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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.

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

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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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BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $65 (Toronto symbol BNS; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $78.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.6; Dividend yield: 4.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.scotiabank.com) has now completed its purchase of 51% of the credit card operations of Cencosud S.A., Chile’s largest retailer.

The deal makes the bank Chile’s third-largest credit card issuer, with 2.5 million cards in use and $1 billion U.S. in loans outstanding.

Bank of Nova Scotia paid $280 million U.S. for this business, which is equal to 20% of the $1.7 billion (Canadian), or $1.35 a share, the bank earned in the three months ended January 31, 2015.

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THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $48 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 784.8 million; Market cap: $37.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 3.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) (All amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars) now plans to buy back up to $1 billion worth of its shares by the end of 2016.

Meantime, the company’s revenue fell 2.7% in the three months ended March 31, 2015, to $3.0 billion from $3.1 billion a year earlier. Without the effect of the high U.S. dollar, revenue rose 2%.

Earnings per share declined 4.3%, or $0.44 from $0.46, but gained 8.7% if you disregard changes in currency exchange rates. Banks and brokerages are buying more of Thomson’s information products. Sales to tax, accounting and legal professionals also remain strong.

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SUNCOR ENERGY INC. $36 (Toronto symbol SU; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.5 billion; Market cap: $54.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.suncor.com) has started work on its Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta. Suncor owns 40.8% of Fort Hills; France’s Total SA holds 39.2%, while Teck Resources owns the remaining 20.0%. This $13.5-billion project (Suncor’s share is $5.5 billion) should start up in late 2017, and its reserves should last 50 years.

The company produced 602,400 barrels a day in the first quarter of 2015, up 10.5% from 545,300 a year earlier. That’s mainly because shut downs for maintenance hurt last year’s output.

However, lower oil prices cut Suncor’s earnings by 90.2%, to $175 million, or $0.12 a share, from $1.8 billion, or $1.22. Cash flow per share fell 48.0%, to $1.02 from $1.96.

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IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $49 (Toronto symbol IMO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios; Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 848.0 million; Market cap: $41.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 1.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.imperialoil.ca) produced an average of 333,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (93% oil and 7% natural gas) in the first quarter of 2015, up 0.9% from a year earlier.

Excluding properties Imperial sold in the past year, production gained 5.7%. The increase is mainly due to rising output at the Kearl oil sands project in Alberta. Imperial owns 71% of Kearl; Exxon- Mobil (New York symbol XOM) holds the other 29%. Exxon also owns 69.9% of Imperial.

However, a 50% drop in crude oil prices cut Imperial’s revenue by 32.8%, to $6.2 billion from $9.2 billion. Earnings fell 55.5%, to $421 million, or $0.50 a share. A year earlier, the company earned $946 million, or $1.11. Cash flow per share dropped 39.9%, to $0.86 from $1.43.

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MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $23 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 143.1 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend yield: 1.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mapleleaf.ca) is Canada’s largest food processing company. It mainly sells its products, including fresh and prepared meats and poultry, under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands.

Maple Leaf is close to finishing an overhaul of its meat-processing operations that mainly involves closing older plants and shifting their operations to newer facilities. It has also cut the number of warehouses in its distribution business from 19 to two.

The company is beginning to benefit from this plan: in the three months ended March 31, 2015, it lost $2.9 million, or $0.02 a share, compared to a year-ago loss of $132.9 million, or $0.95. If you exclude restructuring costs, Maple Leaf earned $0.05 a share in the latest quarter.

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LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $63 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 412.5 million; Market cap: $26.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) continues to benefit from its March 2014 purchase of the 1,250-store Shoppers Drug Mart chain for $12.3 billion in cash and stock.

In the three months ended March 28, 2015, the company’s overall sales jumped 37.8%, to $10.0 billion from $7.3 billion a year earlier. Shoppers contributed $2.6 billion to the latest quarterly sales.

Same-store sales at Loblaw’s supermarkets rose 4.0%, excluding gasoline sales. Shoppers’ same-store sales gained 3.1%. Without unusual items, earnings jumped 96.7%, to $301 million from $153 million. Per-share profits rose 35.2%, to $0.73 from $0.54, on more shares outstanding.

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MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $27 (Toronto symbol MBT; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 78.5 million; Market cap: $2.1 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 4.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.mtsallstream.com) recently completed a strategic review of its operations. As a result, it now plans to cut 25% of the workforce at its Allstream division, which sells telephone, Internet and other communication services to businesses across Canada.

In addition, the company will cut Allstream’s capital spending by 20% to 30% in 2015. Manitoba Telecom expects these moves to save it $50 million annually by the end of 2016.

In addition, it will contribute $120 million to its underfunded employees’ pension plan, eliminating the need for additional payments over the next two years. The company has also cut its dividend by 23.5%. The new annual rate of $1.30 yields 4.8%.

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ATCO LTD. (Toronto symbols ACO.X [class I non-voting] $44 and ACO.Y [class II voting] $44; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 115.1 million; Market cap: $5.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.1; Dividend yield: 2.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.atco.com) holds 53.2% of Canadian Utilities (see page 53). The company also owns 75.5% of ATCO Structures & Logistics, which makes temporary buildings for construction, mining and energy exploration firms; Canadian Utilities owns the other 24.5%. In the three months ended March 31, 2015, the company earned $94 million, or $0.82 a share. That’s down 26.0% from $127 million, or $1.10. Revenue declined by 12.6%, to $1.1 billion from $1.2 billion.

Lower earnings at Canadian Utilities hurt ATCO’s profits. As well, the structures business completed two big contracts in late 2014. As a result, this division’s earnings fell by $11 million in the latest quarter.

However, ATCO recently started working on a $125-million contract to build worker shelters at the Wheatstone liquefied natural gas project in Western Australia. It expects to finish these buildings by the end of the year.

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CANADIAN UTILITIES LTD. (Toronto symbols CU [class A non-voting] $37 and CU.X [class B voting] $37; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 264.5 million; Market cap: $9.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadian utilities.com) distributes electricity and natural gas in Alberta and Australia. It also operates 18 power plants in Canada, Australia and the U.K. ATCO Ltd. owns 53.2% of the company.

Canadian Utilities plans to spend $5.8 billion on upgrades between 2015 and 2017. It will devote $5.1 billion of that to its regulated operations, including $1.2 billion to make Alberta’s power grid more reliable.

The remaining $700 million will go to unregulated businesses, including $500 million for new power lines in the Fort McMurray area. The company owns 80% of a joint venture that will build this project. Quanta Services (New York symbol PWR) will own the remaining 20%. Meanwhile, Canadian Utilities earned $174 million, or $0.61 a share, in the three months ended March 31, 2015.

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