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BLACKBERRY LTD. $8.46 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 526.8 million; Market cap: $4.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) has started selling its new Z30 touch-screen smartphone in Indonesia.

The Z30 is cheaper than Apple’s iPhone and devices that use Google’s Android software, which should help BlackBerry maintain its high share of Indonesia’s smartphone market.

The company now predicts it will probably lose money in the fiscal year ending February 28, 2015. However, it expects its recent job cuts, real estate sales and other cost-cutting measures will let it earn a profit in fiscal 2016.

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CAE INC. $15 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 263.8 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 1.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) has a long history of developing flight simulators for Bombardier’s aircraft. This expertise will give CAE an advantage when airlines begin training their pilots to operate the new CSeries jet.

Meanwhile, the company sold a record 48 simulators in its 2014 fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2014. It ended the year with a $4.2-billion order backlog, which is equal to roughly two years’ worth of revenue.

CAE is our #1 buy for 2014.

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BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $3.88 and BBD.B $3.83; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $6.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bombardier.com) is the world’s third-largest commercial aircraft maker, behind Boeing and Airbus. It is also the world’s leading passenger railcar manufacturer.

In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Bombardier’s earnings fell 3.2%, to $151 million from $156 million a year earlier (all amounts except share prices and market cap in U.S. dollars). Earnings per share were unchanged at $0.08. Revenue rose 0.3%, to $4.35 billion from $4.34 billion.

Revenue at the railcar division (52% of the total) rose 8.8%, as the company continues to win orders from public transit systems. This business ended the quarter with a record backlog of $38.4 billion, up 18.5% since the start of 2014.

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TELUS CORP. $41 (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 618.9 million; Market cap: $25.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) has dropped its $350-million bid for wireless carrier Mobilicity.

The company was more interested in Mobilicity’s wireless frequencies, or spectrum, than its 165,000 wireless customers (Telus has 7.8 million wireless subscribers across Canada).

However, Ottawa opposed the deal. As well, if Telus had refused to drop the takeover, Ottawa would probably have blocked it from bidding on new spectrum at an auction planned for April 2015.

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ANDREW PELLER LTD. $14 (Toronto symbol ADW.A; Income Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 11.3 million; Market cap: $158.2 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.andrewpeller.com) is Canada’s second-largest producer of wines, after Vincor International. The company has wineries in Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia.

In its 2014 fiscal year, which ended March 31, 2014, Peller’s sales rose 3.0%, to $297.8 million from $289.1 million in fiscal 2013. That’s mainly because it launched several successful products. Demand for its premium wines also remains strong.

However, strong competition in Western Canada and the Maritimes, as well as higher costs for wine and juice from overseas suppliers, cut Peller’s earnings by 3.4%, to $14.0 million from $14.5 million. Per-share earnings fell 2.9%, to $1.01 from $1.04. Without unusual items, such as losses on hedging contracts, earnings would have risen 4.5%.

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MOLSON COORS CANADA INC. (Toronto symbols TPX.A $78 and TPX.B $78; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 184.8 million; Market cap: $14.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.molsoncoors.com) is the world’s fifth-largest brewer.

In June 2012, Molson Coors paid $3.5 billion for StarBev, which owns nine breweries in central and eastern Europe (all amounts except share prices and market cap in U.S. dollars). The purchase has helped offset slower North American beer sales.

The company is also doing a good job of cutting StarBev’s costs and making it more efficient. In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Molson Coors’ earnings before one-time items jumped 115.2%, to $102.2 million from $47.5 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings rose 111.5%, to $0.55 from $0.26, on more shares outstanding.

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CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $97 (Toronto symbol CM; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 397.4 million; Market cap: $38.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 4.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cibc.com) took control of FirstCaribbean, which offers banking services in 17 Caribbean countries, in December 2006. CIBC now holds a 91.7% stake. The region’s slow growth and high unemployment have prompted CIBC to write down the value of this investment by $420 million.

Due to this charge, as well as costs to launch a new loyalty plan for travellers after it lost the Aeroplan contract, CIBC’s earnings in the quarter ended April 30, 2014 fell 64.5%, to $306 million, or $0.73 a share. If you exclude all unusual items, the bank earned $887 million, or $2.17 a share. A year earlier, CIBC earned $862 million, or $2.09 a share.

Revenue rose just 1.4%, to $3.17 billion from $3.12 billion, mainly due to the loss of the Aeroplan deal.

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TRANSCANADA CORP. $50 (Toronto symbol TRP; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 707.4 million; Market cap: $35.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.8; Dividend yield: 3.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.transcanada.com) operates a 68,500-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The company’s pipelines supply 20% of North America’s natural gas. In 2013, they provided 51% of TransCanada’s revenue and 53% of its earnings.

The company also owns or invests in power plants in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern U.S. In all, these facilities have over 11,800 megawatts of generating capacity. TransCanada’s electricity operations now supply 36% of its revenue and 30% of its earnings.

In 2011, the company started up its oil pipeline division. This business mainly consists of the Keystone pipeline, which pumps oil from Alberta to refineries in Illinois, and a distribution hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. Oil pipelines supply the remaining 13% of TransCanada’s revenue and 17% of its earnings.

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ENBRIDGE INC. $51 (Toronto symbol ENB; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 834.8 million; Market cap: $42.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.enbridge.com) operates pipelines that pump oil and natural gas from Western Canada to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The company’s pipelines also handle 53% of Canada’s crude oil exports to the U.S.

Pipelines supply 90% of Enbridge’s revenue. The remaining 10% comes from distributing gas to two million consumers in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, Enbridge’s revenue jumped 33.2%, to $10.5 billion from $7.9 billion a year earlier, mainly because the company is pumping more crude from the Alberta oil sands.

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METRO INC. $67 (Toronto symbol MRU; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 87.0 million; Market cap: $5.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.metro.ca) is Canada’s third-largest supermarket operator, after Loblaw (also in this issue) and Sobeys. It now has 600 supermarkets and 250 drugstores.

To cut its reliance on Quebec, which accounted for nearly all of its revenue, Metro bought A&P Canada for $1.7 billion in 2005. The chain consisted of 240 food stores in Ontario, mostly under the A&P and Dominion names.

Since then, Metro has mainly focused on improving the profitability of its stores. Lower costs will give the company more flexibility to adjust its prices, and cope with the recent 7.3% increase in Ontario’s minimum wage.

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BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $64 (www.scotiabank.com) earned $1.32 a share in its fiscal 2014 fourth quarter, which ended October 31, 2014. That figure excludes several unusual items, mainly severance costs related to the closure of 120 branches at its international division and the consolidation of some Canadian offices....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on stocks to buy as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week an Inner Circle members asked us about one of the world’s best known entertainment companies. Walt Disney now has five separate businesses and continues to add to its assets. Pat examines the company’s entertainment empire and the impact of several recent high-profile acquisitions. He also consider the company’s financial outlook and whether the shares can continue their recent rise. Q: What is your opinion about Disney? Thanks....

Sales are slowing at these beverage makers, mainly because health-conscious consumers are cutting back on sugary drinks and alcohol. Still, they are taking measures to support their well-known brands and help them continue to prosper. They’re also cutting their costs in order to free additional cash. PEPSICO INC. (New York symbol PEP; www.pepsico.com) is the world’s second-largest soft drink maker after Coca-Cola. It also makes other products, such as Frito-Lay snack foods, Gatorade sports drinks, Tropicana fruit juices and Quaker Oats cereals....

Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a beginning or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you advice on specific investment topics. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Wise investors always value dividends, but many investors don’t realize that share buybacks can be just as valuable as dividends, and in some cases, more so.” Dividends are in fashion with investors, and that’s a good thing. Creative accounting can produce false impressions of prosperity and hide embarrassing financial problems. But accounting can’t create cash for this year’s dividend, let alone conjure up a history of past dividends. If you restrict your stock market picks to dividend payers, you’ll avoid most of the market’s greatest disasters....

TRANSCANADA CORP. (Toronto symbol TRP; www.transcanada.com) operates a 68,500-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to Eastern Canada and the U.S. The company’s pipelines supply 20% of North America’s natural gas. In 2013, they provided 51% of TransCanada’s revenue and 53% of its earnings. The company also owns or invests in power plants in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and the northeastern U.S. In all, these facilities have over 11,800 megawatts of generating capacity. TransCanada’s electricity operations now supply 36% of its revenue and 30% of its earnings. In 2011, the company started up its oil pipeline division. This business mainly consists of the Keystone pipeline, which pumps oil from Alberta to refineries in Illinois, and a distribution hub in Cushing, Oklahoma. Oil pipelines supply the remaining 13% of TransCanada’s revenue and 7% of its earnings....

RIOCAN REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (Toronto symbol REI.UN; www.riocan.com) is Canada’s largest real estate investment trust (REIT), with interests in 340 shopping malls containing over 82 million square feet of leasable area. That total includes 47 U.S. malls with over 13 million square feet. In the three months ended March 31, 2014, RioCan’s revenue increased 6.4%, to $299 million from $281 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit rose 2.4%, to $0.42 from $0.41, on more units outstanding. RioCan continues to see growth opportunities in Canada and the U.S. In 2013, it spent $849 million on 32 properties. In the first quarter of 2014, it bought two more for a total of $21 million....

YUM! BRANDS INC. $82 (New York symbol YUM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 411.4 million; Market cap: $33.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.yum.com) has 40,324 fast-food restaurants in over 110 countries. Its main banners include KFC (fried chicken), Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Mexican food). Franchisees operate 80% of these outlets.

The company was the first fast-food chain to enter China, in 1987, and is now a leader in that country. Its 6,332 Chinese outlets now supply 53% of its sales and 35% of its earnings. Other markets include the U.S. (23% of sales, 31% of earnings), and other countries (24%, 34%).

Food safety fears hurt results

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UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $116 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 916.7 million; Market cap: $106.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) has amended its deal to build 28 Sikorsky Cyclone helicopters for the Canadian government. The company had planned to deliver these helicopters in 2012, but disputes over prices and support prompted it to suspend the program. It now plans to begin deliveries in 2015.

The original contract was worth $4.6 billion. But due to the delays in starting up production, United Technologies will record a one-time charge of $440 million in the second quarter of 2014. However, it feels other unusual gains will offset this charge.

As a result, the company still expects to earn $6.65 to $6.85 a share for all of 2014. The stock trades at 17.2 times the midpoint of that range. That’s a reasonable p/e ratio in light of its leading market share in its various niche industries (jet engines, elevators and heating and air conditioning equipment) and wide global reach (overseas markets account for 60% of its revenue).

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GENUINE PARTS CO. $87 (New York symbol GPC; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 153.6 million; Marketcap: $13.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.genpt.com) has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum for Toledo, Ohio-based Impact Products. This privately held firm sells janitorial equipment, such as mops, pails, safety glasses and first aid kits, to businesses.

Expanding by acquisition adds risk, but the purchase looks like a good fit with Genuine’s office supplies and furniture business. The new operations will also add $85 million to Genuine’s $14.1 billion of annual sales. Moreover, small purchases like this tend to be easier to integrate.

The stock now trades at 19.0 times the company’s projected 2014 earnings of $4.58 a share. That’s a high p/e for a firm that supplies clients in cyclical industries like auto parts and manufacturing.

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GANNETT CO., INC. $31 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 226.8 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) has completed the sale of two TV stations in Phoenix and one in St. Louis for a total of $407.5 million.

The cash will help Gannett pay for its recent deal to buy six Texas TV stations from London Broadcasting Co. The company will pay $215 million when the deal closes in the next few months. To put these figures in context, Gannett earned $108.4 million, or $0.47 a share, in the first quarter of 2014.

Gannett is a buy.

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APPLE INC. $90 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 6.0 billion; Market cap: $540.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.2; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.apple.com) has agreed to a settle a lawsuit that accused the company and five publishers of working together to illegally increase e-book prices.

The company did not say how much it would pay, but the lawsuit was seeking $840 million in damages. To put this in context, Apple held cash and investments of $150.6 billion, or $24.96 a share, as of March 29, 2014 (all per-share amounts adjusted for a 7-for-1 stock split in June 2014).

Apple is a hold.

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DIEBOLD INC. $39 (New York symbol DBD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 64.6 million; Market cap: $2.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.diebold.com) is a leading maker of automated teller machines. It also makes safes, vaults and building-security systems. The company gets 55% of its revenue from outside North America.

In the three months ended March 31, 2014, Diebold’s revenue rose 8.6% to $688.3 million from $633.5 million a year earlier. If you exclude the negative impact of currency exchange rates, revenue rose 12.2%. That’s mainly because the company completed two large orders for election and lottery machines in Brazil.

Diebold is shifting toward services and software, which give it recurring revenue and cut its reliance on ATM sales. Services and software accounted for 56% of its first quarter revenue.

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NCR CORP. $33 (New York symbol NCR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 167.9 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.9; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ncr.com) gets 52% of its revenue from ATMs. It also makes cash registers and self-serve checkouts (32% of revenue) and kiosks for theatres and arenas (10%). Maintenance services supply the other 6%. Overseas markets account for 60% of NCR’s revenue.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2014, NCR’s revenue rose 7.7%, to $1.5 billion from $1.4 billion a year earlier. That’s partly due to its January 2014 purchase of privately held Digital Insight Corp., whose software helps over 1,000 banks and credit unions manage their online and mobile transactions.

NCR paid $1.65 billion for this firm, which should add $350 million to its yearly revenue. Earnings fell 14.5%, to $53 million from $62 million. Pershare earnings declined 16.2%, to $0.31 from $0.37, on more shares outstanding.

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PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $79 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.7 billion; Market cap: $213.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pg.com) is selling most of its pet food business to privately held Mars Inc. The sale will let Procter focus on its more-profitable household and personal care products.

The company will receive $2.9 billion when the deal closes in the next few months. To put that in context, Procter earned $2.6 billion, or $0.90 a share, in the quarter ended March 31, 2014. The company will likely use the cash to buy back more shares.

Procter & Gamble is a buy.

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INTERNATIONAL FLAVORS & FRAGRANCES INC. $104 (New York symbol IFF; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 81.3 million; Market cap: $8.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.8; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.iff.com) makes over 36,000 compounds that improve the taste of foods and the smell of consumer products.

In January 2014, the company paid $102.5 million for Aromor Flavors and Fragrances, a private Israeli firm that is also one of IFF’s ingredient suppliers.

This purchase helped increase IFF’s sales by 5.8% in the three months ended March 31, 2014, to $770.2 million from $727.8 million a year earlier. The company gets 75% of its sales from outside the U.S. and nearly 50% from emerging markets. If you exclude currency exchange rates, sales rose 7%.

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