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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 specific investment tips and stock market advice. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investment advice, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “You may learn quite a bit about investing in an investment club, but keep in mind that some of what you learn may be things you should avoid in future.”...

Most precious metals stocks dropped when gold fell to $1,200 U.S. an ounce and silver declined to $18.50 U.S. an ounce in June 2013. Both metals have rebounded somewhat lately, with gold now at $1,371 and silver at $22.92. Here are two low-fee exchange traded funds that offer global gold and silver miners....

MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. (Toronto symbol MFI; www.mapleleaf.ca) is Canada’s largest food processing company. It mainly sells its products, which include fresh and prepared meats and poultry, under the Maple Leaf and Schneider brands. Though 90.0%-owned Canada Bread the company also makes fresh and frozen bread, pastries and pasta....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on specific stocks and other investments 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....

PENGROWTH ENERGY CORP. (Toronto symbol PGF; www.pengrowth.com) produces oil and natural gas in Western Canada and off the Nova Scotia coast. Gas accounts for about 60% of its production; the other 40% is oil....

ENERFLEX LTD. $14.07 (Toronto symbol EFX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (403-387-6377; www.enerflex.com; Shares outstanding: 78.0 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Dividend yield: 2.0%) rents and sells equipment and services for natural gas production, including compression and processing plants, refrigeration equipment and power generators.

The company has a strong position in three expanding markets: U.S. and Canadian shale gas; Australian natural gas from coal beds; and conventional Middle Eastern natural gas, most of which gets converted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) for shipping worldwide.

In the quarter ended June 30, 2013, Enerflex’s revenue fell 12.3%, to $311.0 million from $354.6 million a year ago. That’s because the company saw lower sales across all of its markets. Earnings per share fell 4.0%, to $0.24 from $0.25.
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TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $22.86 (Toronto symbol TIH; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-667- 5511; www.toromont.com; Shares outstanding: 76.6 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.3%) distributes a broad range of industrial equipment, including machinery made by Caterpillar Inc. It also makes refrigeration systems through its CIMCO division.

The company completed the spinoff of Enerflex Ltd. (see right) in July 2011. Shareholders received shares of the new Toromont and shares of Enerflex.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Toromont’s revenue fell 1.3%, to $374.7 million from $379.6 million a year earlier. Record sales at the CIMCO division failed to offset lower equipment sales and rentals, particularly to mining customers.
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ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $63.74 (Toronto symbol ATD.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 179.4 million; Market cap: $11.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.6%) reports that its sales jumped 48.0% in the three months ended July 21, 2013, to $8.9 billion from $6.0 billion a year earlier.

The gain mostly came from Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, which Couche-Tard bought for $2.7 billion in June 2012 (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). It also benefited from higher fuel volumes and merchandise sales.

Excluding one-time items, earnings rose 20.9%, to $220.0 million from $182.0 million. Earnings per share rose 16.0%, to $1.16 from $1.00, on more shares outstanding. The latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.95 a share.
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TIM HORTONS $59.06 (Toronto symbol THI; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.timhortons.com; Shares outstanding: 151.0 million; Market cap: $9.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.8%) has opened its first coffee-and-donut store in Kuwait under its franchise deal with Dubai-based Apparel Group. This is the company’s 32nd store in the Persian Gulf.

In February 2011, Tim Hortons signed a master license agreement with the Apparel Group to open 120 outlets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman over a five-year period.

So far, the company has focused on growing in the key UAE cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. But it also entered Oman with two locations in 2012.
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GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $22.17 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 245.5 million; Market cap: $5.4 billion; No dividends paid) has signed an important new labour contract with the United Steelworkers. The four-year deal covers about 8,000 workers at its six U.S. plants.

The agreement provides Goodyear with flexibility to reduce staffing and continues medical-benefit cost sharing.

Wages and benefits remain in line with the prior agreement. The contract protects Goodyear against strikes over its four-year term, but it also protects workers against closures at the six plants.
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CARFINCO FINANCIAL GROUP $10.10 (Toronto symbol CFN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-888- 486-4356; www.carfinco.com; Shares outstanding: 26.4 million; Market cap: $266.6 million; Dividend yield: 4.8%) has now expanded into the U.S. through its $9.5-million purchase of Persian Acceptance Corp., an automotive lender that also caters to less affluent borrowers.

Persian operates in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut and Vermont. It works with about 362 car dealers who use the company to get loans for their customers. Persian currently has $42.7 million U.S. in outstanding loans. To put that in perspective, Carfinco has $195.0 million of loans.

Growth by acquisition, especially into the U.S., adds risk. However, Carfinco is cutting that risk by keeping key members of Persian’s management in place, including Peter Miller, its founder and president. Miller sold the company to Carfinco and can receive an additional $2 million on the purchase price if Persian reaches certain performance targets over the next two years.
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AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.43 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 172.3 million; Market cap: $72.4 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from waste rock at Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest copper mine. The contract runs at least through 2037. Amerigo also has an agreement to process material from the nearby Cauquenes tailings pond.

Amerigo gets 94% of its revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Amerigo’s revenue fell 22.0%, to $31.4 million from $40.0 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). That’s because Amerigo’s copper production fell 17.5%, and molybdenum output declined 23.1%.
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MART RESOURCES $1.19 (Toronto symbol MMT; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-270-1841; www.martresources.com; Shares outstanding: 356.6 million; Market cap: $449.3 million; Dividend yield: 16.8%) produces oil at its 50%-held Umusadege field in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria.

The company recently completed construction of a new central processing facility at the Umusadege field. This plant can process 35,000 barrels of oil a day, enough to handle the field’s current output of 10,140 barrels a day, in addition to all future production increases.

Meanwhile, the company is reporting steady cash flow and continues to pay quarterly dividends of $0.05 a share. The stock yields 16.8%.
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CHESAPEAKE ENERGY $27.30 (New York symbol CHK; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (405-848-8000; www.chkenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 665.5 million; Market cap: $18.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%) is up 9% since August 19, when activist investor Carl Icahn revealed that he had increased his stake in the company to 9.98% from 8.98%.

Icahn has a long history of pushing companies to make changes that have increased shareholder value.

He first acquired a stake in Chesapeake in May 2012. Since then, he has successfully pressured the company to replace four of its eight board members with his nominees. Most recently, four of Chesapeake’s top executives left as part of an ongoing reorganization. That’s in addition to co-founder and former CEO Aubrey McClendon, who departed in April, and two senior vicepresidents who left in May.
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CIMAREX ENERGY $91.50 (New York symbol XEC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (303-295-3995; www.cimarex.com; Shares outstanding: 86.5 million; Market cap: $7.9 billion; Dividend yield: 0.6%) produces and explores for natural gas and oil. Gas makes up 49% of its output. Cimarex’s properties are in the Mid-Continent region of the U.S., which includes Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas (50% of production); the Permian Basin of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico (47%); and the Texas Gulf Coast (3%).

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Cimarex’s production averaged 686.8 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (including oil).

That’s up 16.4% from 590.1 million cubic feet a year earlier. Thanks to the higher production and increased oil and gas prices, Cimarex’s cash flow per share jumped 42.9%, to $4.00 from $2.80.
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DEVON ENERGY CORP. $59.82 (New York symbol DVN; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (405-235- 3611; www.dvn.com; Shares outstanding: 406.0 million; Market cap: $23.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) is one of the largest U.S.-based oil and natural gas explorers and producers. Its production mix is 58% gas and 42% oil.

In 2011, Devon sold all of its international and Gulf of Mexico properties, which it saw as risky and expensive to develop. The company is now focused on its North American projects, which include conventional production, shale oil in Texas and oil sands in Alberta.

Devon is now further tightening its focus by selling its natural gas gathering and processing assets for $300 million to $500 million.
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strong>AEROPOSTALE $10.08 (New York symbol ARO; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (646- 485-5410; www.aeropostale.com; Shares outstanding: 78.5 million; Market cap: $798.2 million; No dividends paid) reported sales of $454.0 million in the three months ended August 3, 2013. That was down 6.4% from $485.3 million a year earlier. Same-store sales declined 15%.

The slow U.S. economy has increased the unemployment rate among teens, which has hurt sales at most teen-focused retailers. Aeropostale lost $0.34 a share in the latest quarter, compared to nil per share a year earlier.

The company now has a new product development team in place, which should let it better react to changes in teenage fashion trends. Aeropostale will likely be able to repeat its past success at attracting customers, but its sales may remain weak in the near term.
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COMPUTER MODELLING GROUP $24.00 (Toronto symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-531-1300; www.cmgroup.com; Shares outstanding: 38.5 million; Market cap: $943.5 million; Dividend yield: 3.0%) sells consulting services and software that help oil and gas producers use advanced recovery techniques to get more out of their existing wells. It has customers in over 50 countries and offices in Calgary, Houston, London, Caracas, Bogota, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Computer Modelling’s revenue rose 10.0%, to $18.1 million from $16.5 million a year earlier. Software licence sales increased, as did consulting and professional services revenue. Earnings rose 16.3%, to $7.1 million from $6.1 million. Per-share earnings gained 18.8%, to $0.19 from $0.16, on fewer shares outstanding.

Computer Modelling holds cash of $63.1 million, or $1.66 a share, and has no debt. It spent $3.5 million, or a high 19.2% of its revenue, on research in the latest quarter.
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PASON SYSTEMS $21.70 (Toronto symbol PSI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-301-3400; www.pason.com; Shares outstanding: 82.1 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%) rents equipment for monitoring and managing oil and gas rigs. It also sells communication technology, such as its satellite system, which companies use to remotely collect data from their drilling operations. Pason serves oil and gas producers and drilling contractors throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Argentina and Australia.

In the three months ended June 30, 2013, Pason’s revenue fell 2.1%, to $82.4 million from $84.1 million a year earlier. Less drilling in the U.S. and Canada offset strong international sales. Still, cash flow per share rose 5.1%, to $0.62 from $0.59. That’s because the company cut costs at its U.S. operations, which account for 71% of its revenue.

Pason holds cash of $195.4 million, or $2.38 a share, and has no debt.
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NISSAN MOTOR (ADR) $20.55 (Nasdaq symbol NSANY; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average) (310-771-3111; www.nissan-global.com; Shares outstanding: 2.3 billion; Market cap: $45.2 billion; No dividends paid) plans to make multiple models of self-driving vehicles by 2020.

The technology will include laser scanners, cameras and advanced artificial intelligence. The system is an extension of Nissan’s current Safety Shield technology, which monitors a 360-degree area around the vehicle, warns the driver of risks and takes action if necessary. The technology can also be integrated with a standard in-car navigation system, so the vehicle knows which turns to take to reach its destination.

The company believes it will only cost $1,000 to add self-driving technology to a luxury sedan. It hopes the system will cut the number of accidents and free up the driver’s time for more productive uses.
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ADOBE SYSTEMS $52.58 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 502.3 million; Market cap: $24.2 billion; No dividends paid) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. As well, graphic designers use its software to create print publications and web pages.

In the three months ended August 30, 2013, Adobe’s revenue fell 7.9%, to $995.1 million from $1.1 billion. That missed the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion.

Excluding one-time items, Adobe’s earnings fell 43.5% in the latest quarter, to $164.4 million, or $0.32 a share, from $291.2 million, or $0.58 a share, a year earlier. That’s because the company’s costs rose sharply as it transitions to selling its software as a subscription service instead of a one-time purchase. The latest earnings missed the consensus estimate of $0.34 a share.
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FAIR ISAAC CORP. $54.42 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415-472-2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 35.2 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; Dividend yield: 0.2%) makes FICO Scores, the computer program that dominates the market for software that businesses use to evaluate customer creditworthiness. The company is also profiting by selling software that helps credit card issuers control fraud and analyze cardholders’ spending patterns.

In its fiscal 2013 third quarter, which ended June 30, 2013, Fair Isaac’s earnings per share before onetime items rose 9.6% from a year ago, to $0.80 from $0.73. Revenue gained 14.5%, to $183.8 million from $160.5 million.

Fair Isaac continues to spend around 9% of its revenue on research. That lets it keep producing innovative new products that help it stay ahead of its competitors.
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DOREL INDUSTRIES $39.39 (Toronto symbol DII.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514-731- 0000; www.dorel.com; Shares outstanding: 31.5 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.2%) has agreed to buy 70% of Caloi, Brazil’s largest bicycle company, for an undisclosed sum.

Established in 1898, Caloi is one of the world’s oldest bicycle makers. It is also Latin America’s top-selling bicycle brand and the leader in the Brazilian market.

Caloi’s plant in the Brazilian city of Manaus is the largest bicycle manufacturing facility outside Southeast Asia.

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SYMANTEC CORP. $25.36 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (1-408-517-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 698.6 million; Market cap: $17.7 billion; Dividend yield: 2.4%) sells computer security technology, including anti-virus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers. It also offers data-archiving software.

In Symantec’s fiscal 2014 first quarter, which ended June 28, 2013, its revenue rose 2.5%, to $1.75 billion from $1.68 billion a year earlier. The company is doing a good job of selling its products as ongoing subscriptions instead of one-time purchases. Subscriptions now account for 45% of its revenue, up from 44% a year ago.

Earnings per share rose 7.3%, to $0.44 from $0.41. That easily beat the consensus estimate of $0.36.
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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 specific investment tips and stock market advice. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investment advice, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away. Today’s tip: “Dividend Reinvestment Plans have attractive features, but they shouldn’t be the sole reason you invest in a stock—or limit yourself to a portfolio of DRIPs.”...