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ANDREW PELLER LTD. $18 (Toronto symbol ADW.A; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 14.3 million; Market cap: $257.4 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest producer of wines, after Constellation Brands.

The company continues to successfully launch new premium priced brands. In the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2015, Peller’s sales rose 4.5%, to $83.1 million from $79.5 million a year earlier.

Earnings jumped 67.5%, to $6.7 million, or $0.48 a share, from $4.0 million, or $0.29. Without unusual items, such as losses on hedging contracts Peller uses to lock in foreign exchange rates, earnings gained 40.3%.

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MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $91 and TPX.B $91; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 185.0 million; Market cap: $16.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molson coors.com) merged its U.S. brewing operations with those of rival SABMiller in July 2008 to form MillerCoors. Each company has a 50% voting interest in this joint venture, but Miller gets 58% of the profits, while Molson Coors gets 42%.

Since the merger, MillerCoors has saved roughly $1 billion by combining plants and distribution networks (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars).

In the quarter ended June 30, 2015, lower raw material, packaging and fuel costs increased the company’s share of earnings from MillerCoors by 9.3% from a year earlier. However, unfavourable currency rates cut its Canadian earnings by 5.5% and its European profits by 21.5%. A restructuring in China also increased losses at its international operations by 56.8%.

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PRECISION DRILLING CORP. $5.43 (Toronto symbol PD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resource sector; Shares outstanding: 292.9 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 5.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.precisiondrilling.com) provides contract drilling services to land-based oil and gas producers, mainly in North America, through 329 rigs.

Even though low oil and gas prices have slowed drilling activity, demand for Precision’s Super Series rigs remains strong. That’s because these rigs can reach deeper pockets of oil than regular rigs.

The company recently received a order for a new Super Series rig. As a result, it now plans to spend $546 million on new rigs and other upgrades in 2015, up 7.9% from its previous estimate of $506 million.

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BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $59 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $70.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 4.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) earned $1.85 billion in its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which ended July 31, 2015, up 2.8% from $1.80 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 3.6%, to $1.45 from $1.40, on fewer shares outstanding.

However, revenue fell 5.6%, to $6.1 billion from $6.5 billion, mainly because the bank sold most of its shares in mutual fund provider CI Financial (Toronto symbol CIX) in 2014.

Earnings at the Canadian banking division (49% of total profits) rose 14.9% on improving loan and deposit growth. The international division (30%) saw its earnings rise 10.5%, thanks to strong loan demand in Latin America and favourable currency exchange rates.

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TECK RESOURCES LTD. $9.15 (Toronto symbol TCK.B; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 576.2 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teck.com) and Goldcorp Inc. (Toronto symbol G) have agreed to merge their copper projects in Chile into a new 50/50 joint venture by the end of 2015.

The new venture will hold Teck’s proposed Relincho mine and Goldcorp’s El Morro project. The two properties are just 40 kilometres apart, so there are plenty of opportunities to cut overlapping costs. For example, the partners plan to transport ore from El Morro to Relincho for processing.

It would cost $3.5 billion U.S. to build these mines and related infrastructure (Teck’s share is $1.75 billion U.S.). However, their combined reserves would last 32 years.

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CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $121 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 72.8 million; Market cap: $8.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadiantire.ca) owns 495 Canadian Tire stores, which sell automotive, household and sporting goods. Franchisees run most of these outlets. Other operations include 297 gas stations and 91 PartSource auto parts stores. Canadian Tire has acquired a number of specialty retailers in the past few years.

These chains include Mark’s Work Wearhouse (since shortened to Mark’s), which sells casual and work clothing through 378 stores, and the Forzani Group, which sells sporting goods and athletic clothing through 433 stores, mainly under the Sport Chek and Sports Experts banners.

As part of a new growth plan, Canadian Tire is upgrading its stores and growing online. It plans to spend $575 million a year on these initiatives from 2015 to 2017.

The cost of these upgrades, plus higher wages, cut the company’s earnings by 2.3% in the three months ended July 4, 2015, to $166.0 million from $169.9 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 1.3%, to $2.15 from $2.12, on fewer shares outstanding.

The latest quarter also included just 80% of the company’s financial services division after it sold a 20% stake to Bank of Nova Scotia (Toronto symbol BNS) last year. The deal cut $0.18 a share from Canadian Tire’s latest earnings.

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METRO INC. $35 (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 245.5 million; Market cap: $8.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) operates 600 grocery stores and 250 drugstores in Quebec and Ontario.

The company is benefiting from the 75% of privately held bakery Première Moisson it bought last year. Metro paid $101.6 million for its stake in this business, which has 23 stores and three plants in Quebec. Rising food prices are also boosting its sales and earnings.

In its fiscal 2015 third quarter, which ended July 4, 2015, Metro’s earnings gained 13.1%, to $163.5 million from $144.5 million a year earlier. It spent $203.0 million on share buybacks in the quarter, causing earnings per share to rise at a faster pace of 18.5%, to $0.64 from $0.54.

Sales rose 6.1%, to $3.8 billion from $3.6 billion. Same store sales gained 4.3%. Metro also owns 5.7% of Alimentation Couche-Tard (Toronto symbol ATD.B), which operates convenience stores in North America, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe and is a recommendation of Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. Due to a special charge, Metro’s share of Couche-Tard’s earnings fell to $8.7 million in the latest quarter from $9.1 million a year earlier.

The company is in a strong position to keep making acquisitions and buying back shares. Its long-term debt of $1.1 billion is a low 13% of its market cap, and it holds cash of $5.1 million. The stock trades at 17.2 times the $2.03 a share Metro will likely earn in fiscal 2015. The $0.47 dividend yields 1.3%.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $69 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 412.7 million; Market cap: $28.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) plans to close 52 less profitable stores in the next year, including supermarkets, gas bars and stand-alone Joe Fresh clothing outlets. Following these closures, it will operate 2,400 stores, including the 1,250 Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies it bought for $12.3 billion in cash and shares in March 2014.

The move will cut $300 million from Loblaw’s yearly sales, but it should add $35 million to $40 million to its annual gross profits. Loblaw also expects to save $200 million this year by merging its warehouses and other operations with Shoppers.

Excluding store-closure costs, Loblaw earned $350 million in the three months ended June 20, 2015, up 17.8% from $297 million a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 14.9%, to $0.85 from $0.74, on more shares outstanding.

Sales rose 2.2%, to $10.5 billion from $10.3 billion. Excluding gasoline, same-store sales rose 4.2% at Loblaw’s supermarkets, while Shoppers’ same-store sales gained 3.8%. Savings from the Shoppers acquisition are helping Loblaw repay the money it borrowed to complete the purchase. The company ended the latest quarter with total debt of $11.1 billion (or 39% of its market cap), down from $11.4 billion at the end of 2014. It also held cash of $1.3 billion.

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EMERA INC. $42 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 145.3 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 4.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. emera.com) is buying Teco Energy (New York symbol TE), which supplies electricity and natural gas to 1.05 million customers in Tampa Bay, Florida and surrounding areas. A separate subsidiary distributes gas to 510,000 customers in New Mexico. This a big purchase for Emera, which will pay $6.5 billion U.S. in cash. If you include Teco’s debt, the deal is worth $10.4 billion U.S., or 2.3 times Emera’s current market cap.

After Emera completes the purchase in mid-2016, it will have $20 billion U.S. of assets (56% in Florida, 23% in Canada, 10% in New England, 6% in New Mexico and 5% in the Caribbean).

Regulated utilities will provide 80% of the combined company’s earnings.

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CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY LTD. $190 (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 161.3 million; Market cap: $30.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.5; Dividend yield: 0.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpr.ca) transports freight over a 22,000-kilometre rail network between Montreal and Vancouver, as well as hubs in the U.S....

A large number of stocks fall into a grey area. We wouldn’t advise buying them, but they are “okay to hold,” in our view.

The stock market and presidential elections have a relationship that can be summed up by what is known as the “four year rule.”

A history of consumer loyalty, big store upgrade initiatives and smart acquisitions keep Canadian Tire among our favourite dividend stocks

Brokers like theme investing because it gives them an opportunity to recommend new stocks or ETFs to their clients, which may not be beneficial to investors.

Many new ETFs have wide appeal and include a broad range of investment opportunities. They can also come with extra costs that investors should be aware of

MANITOBA TELECOM $28.74 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 78.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.mts.ca) has acquired AWS-1 radio frequencies (or spectrum) in Manitoba from rival wireless carrier WIND Mobile.

The $45-million purchase will boost the speed and capacity of the company’s wireless networks.

Manitoba Telecom is a hold.

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BCE INC. $52.87 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares outstanding: 848.1 million; Market cap: $44.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.0%; www.bce.ca) has sold its 15% stake in the Globe and Mail newspaper to Woodbridge Co., the private firm controlled by the Thomson family. Woodbridge now owns 100% of the Globe.

The company didn’t say how much it received, but the sale will let it focus on its main media businesses, including CTV Television, specialty channels, radio stations and their related websites.

In the second quarter of 2015, the media division’s earnings rose 2.4% from a year earlier and accounted for 9.8% of BCE’s total.

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ISHARES CANADIAN UNIVERSE BOND INDEX ETF $31.67 (Toronto symbol XBB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the Canadian Universe Bond Index. The 929 bonds in the portfolio have an average term to maturity of 10.34 years. The fund’s MER is 0.33%.

The bonds in the index are 71.3% government and 28.7% corporate.

The fund yields 2.8%, compared to the Short-Term Bond Fund’s 2.4%. Its yield to maturity is 1.93%, 0.85% above the Short-Term Fund. That reflects the added risk of holding long-term bonds.

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ISHARES CANADIAN SHORT-TERM BOND INDEX ETF $28.69 (Toronto symbol XSB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the DEX Short-Term Bond Index. This index consists of a range of investment-grade federal, provincial, municipal and corporate bonds with one- to five-year terms to maturity. The fund holds 430 bonds with an average term to maturity of 2.98 years. The bonds in the index are 64.8% government and 35.2% corporate. The fund’s MER is 0.28%.

The iShares Canadian Short-Term Bond Index Fund yields 2.4%, but this high yield is due to the fact that some of the fund’s bonds pay above-market interest rates. As a result, they trade above their face value. When these bonds mature, holders will only get the bonds’ face value, meaning the portfolio will incur predictable capital losses. These losses will offset some of the appeal of the above-market yields.

The key figure when looking at the long-term return of this fund is yield to maturity. This yield takes into account the series of capital losses the fund will experience as its above-market-rate bonds mature. The iShares Canadian Short-Term Bond Index ETF’s yield to maturity is around 1.08%—less than the 2.4% yield but still higher than the 0.42% you’d earn by investing in, say, a one-year T-bill.

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BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTNERS L.P. $35.71 (Toronto symbol BEP.UN; Units outstanding: 265.2 million; Market cap: $9.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 6.1%; www.brookfieldrenewable.com) owns 209 hydroelectric generating stations, 38 wind farms and five natural-gas-fired plants. In all, it has over 7,000 megawatts of generating capacity.

Roughly 26% of that capacity is in Canada, with another 51% in the U.S. and 16% in Brazil.

In the three months ended June 30, 2015, Brookfield’s cash flow per share fell 28.4%, to $0.53 from $0.74 a year earlier. That’s because below-normal rainfall slowed the company’s hydroelectric production. The units trade at 15.5 times Brookfield’s forecast 2015 cash flow of $2.30 a share. They yield 6.1%.

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INNERGEX RENEWABLE ENERGY $10.14 (Toronto symbol INE; Shares outstanding: 101.3 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield 6.1%; www.innergex.com) operates 26 hydroelectric plants, six wind farms and one solar power facility in Quebec, Ontario, B.C. and Idaho. The company gets 73% of its power from hydroelectric plants, 26% from wind and 1% from solar. In contrast to Algonquin, Innergex is growing slowly, mostly by building its own hydroelectric and wind facilities, rather than through acquisitions. Right now, the company has five projects under construction. But like Algonquin, Innergex makes sure it has firm long-term power-purchase contracts in place before it starts building new plants....

ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. $9.38 (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares outstanding: 239.5 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.3%; www.algonquinpower.com) has used acquisitions to nearly triple in size over the past three years and is planning more purchases.

The company’s regulated utility businesses now provide water, electricity and natural gas to over 489,000 customers, up sharply from 120,000 three years ago. Its hydroelectric, thermal energy, solar and wind facilities now generate 1,050 megawatts, up from 460.

Emera (Toronto symbol EMA), a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our conservative growth advisory, owns 20.9% of Algonquin.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $43.86 (Toronto symbol TRP; Shares outstanding: 708.9 million; Market cap: $31.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.transcanada.com) wants to build the Energy East pipeline, which would pump oil from Alberta to Eastern Canadian refineries. The plan involves converting parts of its existing natural gas pipeline to handle oil.

The company recently signed deals with three major gas distributors (two in Ontario and one in Quebec) that ensure the project will not cut their gas supplies or increase their costs. As part of this agreement, TransCanada will add new, smaller gas pipelines to replace the portions of the main gas line it will convert to oil.

These deals help cut Energy East’s risk. The project faces strong environmental and political opposition, but if regulators approve the new line, it could start up in 2020.

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GUGGENHEIM CHINA SMALL CAP ETF $22.04 (New York symbol HAO) aims to track the AlphaShares China Small Cap Index, which is made up of all Chinese stocks that are legal for foreign investors and have market caps between $200 million and $1.5 billion.

Chinese stocks have plunged since this summer. Chinese leader Xi Jinping seems focused on shoring up the Communist party and the Chinese stock market, rather than strengthening the Chinese economy.

Brazil has officially entered a recession with news that its economy shrank in the second quarter this year, at a faster rate than in the first. Brazil’s per-capita income has been falling since last year, and the Brazilian real has lost a quarter of its value in the year to date. State-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras is also in the midst of a huge corruption scandal.

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ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS EASTERN EUROPE INDEX FUND (formerly New York symbol ESR) has been closed by BlackRock, which manages the iShares funds. Investors were sent a final distribution of the fund’s net asset value, $16.17 per unit, on August 28, 2015.

The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Eastern Europe Index Fund had two-thirds of its assets invested in Russia, including stocks of major Russian firms, such as gas utility Gazprom, oil producer Lukoil and retailer Magnit PJSC.

Investor interest in the fund waned after Russia’s currency, the ruble, dropped to nearrecord lows against the U.S. dollar. The ruble’s fall comes in the wake of falling prices for oil and other commodities and Western sanctions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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