acquisition strategy
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific stock picks 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....
C.R. BARD INC. (New York symbol BCR; www.crbard.com) makes vascular products, such as stents and catheters (29% of its 2012 sales); oncology products that detect and treat various types of cancer (27%); urology products, such as drainage and incontinence devices (26%); and surgical tools and other products (18%). The company mainly makes single-use, disposable products, so customers must continually buy new ones. This continued demand for supplies helped Bard’s sales rise 20.6%, from $2.5 billion in 2008 to $3.0 billion in 2012. Earnings improved by 24.1%, from $455.4 million in 2008 to $565.3 million in 2012. The company is an aggressive buyer of its own stock. This cuts its total shares outstanding, so per-share earnings jumped 48.0%, from $4.44 to $6.57....
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific stock tips 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....
THOMSON REUTERS CORP. (Toronto symbol TRI; www.thomsonreuters.com) gets 55% of its revenue by selling news and information to professionals in the banking industry. The remaining 45% comes from providing specialized information products to clients in the legal, accounting and scientific research fields....
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on stocks 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....
ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP. (Toronto symbol AQN; www.algonquinpower.com) has nearly tripled in size over the last year through a series of acquisitions....
Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on specific 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....
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....
AltaGas Ltd., $34.99, symbol ALA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 118.5 million; Market cap: $4.2 billion; www.altagas.ca), processes, transmits, stores and markets natural gas for producers; generates power from gas-fired, coal-fired, wind, biomass and hydroelectric plants; and operates natural gas distribution utilities. Excluding one-time items, AltaGas earned $35.5 million, or $0.30 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2013. That’s up sharply from $10.4 million, or $0.12 a share, a year earlier. Cash flow per share gained 57.8%, to $0.71 from $0.45. Revenue increased 68.3%, to $458.6 million from $272.2 million. The improved results mostly came from Semco Holding Corporation, which operates natural gas utilities in Alaska and Michigan. In August 2012, AltaGas bought Semco for $1.14 billion, which was its biggest acquisition to date....
Stella-Jones Inc., $99.34, symbol SJ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 17.2 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; www.stella-jones.com), makes pressure-treated wood products, including railway ties (44% of sales), utility poles (35%), treated lumber for residential uses (15%) and treated lumber products for the industrial market, such as marine and foundation pilings and highway guardrails (6%). The company gets most of its utility poles from timberlands it leases in Quebec, B.C. and Alberta. It also buys wood for railway ties and other products from sawmills in Canada and the U.S. Stella-Jones continues to expand in the U.S., which now provides three-quarters of its sales. In April 2010, it purchased Tangent Rail Corp. for $170 million U.S. Tangent makes railway ties at plants in Alabama, Indiana, Louisiana and Pennsylvania....