alimentation couche-tard
Toronto symbol ATD.B, is the largest convenience store operator in Canada, with over 2,000 stores. It also has more than 3,000 U.S. stores in 28 states.
Canada’s supermarkets are doing a good job of competing with U.S. retail giants like Wal-Mart, which are aggressively expanding in the grocery market. In addition to improving their efficiency, the Canadian firms are buying other chains, like drugstores and specialty bakeries, that nicely complement their main businesses. LOBLAW COMPANIES LTD. $59 (Toronto symbol L; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 412.8 million; Market cap: $24.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.loblaw.ca) is Canada’s largest food retailer, with about 1,050 stores. The company is benefiting from sales of other products beyond food. For example, in 2006 it launched its popular Joe Fresh line of clothing, shoes and accessories....
Every Monday we feature “A Stock to Sell” as our daily post. With every stock or investment we recommend as a sell, we give you a full explanation of why we advise against investing in it at this time.
Cardiff Energy (symbol CRS on Toronto; www.cardiffenergy.com), is a junior oil and gas exploration firm. It first sold shares to the public and began trading in April 2012.
Cardiff holds interests in 15 producing oil wells, one producing gas well and three shut-in oil wells in the Lincoln County area of central Oklahoma. It also has holdings in other parts of the state, including seven producing oil and gas wells in the Garvin County area and interests in the Buzzard Sand oil property in Osage County.
...
Cardiff Energy (symbol CRS on Toronto; www.cardiffenergy.com), is a junior oil and gas exploration firm. It first sold shares to the public and began trading in April 2012.
Cardiff holds interests in 15 producing oil wells, one producing gas well and three shut-in oil wells in the Lincoln County area of central Oklahoma. It also has holdings in other parts of the state, including seven producing oil and gas wells in the Garvin County area and interests in the Buzzard Sand oil property in Osage County.
...
ALIMENTATION COUCHETARD $44.55 (Toronto symbol ATD.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couchetard. com; Shares outstanding: 565.8 million; Market cap: $25.4 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) is buying The Pantry (symbol PTRY on Nasdaq), which operates more than 1,500 convenience stores in 13 southern U.S. states.
Couche-Tard will pay $1.7 billion—$ 860 million in cash and the assumption of $840 million of debt. This is its biggest purchase since it paid $2.7 billion U.S. for Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail gas station chain in June 2012.
Founded in 1967, The Pantry mainly grew through acquisitions beginning in the late 1980s. Like Couche-Tard, it focuses on selling higher-margin fresh food. It sells its own private-label bottled water and is the fifth-largest location for Subway restaurants.
...
Couche-Tard will pay $1.7 billion—$ 860 million in cash and the assumption of $840 million of debt. This is its biggest purchase since it paid $2.7 billion U.S. for Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail gas station chain in June 2012.
Founded in 1967, The Pantry mainly grew through acquisitions beginning in the late 1980s. Like Couche-Tard, it focuses on selling higher-margin fresh food. It sells its own private-label bottled water and is the fifth-largest location for Subway restaurants.
...
Every Wednesday, we publish our “Investor Toolkit” series on TSI Network. Whether you’re a new or experienced investor, these weekly updates are designed to give you specific investment advice. Each Investor Toolkit update gives you a fundamental piece of investing strategy, and shows you how you can put it into practice right away.
Today’s tip: “To get the maximum reward from rising stocks, it’s essential to pick stocks with clear growth prospects and not simply momentum stocks with uncertain futures.”
By definition, growth stocks are companies that have above-average growth prospects. They are firms whose earnings growth has been above the market average, and is likely to remain above average. It is often the case that they pay small dividends or none at all. Instead, they re-invest their cash flow in the business, to promote their growth.
...
Today’s tip: “To get the maximum reward from rising stocks, it’s essential to pick stocks with clear growth prospects and not simply momentum stocks with uncertain futures.”
By definition, growth stocks are companies that have above-average growth prospects. They are firms whose earnings growth has been above the market average, and is likely to remain above average. It is often the case that they pay small dividends or none at all. Instead, they re-invest their cash flow in the business, to promote their growth.
...
PLEASE NOTE: This is our last Hotline for 2014. Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, January 9, 2015. SHERRITT INTERNATIONAL, $3.23, symbol S on Toronto, has jumped over 42% this week after Cuba and the U.S. announced that they will re-establish diplomatic ties. The company has operated in Cuba for over 20 years and gets about 74% of its revenue from the country. Its Cuban operations include 50% of the Moa nickel and cobalt joint venture, as well as power plants and oil and gas projects. Sherritt is Cuba’s largest foreign investor....
YAMANA GOLD $4.38 (Toronto symbol YRI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.- yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 880.8 million; Market cap: $3.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%) owns eight operating gold mines in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It also holds a 12.5% stake in the Alumbrera copper/gold mine in Argentina and has a number of other properties in advanced stages of development. Yamana now plans to form a subsidiary to hold some of its Brazilian assets. This will let the company focus on its main projects, including the Canadian Malartic gold mine in Quebec, in which it owns a 50% stake. The new subsidiary, to be named Brio Gold Inc., will hold Yamana’s Fazenda Brasileiro and Pilar gold mines, as well as its C1 Santa Luz development project. Yamana will retain its Chapada and Jacobina mines in Brazil....
TIM HORTONS INC., $96.97, symbol THI on Toronto, shareholders will vote on the friendly takeover offer from BURGER KING WORLDWIDE, $34.81, symbol BKW on New York, on Tuesday, December 9, 2014. If the deal is approved, Tim Hortons investors will have a number of options: They can sell their shares on the Toronto exchange and receive the current trading price of $96.97 (less brokerage commissions). If they don’t do that, they can opt for one of the three choices below by notifying their brokers no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 9, 2014....
Every Tuesday we bring you “Best Canadian Stocks.” You get our specific recommendation on the stocks we profile, with a full explanation of how we arrived at our opinion. You’ll read about stocks making moves you should know about, from coverage in one of our three newsletters featuring Canadian stocks—The Successful Investor, Stock Pickers Digest and Canadian Wealth Advisor.
SHERRITT INTERNATIONAL (Toronto symbol S; www.sherritt.com) sold off all of its coal interests for $793 million in cash in April 2014.
The company is now focused on nickel production, with operations in Cuba and Canada. As well, it has a 40% interest in the Ambatovy nickel mine on the island nation of Madagascar, off Africa’s east coast. Sherritt also produces oil and gas in Cuba, Spain and Pakistan and manages 506 megawatts of power generation capacity in Cuba.
...
SHERRITT INTERNATIONAL (Toronto symbol S; www.sherritt.com) sold off all of its coal interests for $793 million in cash in April 2014.
The company is now focused on nickel production, with operations in Cuba and Canada. As well, it has a 40% interest in the Ambatovy nickel mine on the island nation of Madagascar, off Africa’s east coast. Sherritt also produces oil and gas in Cuba, Spain and Pakistan and manages 506 megawatts of power generation capacity in Cuba.
...
ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD $42.54 (Toronto symbol ATD.B; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-800-361-2612; www.couche-tard.com; Shares outstanding: 565.8 million; Market cap: $24.4 billion; Dividend yield: 0.4%) has successfully rolled out its Simply Great Coffee program in Europe.
The company says the program’s launch at 20% of its Statoil Fuel & Retail locations last spring boosted those stores’ coffee sales by more than 10%.
Couche-Tard now plans to test the concept in more Canadian markets. It began selling its own brand of coffee in Sherbrooke, Quebec, this summer and will add about 20 locations in two different Canadian test markets in the coming months.
...
The company says the program’s launch at 20% of its Statoil Fuel & Retail locations last spring boosted those stores’ coffee sales by more than 10%.
Couche-Tard now plans to test the concept in more Canadian markets. It began selling its own brand of coffee in Sherbrooke, Quebec, this summer and will add about 20 locations in two different Canadian test markets in the coming months.
...
REITMANS (CANADA) LTD., $5.94, symbol RET.A on Toronto, is shutting down its underperforming Smart Set chain. Over the next 18 months, it will close 31 locations and convert the other 76 to other banners, including Reitmans or Penningtons (plus-sizes). The closures will result in a $2.2-million charge in the current quarter. To put that in perspective, Reitmans earned $9.6 million, or $0.15 a share, in the three months ended August 2, 2014. That was down 5.9% from $10.2 million, or $0.16, a year earlier. Reitmans had tried rebranding Smart Set, which was selling lower-priced, fashionable clothing to young women, but its efforts were unsuccessful. Its plan involved shifting the stores toward women in their late 20s and early 30s, as well as raising prices....