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AIMIA INC. $14.01 (Toronto symbol AIM; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-897-6800; www.aimia.com; Shares outstanding: 164.7 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 5.4%) owns and operates Aeroplan, Canada’s largest loyalty program.

The company reports that its revenue rose 8.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2015, to $660.1 million from $608.9 million a year earlier.

Earnings fell to $30.7 million, or $0.15 a share, from $88.2 million, or $0.48. However, the year-ago quarter included a one-time payment of $73.4 million after TD Bank replaced CIBC as Aeroplan’s main credit card issuer on January 1, 2014.

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REITMANS (CANADA) LTD. $6.31 (Toronto symbol RET.A; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-384- 1140; www.reitmans.com; Shares outstanding: 64.6 million; Market cap: $398.9 million; Dividend yield: 3.2%) owns 810 women’s clothing stores across Canada.

The chain consists of 337 Reitmans stores, 138 Penningtons, 107 Addition Elle, 78 RW & Co., 68 Thyme Maternity and 82 Smart Set. It also has 21 Thyme Maternity boutiques in Canadian Babies “R” Us stores.

In the three months ended May 2, 2015, Reitmans’ sales fell 2.3%, to $201.7 million from $206.5 million a year earlier. Sales declined because the company closed 52 less profitable stores. Same-store sales gained 3.0%.

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LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $15.18 (Toronto symbol LNF; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (416-243-7880; www.leons.ca; Shares outstanding: 71.1 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.6%) has steadily opened new stores, growing from 27 in 2003 to 80 today.

However, the company more than quadrupled in size overnight with its March 2013 purchase of its main rival, The Brick, for $700 million. The Brick has 220 locations across Canada; the chains continue to operate separately.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, the company’s sales fell slightly, to $423.0 million from $426.0 million a year earlier. On a same-store basis, sales declined 0.1%.

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We made MITEL NETWORKS $11.29 (Toronto symbol MNW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (613-592-2122; www.mitel.ca; Shares outstanding: 120.0 million; Market cap: $1.4 billion; No dividends paid) a buy in our June 2014 issue at $12.03 after it took over Aastra Technologies, a Stock Picker Digest recommendation, at a big premium....

COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP $12.85 (see at left) is up over 500% for us since we first recommended it in our April 2003 issue at $2.10. We think it still has gains ahead. Computer Modelling is a buy.

PASON SYSTEMS $22.24 (Toronto symbol PSI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(403-301-3400; www.pason.com; Shares outstanding: 83.6 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; Dividend yield: 3.1%) rents equipment for monitoring and managing land-based oil rigs. It also provides communication systems clients use to remotely collect data from their drilling operations. Pason serves oil and gas firms and drilling contractors throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Argentina.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, the company’s revenue fell 19.3%, to $99.4 million from $123.2 million a year earlier. A rise in the U.S. dollar only partly offset an industry-wide slowdown in oil and gas drilling.

The company earned $14.2 million, or $0.17 a share, in the latest quarter, down from $20.8 million, or $0.25 a year earlier. The lower revenue was the main reason for the decline. Cash flow per share fell 23.5%, to $0.52 from $0.68.

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COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP $12.85 (Toronto symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-531-1300; www.cmgl.ca; Shares outstanding: 78.5 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; Dividend yield: 3.1%) sells software and services that help conventional oil and gas producers create 3-D models of reservoirs. That lets them squeeze more out of those reservoirs using advanced recovery techniques, such as injecting steam or chemicals. Typically, only 25% to 30% of oil and gas is recovered during primary production.

Unconventional producers using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of oil and gas-bearing shale can also use Computer Modelling’s software to determine optimal drilling locations and depths.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, the company’s revenue rose 2.0%, to $20.4 million from $20.0 million a year earlier. Software licensing revenue (89% of the total) rose 2.8%, and consulting and professional services revenue (11%) gained 9.6%.

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SIERRA WIRELESS $34.10 (Toronto symbol SW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604- 231-1100; www.sierrawireless.com; Shares outstanding: 32.1 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; No dividends paid) has entered into a new partnership with France’s PSA Peugeot Citroën.

The carmaker has been a Sierra client since 2001 and has connected more than 1.6 million of its vehicles with the company’s emergency notification system modules.

Now the automaker will use Sierra’s Air- Vantage device-to-cloud technology to add other connected services. The companies didn’t provide specifics, but these new functions could include apps that sync with smartphones and display information about a car’s performance and mileage.

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ACI WORLDWIDE $25.19 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(402-390-7600; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 116.7 million; Market cap: $3.0 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. Clients include leading global retailers, plus two-thirds of the world’s 100 largest banks.

ACI has made a series of acquisitions in recent years. In November 2013, it paid $109 million for Official Payments Holdings, which processes 20 million payments totalling over $9 billion a year. It also added Retail Decisions (ReD) for $205 million in August 2014. ReD is an e-commerce and fraud-prevention firm whose software serves the payments industry.

In the three months ended March 31, 2015, the company’s revenue rose 5.1% to $232.8 million from $221.5 million a year earlier. ACI typically has higher sales and profits in the last half of each year, which is the busiest period in its customers’ purchasing cycle.

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MITEL NETWORKS $11.29 (Toronto symbol MNW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk)(613-592-2122; www.mitel.ca; Shares outstanding: 120.0 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 March 31, 2015, Mitel’s revenue rose 2.7%, to $248.1 million from $241.5 million a year ago (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Without the effect of the higher U.S. dollar, its revenue was $268.9 million in the latest quarter.

Earnings per share fell 27.3%, to $0.16 from $0.22, as the stronger dollar hurt the contribution from the company’s international sales. However, the latest earnings still beat the consensus estimate of $0.15. Earlier this year, Mitel acquired Mavenir Systems for $560 million U.S.

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MENTOR GRAPHICS $26.82 (Nasdaq symbol MENT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (503-685- 7000; www.mentor.com; Shares outstanding: 116.1 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Dividend yield: 0.8%) is trading at new highs as it sells more hardware and software for improving and speeding up the design of electronic products.

In the three months ended April 30, 2015, the company’s revenue rose 7.9%, to $272.1 million from $252.2 million a year earlier. Earnings per share jumped sharply, to $0.28 from $0.11.

Mentor typically makes about 70% of its profits in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends January 31. That’s the busiest purchasing period for its customers.

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SYMANTEC CORP. $24.10 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average)(650-527-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 680.7 million; Market cap: $16.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.5%) continues to strengthen its fast-growing cybersecurity business while getting set to split off its Veritas Technologies division.

Corporations are spending more on cybersecurity following highprofile attacks on Sony, Home Depot and Target. Symantec is taking advantage of this trend by hiring more programmers. It has also cancelled unprofitable contracts and simplified its product lines.

These moves cut the company’s profits by 10.2% in its fiscal 2015 fourth quarter, which ended April 3, 2015, to $299 million, or $0.43 a share, from $333 million, or $0.48. Sales fell 6.2%, to $1.55 billion from $1.65 billion—though if you disregard the U.S. dollar’s negative impact on Symantec’s overseas sales, its revenue rose 1%.

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It’s healthy to be skeptical about certain investments, like stock options, that often turn out to benefit brokers more than investors.

While the Keystone XL pipeline earns headlines, TransCanada’s investors continue to earn steady dividend income as new projects unfold.

While Avigilon’s high-def surveillance systems would seem to make it a good choice for the aggressive investor, it has a few too many risks.

Replying to an investor seeking stock picks to buy and hold, we assess the long-term prospects of America’s biggest grocery store operator.

As one of the world’s largest energy stocks, Chevron has the resources, and refineries, to thrive in the face of lower oil prices.

At major turning points in the market, “this time it’s different,” is one piece of investment advice that’s usually wrong…but not always.

One of our top blue chip stocks has the reserves, refineries and oil sand projects to meet the challenge of low oil prices and an NDP win.

Penny stocks often have big hurdles to overcome, and Nemaska Lithium must rely on a major spark from the electric car to succeed.

FORTIS INC. $38 (www.fortisinc.com) has purchased additional shares in Caribbean Utilities Co. Ltd., the main provider of electricity in the Cayman Islands. That increased its stake to 60.4% from 58.9%....

TELUS CORP. $42 (www.telus.com) continues to benefit from strong demand for wireless services. As of March 31, 2015, it had 8.3 million wireless subscribers, up 3.1% from a year earlier. In addition, more of these users are upgrading to smartphones under long-term contracts, which generate higher profits for Telus than regular cellphones....

HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $43 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 70.2 million; Market cap; $3.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.2; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www. homecapital.com) provides mortgages to borrowers who don’t meet the stricter standards of larger, traditional lenders, like banks. Clients include self-employed people and recent immigrants with limited credit histories.

Low interest rates continue to fuel mortgage demand. As a result, Home Capital’s revenue rose 47.6%, from $687.2 million in 2010 to $1.01 billion in 2014. Earnings jumped 86.4%, from $154.8 million to $288.4 million, while per-share profits gained 84.2%, from $2.22 to $4.09. In the first quarter of 2015, the company’s revenue rose 0.5%, to $249.2 million from $247.9 million a year earlier. Earnings gained 3.7%, to $72.3 million, or $1.03 a share, from $69.7 million, or $1.00.

Humans beat computers

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PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. $3.74 (Toronto symbol PGF; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 538.0 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 6.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.pengrowth.com) recently started up its Lindbergh oil sands project in eastern Alberta, which should produce 16,000 barrels a day by the end of 2015.

The company has shut down less profitable wells in response to weak oil and gas prices. That’s why its average production fell 7.7% in the first quarter of 2015, to 69,334 barrels a day (52% oil and liquids, 48% gas) from 75,102 a year earlier. Without unusual items, Pengrowth earned $64.8 million, compared to a loss of $2.8 million. Cash flow per share fell 22.2%, to $0.21 from $0.27.

For the remainder of 2015, the company has hedged 78% of its oil production at $93.87 (Canadian) a barrel, well above today’s price of $60.16 U.S. It has also hedged 57% of its gas output at $3.72 (Canadian) per thousand cubic feet, compared to the current price of $2.94 U.S. The company’s hedges were worth $354.3 million as of March 31, 2015.

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SHAWCOR LTD. $38 (Toronto symbol SCL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.5 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.shawcor.com) has won two contracts to coat pipelines that will pump natural gas to various locations in northeastern Argentina.

The total value of these deals—$55 million U.S.—is equal to 3% of the company’s 2014 revenue of $1.9 billion (Canadian). ShawCor expects to complete these jobs in early 2016.

ShawCor is a buy.

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