acquisition

Suncor Energy wrote down its oil reserves because of falling crude prices, but it will still acquire Canadian Oil Sands and improve efficiencies for the Syncrude project.

DREAM OFFICE REIT, $19.85, symbol D.UN on Toronto, owns and manages 166 properties comprising 23.0 million square feet of office and retail space in major Canadian cities. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Dream Office’s revenue fell 4.4%, to $196.2 million from $205.2 million a year earlier. The trust’s cash flow gained 3.4%, to $70.9 million from $68.6 million, while cash flow per unit fell 1.6% to $0.62 from $0.63 on more units outstanding. Dream is up more than 21% over the last week since it announced a three-year strategic plan to push up its unit price....

NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $38 (New York symbol NWL; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 267.1 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newellrubbermaid.com) makes plastic storage bins, tools, pens and many other household goods. Its main brands include Sharpie markers, Parker and Paper Mate pens, Calphalon cookware, Irwin tools and Graco car seats and strollers. Newell is up 26.7% since we named it our Stock of the Year for 2014 at $30. That’s mainly because of its successful multi-year cost-cutting plan, which included closing plants and merging distribution centres. Since it began the plan in October 2011, these moves have reduced its annual expenses by $360 million. The company is also selling less-important businesses and using the proceeds to buy smaller firms with more-profitable products, such as baby strollers and reusable water bottles....

These two former Stocks of the Year continue to lead their markets. But each has moved down lately, mainly because the high U.S. dollar is hurting the contribution of their overseas businesses. However, their underlying sales remain strong, and both are doing a good job controlling their costs. That should spur their long-term earnings growth, and give them more cash for dividends. NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $38 (New York symbol NWL; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 267.1 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newellrubbermaid.com) makes plastic storage bins, tools, pens and many other household goods. Its main brands include Sharpie markers, Parker and Paper Mate pens, Calphalon cookware, Irwin tools and Graco car seats and strollers....

Energy Fuels Inc. is struggling along with other commodity producers but its cash flow and revenue stream are steady despite market uncertainty

Penske Automotive Group Inc., $35.93, symbol PAG on New York (Shares outstanding: 90.1 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; www.penskeautomotive.com), takes its name from Billionaire investor Roger Penske, best known for his IndyCar and NASCAR auto racing teams. He owns about 35% of the company, which sells new and used cars through over 350 franchised dealerships in the U.S. and Western Europe. Those dealerships operate under a variety of banners, including BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The company also distributes commercial trucks, diesel and gas engines, power systems and related parts mainly in Australia and New Zealand. In addition, it offers financing and insurance products....

Concordia Healthcare Corp., $38.72, symbol CXR on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 51.0 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; www.concordiarx.com), is an Oakville, Ontario-based company that acquires and sells the rights to established drug treatments, mainly in the U.S. Concordia aims to control the rights to relatively small, mature products as opposed to the newer treatments that larger pharmaceutical firms target. Its main products include Donnatal, for irritable bowel syndrome and acute enterocolitis; Zonegran, for epilepsy; and Photofrin, a cancer drug. In April 2015, the company paid $1.2 billion for 12 branded drugs and five generic products from Covis Pharma (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). These include Nilandron (prostate cancer); Dibenzyline (vascular disease); Lanoxin (heart disorders); and Plaqueni (lupus and rheumatoid arthritis)....

AltaGas Ltd., $32.59, symbol ALA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 146.3 million; Market cap: $4.9 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 utilities. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, AltaGas’s cash flow per share rose 19.0%, to $0.75 from $0.63 a year earlier. That’s mainly due to the January 2015 acquisition of three gas-fired power plants in the U.S. for $33.6 million. Revenue gained just 1.8%, to $452.2 million from $444.2 million. Low selling prices for its natural gas offset the extra revenue from its new operations. In November 2015, the company completed its purchase of three gas-fired power plants in northern California for $642 million U.S. These facilities have long-term contracts to sell their power to Pacific Gas & Electric, which cuts their risk. The purchase should increase AltaGas’s annual cash flow per share by 5%....

Royal Bank of Canada lifts earnings with sale of home and auto insurance unit, purchase of boutique U.S lender

The best growth tech stocks have lots of hidden value. Here’s how to spot it.