acquisition

TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $31.62 (Toronto symbol TIH; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-667- 5511; www.toromont.com; Shares outstanding: 77.9 million; Market cap: $2.4 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) distributes a broad range of industrial equipment, including machinery made by Caterpillar Inc. It also makes refrigeration systems through its CIMCO division. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Toromont’s sales rose 8.2%, to $505.6 million from $467.4 million a year earlier. Earnings per share 11.5%, to $0.58 from $0.52. Toromont saw stronger demand from customers in construction and agriculture than a year ago, which offset continued weak mining sales. It also cut costs. The company’s financial position is strong: it holds cash of $97.4 million, or $1.25 a share, and its $303.7 million of debt represents just 12.7% of its market cap. Toromont raised its quarterly dividend by 13.3% with the April 2015 payment, to $0.17 a share from $0.15. The stock now yields 2.2%. Toromont has raised its payout every year for 26 years....

WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE $74.20 (New York symbol WYN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (973- 753-6000; www.wyndhamworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 116.1 million; Market cap: $8.5 billion; Dividend yield: 2.3%) is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, with 7,700 franchised hotels worldwide. Wyndham also manages vacation resorts, rental properties, luxury clubs and time-shares. It currently has around 110,000 vacation-rental properties in 100 countries. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, Wyndham’s revenue rose 3.3%, to $1.56 billion from $1.51 billion a year earlier. The company gets most of its revenue from vacation rather than business travel, and vacation bookings rose in the latest quarter. That helped increase its occupancy rate by 1.7%....

It pays to be wary of companies that use acquisitions to expand instead of internal growth. This strategy can work well at times, but one bad takeover can wipe out gains from a dozen good ones. Stanley Black & Decker is a good example of a company that grows by acquisition without taking on excessive risk. That’s because it has a long history of successfully merging new businesses and boosting their profits. That cuts the risk of a large writedown. Even though the stock has doubled since Stanley bought Black & Decker in 2010, we feel it still has plenty of gains ahead....

The outlook for oil and other commodities remains weak, but we still feel that most investors should devote 10% to 15% of their portfolios to resource stocks. But only buy these or any stocks if you are prepared to hold them for at least the next several years. To further cut your risk, you should focus on companies with high-quality reserves, like the three we analyze below. All three are also reducing their costs, which puts them in a better position to profit when prices recover. However, not all of them are buys right now. CHEVRON CORP. $93 (New York symbol CVX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.9 billion; Market cap: $176.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.chevron.com) produced an average of 2.54 million barrels of oil a day (including natural gas) in the three months ended September 30, 2015. That’s down 1.1% from 2.57 million barrels a day a year earlier....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS INC. $54 (New York symbol BR; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 118.6 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 2.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.broadridge.com) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. The company processes 90% of all proxy votes in the U.S. and Canada. Broadridge was a subsidiary of Automatic Data Processing until April 2007, when ADP spun it off as a separate firm. Acquisitions drive profits higher...

Ag Growth International Inc. symbol AFN on Toronto is a leading maker of portable & stationary grain-handling, storage & conditioning equipment.

A: Walt Disney Co., $112.34, symbol DIS on New York (Shares outstanding: 1.7 billion; Market cap: $180.8 billion; www.thewaltdisneycompany.com), is a family-focused entertainment and media firm. It’s also the world’s largest theme park operator.
It is among the world’s best-known brand names.

The company has five main business segments:

• Media Networks (44% of revenue) includes ABC Television, ESPN, the Disney Channel, ABC Family and SOAPnet (a cable channel devoted to soap operas). Disney produces films and television programs under the ABC Studios, Buena Vista Productions and ABC Family Productions labels. It also holds interests in Lifetime Entertainment Services (a women’s cable channel) and A&E Television Networks.

• Parks and Resorts (31% of revenue) includes the Disney Cruise Line, 12 Disney Vacation Club resorts and Adventures by Disney (which plans guided international trips for families). Disney’s resort locations include Disneyland Resort in California, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Tokyo Disney Resort, Disneyland Resort Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland.

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American Hotel Income Properties REIT, $10.30, symbol HOT.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 34.8 million; Market cap: $354.8 million, www.ahipreit.com), owns 79 hotels comprising 6,891 rooms in 27 U.S. states.

Of that total, 44 of its hotels (which operate under the Oak Tree Inn brand) mainly house railway employees.

American Hotel believes this is a profitable niche market, as contracts with large railways keep occupancy rates high relative to the overall hospitality industry. The hotels are close to large rail-switching yards and hubs, and the railways guarantee to keep them about 76% occupied. The specially designed buildings feature crew shuttles and 24-hour food service.

The remaining 35 hotels operate under a variety of licensed banners, including Hilton, Holiday Inn and Marriott.

American Hotel began trading in February 2013, after it sold 10.1 million units to the public at $10.00 each.

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NEWMONT MINING CORP. $19 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 529.1 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 0.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newmont.com) is one of the world’s largest gold and copper producers, with major mines in the U.S., Peru, Suriname, Australia, Ghana and Indonesia. In August 2015, Newmont paid $821 million for the Cripple Creek & Victor mine in Colorado. This project will produce 350,000 to 400,000 ounces of gold a year once the company completes the mine’s current expansion in 2016. The Cripple Creek acquisition helped increase Newmont’s gold production by 16.1% in the three months ended September 30, 2015, to 1.34 million ounces from 1.15 million ounces a year earlier. Copper output surged 269.2% on higher ore grades at the Batu Hijau mine in Indonesia....

LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $14.05 (Toronto symbol LNF; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (416-243-7880; www.leons.ca; Shares outstanding: 71.4 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; Dividend yield: 2.8%) has steadily opened new stores, growing from 27 in 2003 to 80 today. The company more than quadrupled in size overnight with its March 2013 purchase of its main rival, The Brick, for $700 million. The Brick has 221 locations across Canada; the chains continue to operate separately. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, the company’s sales rose 1.2%, to $538.1 million from $531.7 million a year earlier. On a same-store basis, sales gained 1.1%. Earnings rose just slightly, to $27.34 million, or $0.38 a share, from $27.29 million, or $0.38. The company increased its sales with promotional prices, but that cut into its profit margins....