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Delphi’s production fell 16.6%, to 7,888 barrels of oil equivalent a day from 9,461 a year earlier, after the company sold some fields. The lower output and a 31.4% average decline in oil and gas prices cut cash flow per share to $0.06 from $0.09.

The company will need improved oil and gas prices to move significantly higher, but its long-term outlook is positive.

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ALAMOS GOLD $3.97 (Toronto symbol AGI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(604-681-2802; www.alamosgold.com; Shares outstanding: 255.5 million; Market cap: $996.5 million; No dividends paid) is the company formed by the July 2015 merger of Alamos Gold and Stock Pickers Digest recommendation AuRico Gold.

The combined firm owns the Mulatos mine in Mexico and the Young-Davidson project in northern Ontario, which holds as much as 5.6 million ounces of gold. Young-Davidson started up in 2013 and will reach full production in 2016. But meanwhile, it’s moving from open-pit to underground mining, which has sharply increased its costs.

The company’s gold production rose 3.1% in the three months ended September 30, 2015, to 87,663 ounces from 85,037 a year earlier. However, lower gold prices offset the higher production, causing the company’s cash flow per share to fall to $0.02 from $0.16 (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars).

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SHERRITT INTERNATIONAL $0.79 (Toronto symbol S; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-704- 6698; www.sherritt.com; Shares outstanding: 293.9 million; Market cap: $226.3 million; No dividends paid) is now focused on nickel production, with operations in Cuba and Canada.

As well, it has a 40% interest in the Ambatovy nickel mine on the island nation of Madagascar, off Africa’s east coast. Sherritt also produces oil and gas in Cuba, Spain and Pakistan and manages 506 megawatts of power generation capacity in Cuba.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s revenue fell 25.3%, to $76.9 million from $102.9 million a year earlier, mostly due to lower oil and gas prices. Cash flow per share fell sharply, to $0.05 from $0.16.

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AEROPOSTALE INC. $0.68 (New York symbol ARO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(646-485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 79.6 million; Market cap: $53.3 million; No dividends paid) recently opened its first location in Ireland, at Dublin’s Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, one of the country’s biggest malls.

The Dublin store is operated through a licensing agreement with Shuz 4 U International Ltd. Over the next five years, Aeropostale expects to open 10 more locations in Western Europe through this partnership.

The company should be able to repeat its previous success at attracting new customers, but its sales may remain weak in the near term.

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STUART OLSON INC. $6.89 (Toronto symbol SOX; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (780-454-3667; www.stuartolson.com; Shares outstanding: 26.4 million; Market cap: $181.4 million; Dividend yield: 7.0%) provides buildingconstruction, commercial and industrial electrical contracting, earthmoving and industrial insulation services to government and private sector clients. It mainly operates in Western Canada.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s revenue fell 19.6%, to $281.7 million from $350.4 million a year earlier. The decline came from lower activity in Alberta, including in the oil sands. Stuart Olson is also phasing out less profitable industrial projects.

Before one-time items, Stuart Olson earned $6.4 million, or $0.24 a share, up sharply from $2.8 million, or $0.11, a year earlier. That reflects the company’s continued focus on higher-profit activities. It ended the quarter with a backlog of $2.02 billion, up 6.8% from $1.89 billion.

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RUSSEL METALS $19.08 (Toronto symbol RUS; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(905-819-7777; www.russelmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 61.7 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Dividend yield: 8.0%) is one of North America’s largest metal distributors, serving 39,000 clients at 53 locations in Canada and 12 in the U.S.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Russel’s revenue fell 25.5%, to $773.4 million from $1.04 billion a year earlier. Sales mainly declined because revenue fell 40% at the company’s energy products division, which sells pipes to oil and gas drillers.

Earnings dropped sharply, to $12.8 million, or $0.21 a share, from $33.0 million, or $0.54. The latest figure included a $2-million charge related to a more than 7% cut to the company’s workforce. Russel’s earnings fell faster than revenue because steel prices moved down in the latest quarter. That hurts its profit margins and causes it to suffer losses on its inventory.

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DOREL INDUSTRIES $30.78 (Toronto symbol DII.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-934-3034; www.dorel.com; Shares outstanding: 32.3 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; Dividend yield: 5.1%) reports that its sales rose 0.9% in the three months ended September 30, 2015, to $679.3 million from $673.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars).

Earnings fell 35.1%, to $0.48 a share from $0.74. However, Dorel gets half of its sales from outside the U.S., and the high U.S. dollar cut its earnings by $0.28 a share in the latest quarter. Costs related to the company’s plan to shift juvenile-product manufacturing to Asia also weighed on its earnings.

The stock trades at a low 7.9 times Dorel’s forecast 2016 earnings of $2.94 a share. It yields a high 5.1%.

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STANTEC INC. $33.13 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 94.2 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) sells a range of consulting, project-delivery, design and technology services.

Its clients operate in a variety of industries, including oil and gas, transportation and construction.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Stantec’s acquisitions and the stronger U.S. dollar boosted its revenue by 14.0%, to $620.1 million from $544.2 million a year ago. However, earnings rose just 2.8%, to $49.9 million, or $0.53 a share, from $48.6 million, or $0.52. That was mostly due to the cost of integrating recently purchased firms.

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MITEL NETWORKS $11.40 (Toronto symbol MNW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(613-592-2122; www.mitel.ca; Shares outstanding: 120.3 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; No dividends paid) develops and markets products centred on business telephone systems, including technology that integrates land lines and mobile phones. The company also offers call centre and videoconferencing products.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Mitel’s revenue rose 7.2%, to $293.7 million from $274.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars).

However, earnings per share fell 33.3%, to $0.12 from $0.18, as the stronger dollar lowered the value of the company’s international sales. Even so, that beat the consensus estimate of $0.07 a share.

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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $36.59 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 476.4 million; Market cap: $17.4 billion; Div. Yield: 1.4%) is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 14,669 Burger King outlets and 4,845 Tim Hortons stores in 100 countries.

In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Restaurant Brands earned $162.7 million, up 26.8% from $128.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 25.9%, to $0.34 from $0.27, on more shares outstanding.

However, sales fell 8.4%, to $1.02 billion from $1.11 billion, as the high U.S. dollar hurt the contribution from Restaurant Brands’ overseas operations.

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EXTENDICARE INC. $9.36 (Toronto symbol EXE; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(905-470-5534; www.extendicare.com; Shares outstanding: 87.7 million; Market cap: $833.7 million; Dividend yield: 5.1%) owns 57 longand short-term senior-care facilities that can house 8,118 residents. It also manages a further 95 residences that are home to 6,195 seniors.

Extendicare also operates 47 ParaMed Home Health Care branches in six provinces. ParaMed’s 10,900 staff members provide nursing care and other forms of assistance to clients who live at home.

In late 2014, the company sold its 156 U.S. facilities for after-tax proceeds of around $231.1 million U.S. Extendicare is now reporting improved results and has deployed the cash from the sale.

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Developing no drugs of its own, Canada’s Merus Labs is a penny stock that relies exclusively on acquisitions to grow—and that adds risk.

Our take on the risks and rewards of growth by acquisition with Element Financial, a rapidly-expanding growth stock whose shares have soared.

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Our view on the risks and rewards of Canadian penny stock Madalena Energy, which is carrying out ambitious plans in Argentina

ISHARES S&P/TSX 60 INDEX ETF $20.99 (Toronto symbol XIU; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) is a good low-fee way to buy the top stocks on the TSX. The units are made up of stocks that represent the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which consists of the 60 largest, most heavily traded stocks on the exchange. Expenses are just 0.17% of assets.

The index mostly consists of high-quality companies. However, it must ensure that all sectors are represented, so it holds a few we wouldn’t include.

The index’s top holdings are Royal Bank, 8.3%; TD Bank, 7.3%; Bank of Nova Scotia, 5.7%; CN Railway, 4.7%; Suncor Energy, 3.9%; Bank of Montreal, 3.8%; Valeant Pharmaceuiticals, 3.8%; Enbridge, 3.7%; BCE, 3.2%; Manulife Financial, 2.9%; TransCanada Corp., 2.9%; CIBC, 2.9%; Canadian Natural Resources, 2.8%; CP Rail, 2.5%; and Potash Corp., 2.5%.

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