acquisition

On November 1, 2015, the old Hewlett-Packard Co. split into two firms—Hewlett-Packard Enterprise and HP Inc. For every share they held in the old HP, shareholders received one share in each of the new companies.


The old HP expected the computer services business (HP Enterprise) would outperform its PC and printer operations (HP)....

USG CORP. $43 (New York symbol USG; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 139.7 million; Market cap: $6.0 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; www.usg.com) makes gypsum wallboard (drywall), wallboard finishing materials, tile backers and underlayment, and ceiling tiles.


Germany’s Knauf Group holds a 10.5% stake in USG and is its second-largest shareholder....

A: SiteOne Landscape Supply, $87.86, symbol SITE on New York (Shares outstanding: 40.2 million; Market cap: $3.4 billion; www.siteone.com), is the biggest national wholesale distributor of landscaping supplies in the U.S....

BCE INC. $55 (Toronto symbol BCE; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 898.0 million; Market cap: $49.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.2; Dividend yield: 5.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider, with 3.2 million customers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces....

TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $30 (Toronto symbol TCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 87.8 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.tctranscontinental.com) has completed its $1.7 billion acquisition of Chicago-based Coveris Americas....

Finning and Linamar have businesses—and customers—in many countries outside of Canada, which helps reduce their exposure to any brewing trade war between this country and the U.S. As well, Toromont both operates and sells mainly within Canada, which helps shield it from any potential new U.S....

Thanks to online shipping and mail delivery, Stamps.com has seen revenue soar by 300% in five years. As it continues to report improved results, the shares have surged as well.

IBM $139.57 (New York symbol IBM; Shares outstanding: 918.0 million; Market cap: $128.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.5%; www.ibm.com) continues to shift its focus to faster-growing fields. They include analytics software to process increasingly large amounts of data.


As part of that plan, it has just bought Australian-based Oniqua....

BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA $74.36 (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares o/s: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $89.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.4%) is the third largest bank in Canada.


It will now buy MD Financial Management, which sells wealth management services to Canadian medical doctors, their families and employees....

Algonquin Power continues to expand through big acquisitions, which adds risk. Still, the company cuts its risk by buying utilities that add immediately to its cash flow. Algonquin’s renewable energy projects also sell their power under long-term government-guaranteed contracts.


ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES $12.62 (Toronto symbol AQN; Shares outstanding: 470.6 million; Market cap: $5.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 5.2%; www.algonquinpower.com) operates through two main businesses: The Generation Group produces and sells electricity from 35 clean energy facilities across North America; and the Distribution Group provides regulated electricity, natural gas, water distribution and wastewater collection services.


In January 2017, Algonquin completed its biggest acquisition to date: the $3.4 billion purchase of Missouri-based Empire District Electric.


In the quarter ended March 31, 2018, overall revenue rose 17.3%, to $494.8 million from $421.7 million a year earlier....