boeing

SYMANTEC CORP. $19.97 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (650-527-8000; www.symantec.com; Shares outstanding: 675.5 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) has completed the sale of its Veritas Technologies subsidiary to the Carlyle Group (Nasdaq symbol CG). This business makes products for data backup and recovery. Symantec received $6.6 billion in cash ($5.3 billion after taxes). It also retained a $400 million equity stake in Veritas. Symantec has earmarked $2.3 billion of the proceeds for share repurchases it aims to complete by March 2017. The company has also lowered its regular quarterly dividend by 50.0%, to $0.075 a share from $0.15, because of the Veritas sale. The new annual rate of $0.30 yields 1.5%. It will, however, pay a special dividend of $4.00 a share on March 22, 2016....

BOEING CO., $108.63, New York symbol BA, fell 11% this week on news that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how the company accounts for the development costs of its 747 and 787 jet airliners. Accounting rules let Boeing spread the huge upfront costs of designing and building new planes over several years, instead of recognizing these outlays when they occur. The SEC is looking into Boeing’s estimate of these costs, as well as its projected aircraft sales. If the company has to change these estimates, that could take it longer to recoup its development costs....

PLEASE NOTE: One week from today, on January 29, 2016, shortly after the stock market closes at 4:00 p.m. Toronto time, we will reveal our top U.S. stocks for 2016 to subscribers of Wall Street Stock Forecaster.

You can be among the first to hear about our top picks for 2016....

We’re still positive on the long-term outlook for stocks. But in a time of rising market volatility, plunging commodity prices and international tension, it’s more important than ever to diversify, rather than focus on a single pick of the year. Moreover, we find lots of attractive long-term buys among the stocks we cover.

With that in mind, we’ve chosen to highlight three picks from our Stock Pickers Digest recommendations....

WESTJET AIRLINES $18.52 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 123.3 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; Dividend yield: 3.0%) serves 100 destinations in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and Europe. Its fleet of 108 modern Boeing 737s are 30% more fuel efficient than older jets. In June 2013, the company launched WestJet Encore, its Canadian regional airline. This business now operates 23 Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop planes, which seat 78 passengers. The Canadian airline market remains highly competitive, especially with Air Canada expanding its Rouge budget airline to serve more leisure destinations in Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and the U.S....

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $27.93 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 268.9 million; Market cap: $7.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%) has just won a contract with the Boeing Co. (symbol BA on New York and a recommendation of Wall Street Stock Forecaster) to supply main nose and landing gear tires for Boeing’s new 777X aircraft, which is scheduled for delivery in 2019. So far, the 777X program has received orders and commitments for 306 planes. The airliner will use Goodyear’s Flight radial tire, which is lighter than earlier models and includes rigid tread belts and enhanced rubber that offer greater stability, a longer life and more resistance to cuts. The deal reinforces Goodyear’s strong position in the growing aircraft-tire market....

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $27.93 (Nasdaq symbol GT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 268.9 million; Market cap: $7.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%) has just won a contract with the Boeing Co. (symbol BA on New York and a recommendation of Wall Street Stock Forecaster) to supply main nose and landing gear tires for Boeing’s new 777X aircraft, which is scheduled for delivery in 2019. So far, the 777X program has received orders and commitments for 306 planes. The airliner will use Goodyear’s Flight radial tire, which is lighter than earlier models and includes rigid tread belts and enhanced rubber that offer greater stability, a longer life and more resistance to cuts. The deal reinforces Goodyear’s strong position in the growing aircraft-tire market....

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are set up to mirror the performance of a stock market index or sub-index. They hold a more or less fixed selection of securities that represent the holdings that go into the calculation of the index or sub-index. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. That’s different from mutual funds, which you can only buy at the end of the day at a price that reflects the fund’s value at the close of trading. Prices of ETFs are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell them, but their low management fees give them a cost advantage over most mutual funds....

PLEASE NOTE: This is our last Hotline for 2015. Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, January 8, 2016. 3M COMPANY, $146.92, New York symbol MMM, makes over 55,000 consumer and industrial goods, including Post-It notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchguard fabric protection and Thinsulate insulation. Slowing sales of TV sets, smartphones and tablet computers are hurting demand for 3M’s films, adhesives and coatings. At the same time, weak demand for industrial machinery is cutting sales of its other products, like abrasives....

PLEASE NOTE: This is our last Hotline for 2015. Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, January 8, 2016. ATLANTIC TELE-NETWORK, $76.27, symbol ATNI on Nasdaq, owns wireless and wireline (traditional telephone and Internet) operations in the U.S. Southwest, New England, New York State, Guyana, Bermuda and parts of the Caribbean islands. The company continues to increase its wireless capacity and coverage. That’s paying off as customers use more mobile data for services like music downloads, mobile gaming and e-books....