acquisition

These two pet-related firms recently settled with activist investors, which should help push up their stock prices. However, we see only one as a buy right now.


FRESHPET INC. $129 is a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol FRPT; Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 48.4 million; Market cap: $6.2 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.freshpet.com) makes fresh, natural food for dogs and cats.


In August 2023, Freshpet and activist investor Jana Partners announced a cooperation agreement....

Brookfield Renewable Partners reported 12.1% higher revenue and 7.6% higher cash flow in its most recent quarter while yielding a high 5.1%.

EQUINOX GOLD CORP., $7.18, symbol EQX on Toronto, is a Vancouver-based gold producer with two mines in California, one in Mexico, and four in Brazil.

The company’s eighth mine will be the Greenstone mine in northern Ontario. The mine began commissioning at year-end 2023 and is on track to pour gold in the first half of 2024....

TWILIO INC., $60.10, symbol TWLO on Nasdaq, is a buy. The company offers a key service to software developers who create mobile apps. Specifically, its own software is used to connect apps to essential functions elsewhere on a device, including dealing with phone calls and messaging.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2024, revenue rose 4.0%, to $1.05 billion from $1.01 billion....

TC ENERGY INC., $52.78, Toronto symbol TRP, is a buy.

TC generates steady cash flow for investors mainly through a 93,600-kilometre pipeline network that pumps natural gas from Alberta to eastern Canada and the U.S. Its other operations include 4,900 kilometres of crude oil pipelines and nine power plants.

With the April 2024 payment, TC raised your quarterly dividend by 3.2%....

Royal Bank recently completed its acquisition of HSBC’s Canadian operations. While big and complex acquisitions like this add risk, particularly if technical disruptions prompt HSBC clients to switch to a rival bank, we’re confident the deal will spur Royal’s profits higher over the next few years.


ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $140 is a buy. The bank (Toronto symbol RY; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $196.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 3.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rbc.com) is Canada’s largest by market cap....

Thermo Fisher Scientific has been navigating the post-pandemic market with strategic finesse with a 1.6% earnings increase despite a 3.4% dip in revenue.

A: Hillman Solutions Corp., $9.49, symbol HLMN on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 196.0 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; www.hillmangroup.com), provides hardware-related products and merchandising services to home improvement and other retailers across North America.

Founded in 1964, the company offers more than 112,000 products to its 26,000 retail customers....

We’ve said for a long time that growth by acquisition is inherently riskier than internal growth, since it carries an above-average chance of unpleasant surprises. Under the rules of financial physics, a buyer of something rarely knows as much about it as the seller.

Of course, some companies do a better job than others of choosing acquisition targets....

Top pick Adobe grew revenues 11.6% and earnings 18.6% as it continues to benefit from a lucrative subscription model and a dominant market position.