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TORSTAR CORP. $4.12 (Toronto symbol TS.B; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 80.3 million; Market cap: $330.8 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 12.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.torstar.com) has purchased 56% of VerticalScope, a private firm that operates over 600 online forums and a variety of websites, including AutoGuide.com, Motorcycle.com, ATV.com and PetGuide.com. This purchase should help Torstar offset slowing advertising revenue at its newspapers as advertisers shift their spending to the Internet.

< p>The company paid $200 million, but VerticalScope plans to pay a distribution to its shareholders later this year. That would cut Torstar’s purchase price to $178 million. Meantime, Torstar recently launched a digital version of The Toronto Star, its flagship newspaper, for tablet computers. In addition to newspaper content, this free app, called Star Touch, gives users quick access to related information like photos, maps and videos.

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TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $20 (Toronto symbol TCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.0 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tctranscontinental.com) recently purchased Brooklyn, New York-based Ultra Flex Packaging, a privately held maker of flexible plastic packages for candy, coffee and other foods.Transcontinental paid $80 million U.S. for Ultra Flex, which will add $72 million U.S. to its annual revenue and $12 million to its gross profits. This purchase looks like a good fit with U.S.-based Capri Packaging, which makes plastic bags and pouches for cheese and other dairy products. Transcontinental paid $146.1 million for Capri in May 2014.

< p>Meanwhile, the company’s earnings rose 30.5% in its 2015 third quarter, which ended July 31, 2015, to $48.8 million, or $0.62 a share. A year earlier, Transcontinental earned $37.4 million, or $0.48 a share. < p>Revenue slipped 0.2%, to $481.9 million from $483.0 million. Contributions from acquisitions offset lower revenue from printing advertising flyers, particularly after Target closed its 133 Canadian stores. The lower Canadian dollar also boosted the value of its U.S. sales....

TRANSCANADA CORP. $45 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 709.0 million; Market cap: $31.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) is buying the Ironwood gas-fired power plant in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The facility is close to the Marcellus shale region, which gives it access to large supplies of cheap natural gas.

< p>The company will pay $654 million U.S. when it completes the purchase in early 2016. The plant will add $90 million U.S. to $110 million U.S. to TransCanada’s annual gross profits; in 2014, its gross profits totalled $5.5 billion (Canadian). < p>TransCanada is a buy....

PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $1.41 (Toronto symbol PGF; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 540.7 million; Market cap: $762.4 million; Priceto- sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.pengrowth.com) continues to sell less important properties and focus on more promising operations like its Lindbergh oil sands project in Alberta.

< p>The company has now agreed to sell its Bodo project in eastern Alberta for $95 million. Including this deal, it has now sold $260 million worth of properties in 2015 and expects to reach its full-year goal of $600 million in asset sales. < p>Pengrowth will use the proceeds to pay down its long-term debt, which stood at $1.9 billion on June 30, 2015. That’s a high 2.5 times its currently depressed market cap....

< p> MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $29 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 78.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mtsallstream.com) gets 60% of its revenue from its MTS division, which has 1.3 million telephone, wireless and TV customers in Manitoba. < p>The other 40% comes from Allstream, which sells phone and Internet services to businesses across Canada. < p>As part of a plan to make Allstream more profitable, Manitoba Telecom aims to cut 25% of the subsidiary’s workforce and reduce its capital spending by 20% to 30%. These moves should save $50 million annually by the end of 2016 and make it easier for Manitoba Telecom to sell this business....

ENBRIDGE INC. $56 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 860.1 million; Market cap: $48.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) gets 85% of its revenue from pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The remaining 15% mainly comes from distributing gas to 2.1 million consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.The company recently completed the major reorganization it announced in December 2014.

< p>Under the plan, Enbridge transferred some of its assets to 19.9%-owned affiliate Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (Toronto symbol ENF). This company owns 42% of Enbridge Income Fund (Enbridge Inc. owns the remaining 58%), which holds oil and gas pipelines and solar and wind farms. The transfer included pipelines that pump oil sands crude to the U.S., along with wind farms in Alberta and Quebec. < p>Transactions like this, called drop-downs, free up cash the parent company can use for new projects. The affiliate also benefits, because the new assets’ cash flow helps it maintain or raise its distributions to investors. The reorganization freed up more cash for dividends: Enbridge raised its quarterly payout by 32.9% with the March 2015 payment, to $0.465 a share from $0.35; the new annual rate of $1.86 yields 3.3%. The company now aims to pay out 75% to 85% of its adjusted annual earnings as dividends, up from its old target of 60% to 70%....

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $37 (Torontosymbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio,Resources sector; Shares outstanding:1.5 billion; Market cap: $55.5billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividendyield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating:Average; www.suncor.com) is takingadvantage of low oil prices with its allstocktakeover offer for Canadian OilSands (Toronto symbol COS).

< p>Canadian Oil Sands’ main asset isits 36.74% stake in the massiveSyncrude oil sands development nearFort McMurray, Alberta. It alsooperates the project. Suncor alreadyowns 12.0% of Syncrude, so thispurchase would give it effectivecontrol, with a 48.74% stake. < p>Equipment failures and other problemshave hurt Syncrude’s productionin the past few years, and Suncorfeels its expertise running similarprojects will make Syncrude moreefficient and profitable. In the secondquarter of 2015, Suncor’s cash costsin the oil sands were $28.15 a barrel,compared to $54.45 at Syncrude....

CGI GROUP INC. $48 (Toronto symbol GIB.A; AggressiveGrowth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Sharesoutstanding: 313.4 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; Priceto-sales ratio: 1.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: ExtraRisk; www.cgi.com) is Canada’s largest computer-outsourcingprovider, helping its clients automate routine functions likeaccounting and buying supplies. That improves their efficiencyand lets them focus on their main businesses.

< p>Government agencies supply 33% of CGI’s revenue, followedby manufacturers and retailers (23%), banks and financial serviceproviders (20%), telecom firms and utilities (15%), and healthcare businesses (9%). < p>The U.S. federal government is the company’s largest singleclient, accounting for around 14% of its revenue.CGI follows what it calls its “Build and Buy”strategy....

CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES $15.94 (Toronto symbol CTY; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (613- 599-8600; www.calian.com; Shares outstanding: 7.4 million; Market cap: $116.6 million; Dividend yield: 7.0%) 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 June 30, 2015, the company’s revenue rose 19.4%, to $64.3 million from $53.8 million a year earlier. Calian earned $2.5 million, or $0.34 a share, down 8.0% from $2.7 million, or $0.37, a year earlier.

Across-the-board sales gains

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DREAM OFFICE REIT $21.36 (Toronto symbol D.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-365-3535; www.dream.ca/office; Units outstanding: 107.8 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; Dividend yield: 10.5%) owns and manages 176 properties comprising 24.1 million square feet of office space in major cities across Canada.

In Western Canada, the trust has 16% of its total square footage in Calgary and 20% elsewhere. In Eastern Canada, it holds 23% of its square footage in downtown Toronto, 17% in suburban Toronto and 24% elsewhere. Its occupancy rate is 92.8%.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Dream Office’s revenue slipped 1.4%, to $201.4 million from $204.4 million a year earlier. The trust sold four properties to Dream Industrial REIT (symbol DIR.UN on Toronto) for $33.0 million in September 2014. Dream Office owns 24.2% of Dream Industrial.

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AGT FOOD & INGREDIENTS $28.27 (Toronto symbol AGT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (306-525-4490; www.agtfoods.com; Shares outstanding: 23.1 million; Market cap: $651.5 million; Dividend yield: 2.1%) has acquired Mobil Capital Holdings for $57.5 million. This business owns a movable crop-processing plant, short-line railways, bulk-loading facilities and a grain- and pulse-trading operation. Most of Mobil’s assets are in Saskatchewan.

This acquisition follows AGT’s $22-million purchase of West Central Road & Rail’s assets in June 2015. That deal included five bulk-loading sites in Saskatchewan.

Purchases like these are important because a big part of AGT’s recent success has come from its shift to more profitable products, such as ingredients and packaged foods, as opposed to simply cleaning, splitting, sorting and bagging bulk crops.

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RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $36.78 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares outstanding: 467.0 million; Market cap: $17.2 billion; Yield: 1.3%) is the world’s third-largest fast-food operator, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 14,528 Burger King outlets and 4,776 Tim Hortons stores in 100 countries.

The company now plans to open over 150 Tim Hortons locations in Cincinnati, Ohio, over the next 10 years. A franchisee will build and operate the stores, which cuts the company’s risk.

Restaurant Brands is a hold.

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SIERRA WIRELESS $29.65 (Toronto symbol SW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(604-231-1100; www.sierrawireless.com; Shares outstanding: 32.2 million; Market cap: $987.8 million; No dividends paid) makes modules and software that connect products, including vehicles and smart electricity meters, to the Internet. This is known as machine to machine, or more generally as the Internet of Things (IoT).

The company continues to sign up clients for its new IoT Acceleration Platform, which combines cloud computing, hardware and telecommunications networks to monitor machines remotely.

For example, Veolia Water Technologies UK, which provides water-treatment plants and systems to companies and municipalities around the world, is now using the IoT Acceleration Platform to help its customers monitor critical data, such as flow, pressure and temperature. This cuts its clients’ labour costs and lets them respond to problems as they happen.

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ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $61.06 (Toronto symbol ATD.B: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 567.4 million; Market cap: $34.9 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) has agreed to buy all stores operating under the Texas Star brand from Texas Star Investments and its affiliates. Terms were not disclosed.

These assets, all in southern Texas, include 18 convenience stores, two free-standing Subway locations and a network for supplying fuel to gas stations. Following the acquisition, Couche-Tard will operate all of the stores under the Circle K brand.

This purchase is very small compared to the company’s $2.7-billion acquisition of Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail gas station chain in June 2012 and The Pantry, which Couche-Tard bought for $1.7 billion in March 2015. The Pantry operates more than 1,500 convenience stores in 13 southern U.S. states.

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AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.31 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 173.6 million; Market cap: $55.6 million; No dividends paid) has started processing tailings from the Cauquenes tailings deposit, located near its current operations in Chile.

Cauquenes is a big growth project: Amerigo expects it to help double its production in 2016, to 90 million pounds of copper. Phase 1 is now in operation at a rate of 30,000 tonnes per day, and Amerigo expects that to rise to 60,000 by the end of this year, bringing the company’s overall output to over 70 million pounds of copper annually.

The Cauquenes expansion will cost $140 million in total. However, Amerigo has used its cash flow to pay off all of its debt over the last few years, and it currently holds cash of $18.3 million. This gave it the flexibility to arrange bank financing in Chile for Cauquenes.

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IAMGOLD $2.51 (Toronto symbol IMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 391.4 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; No dividends paid) owns 41% of the Sadiola mine and 40% of the Yatela mine, both located in Mali; 90% of the Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso; 100% of the Doyon mine in Quebec; and 95% of the Rosebel mine in Suriname, South America.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, IAMGold’s revenue fell 2.1%, to $226.5 million from $231.4 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share dropped to $0.12 from $0.19. Lower gold prices were the main reason for the declines.

The company’s long-term production outlook is positive. Meantime, its $836.4-million U.S. of cash and gold put it in a strong position to pay down its long-term debt of $636.0 million U.S. It could also expand its existing gold projects, pay dividends, buy back shares or make timely acquisitions from distressed sellers at low prices.

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HECLA MINING COMPANY $2.27 (New York symbol HL; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (208-769- 4100; www.hecla-mining.com; Shares o/s: 377.7 million; Market cap: $910.3 million; Dividend yield: 0.4%) 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.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Hecla produced 2.48 million ounces of silver, down 1.5% from 2.52 million ounces a year earlier. Gold output rose 2.6%, to 44,692 ounces from 43,554. Cash flow per share fell 33.3%, to $0.06 from $0.09, on the lower silver production and prices.

The company aims to begin production at its San Sebastian project in Mexico early next year. The mine, which last operated between 2001 and 2005, is forecast to produce 8 million ounces of silver equivalent in its first two years from easily mined surface deposits. San Sebastian then has the potential to further expand its reserves.

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ATLANTIC TELE-NETWORK $79.45 (Nasdaq symbol ATNI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (340-777-8000; www.atni.com; Shares outstanding: 16.4 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%) is mainly focused on growing in the U.S., but it has just expanded further in the Caribbean. The company already has operations in Guyana, Bermuda and parts of the Caribbean islands.

Atlantic Tele-Network just agreed to pay $145 million for the Innovative group of companies, which operate cable TV, Internet and land-line services, primarily in the U.S. Virgin Islands and St. Maarten.

To put the acquisition in perspective, Innovative’s annual revenue is about $110 million. In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Atlantic’s revenue was $90.3 million, up 8.5%, from $83.3 million a year earlier.

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COLLIERS INTERNATIONAL GROUP $54.56 (Toronto symbol CIG ; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-202-695-4200; www.colliers.com; Shares outstanding: 36.6 million; Market cap: $2.1 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.

The company has 16,300 employees operating from 502 offices in 67 countries.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Colliers’ revenue rose 11.2%, to $409.8 million from $368.5 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). If you exclude one-time items, the company’s earnings gained 31.8%, to $0.58 a share from $0.44 a share. These results do not include FirstService.

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FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $43.10 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.6 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Dividend yield: 1.2%) completed the spinoff of its Colliers International subsidiary (see below) on June 2, 2015, by handing out Colliers shares to its investors. Shareholders only become liable for capital gains taxes on the transaction when they sell their FirstService or Colliers shares.

Now that the spinoff is complete, FirstService is carrying on with its residential property management and property-improvement operations. In the three months ended June 30, 2015, First- Service’s revenue gained 11.7%, to $326.3 million from $292.2 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). If you set aside one-time items, earnings per share jumped 37.9%, to $0.40 from $0.29. These results exclude Colliers.

The spinoff adds to FirstService’s appeal. In our experience, and in most academic studies of the subject, both the parent and spinoff generally do better than comparable firms for at least several years after they split.

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CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $7.87 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-848-8000; www.chk.com; Shares outstanding: 665.4 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; No dividends paid) stopped paying dividends earlier this year to conserve cash in the face of low oil and gas prices. The cut will save Chesapeake $240 million annually.

Now the company has announced that it is laying off 740 employees, or 15% of its workforce. About 560 of these workers are from its headquarters in Oklahoma City. Chesapeake will incur a one-time charge of $55.5 million for the layoffs.

Meanwhile, the company expects its output to rise 1% to 3% in 2015, to an average of 640,000 to 650,000 barrels of oil a day. The stock trades at just 2.1 times Chesapeake’s annual cash flow of $3.68 a share, based on the latest quarter.

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CIMAREX ENERGY $114.82 (New York symbol XEC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 94.5 million; Market cap: $10.9 billion; Dividend yield: 0.6%) produces and explores for natural gas and oil. Gas makes up 64% of the company’s output; the remaining 36% is oil.

Cimarex’s properties are mostly in the Wolfcamp shale area of the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, as well as the Cana-Woodford shale region in western Oklahoma.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, the company’s production averaged 1.03 billion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent a day, up 22.4% from 838.7 million cubic feet a year earlier.

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DEVON ENERGY CORP. $43.90 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-235- 3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 411.0 million; Market cap: $18.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) is one of the largest U.S.-based oil and natural gas explorers and producers. Its production mix is 40% gas and 60% oil.

The company narrowed its focus with its July 2014 sale of some of its properties to Linn Energy for $2.3 billion. The deal included holdings in the Rockies, the onshore Gulf Coast and the Mid-Continent region (which includes Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas).

The sale let Devon focus on what it views as low risk/ high-reward properties, especially the oil producing assets it bought in Texas’s Eagle Ford shale formation for $6.0 billion in 2013.

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MITEL NETWORKS $10.54 (Toronto symbol MNW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(613- 592-2122; www.mitel.ca; Shares outstanding: 120.2 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; No dividends paid) recently jumped after activist investor Elliott Management disclosed stakes in Mitel and Polycom Inc. (symbol PLCM on Nasdaq).

Elliott is urging the companies to merge to increase their combined profits in a very competitive market. The firm now holds 6.6% of Polycom and 6.3% of Mitel.

Mitel develops products centred on business telephone systems. Polycom makes business communications systems that combine data, video and voice in one product. It also makes teleconferencing systems.

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ACI WORLDWIDE $22.54 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(402-390-7600; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 117.8 million; Market cap: $2.7 billion; No dividends paid) makes software for processing transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. The company’s products also help cut fraud.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, ACI’s revenue rose 4.3% to $265.8 million from $254.8 million a year earlier. Earnings jumped to $30.0 million, or $0.26 a share, from $14.0 million, or $0.12. Cost cuts were the main reason for the higher profits.

ACI is benefiting from the introduction of technology for the shift to chip-and-PIN debit and credit cards, which sped up with the EMV (EuroPay, Master- Card and VISA) payment networks’ liability shift, which came into effect in the U.S. on October 1, 2015.

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