boeing

FIRSTSERVICE CORP., $35.77, symbol FSV on Toronto, serves the following areas of the real-estate market: commercial real estate; residential property management; and property improvement. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, revenue jumped 18.9%, to $478.4 million from $402.4 million a year earlier (all figures except share prices in U.S. dollars). The company saw higher revenue across all of its divisions: the commercial real-estate division’s revenue jumped 26.9%; residential-property-management revenue rose 14.6%; and property-services revenue rose 12.9%....

Bombardier was a favourite of momentum traders in the 1990s, and the stock peaked at over $26 in 2000. However, 9/11 and two recessions cut the company’s share price to under $3 in 2009. In response, Bombardier aggressively cut its costs. It also expanded its railcar business. That lowered its exposure to the highly cyclical aircraft industry. These moves have significantly improved Bombardier’s earnings. That’s also helping the company develop new, more fuel-efficient airplanes and high-speed trains. These new products will help Bombardier increase its sales and market share, particularly in fast-growing countries like China and Brazil. BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $6.90 and...

Northstar Aerospace Inc., $2.45, symbol NAS on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 29.9 million; Market cap: $73.2 million; www.nsaero.com), makes a wide variety of parts for airplanes and helicopters, including gears, gearboxes, rotor shafts and transmissions. The company is based in Chicago, but it has plants in Ontario, Illinois, Indiana and Arizona. Sales to military-related customers, such as the U.S. Department of Defense and Boeing, accounted for 74% of Northstar’s 2010 sales. The remaining 26% came from commercial-aircraft customers, such as General Electric Aviation, Honeywell and Rolls-Royce. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, Northstar’s sales rose 22.3%, to $65.7 million from $53.7 million a year earlier (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Defense sales rose 17.5%, and commercial sales rose 35.9%....

SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $120.45 (New York Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., 3M, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s Corp., Coca Cola, Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Boeing Co. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of its assets. SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy....

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may have a place in your portfolio. That’s because, unlike many other financial innovations, they don’t load you up with heavy management fees, or tie you down with high redemption charges if you decide to get out of them. Instead, they give you a low-cost, flexible, convenient alternative to mutual funds. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You’ll have to pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs. However, ETFs’ low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most conventional mutual funds. As well, shares are only added or removed when the underlying index changes. As a result of this low turnover, you won’t incur the regular capital-gains bills generated by the yearly distributions most conventional mutual funds pay out to unitholders....

PLEASE NOTE: In next week’s Wall Street Stock Forecaster Hotline, we’ll reveal our #1 U.S. pick for 2011. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP., $155.50, New York symbol IBM, reported better-than-expected earnings this week, thanks to rising demand for its mainframe computers, software and computer services. The company earned $14.8 billion in 2010. That’s up 10.5% from $13.4 billion in 2009. IBM spent $15.4 billion on share buybacks in 2010. Because of fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 15.1%, to $11.52 from $10.01. That beat the consensus earnings estimate of $11.44 a share....

WESTJET AIRLINES $14.10 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 139.8 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Dividend yield 1.4%) has gained 4.8% since we recommended it as our #1 stock pick for 2010 in January 2010. We liked the stock then, and that was before this year’s ticketing and baggage-transfer alliances with other airlines, including Cathay Pacific, British Airways and American Airlines. This lets it reach new markets, while limiting risk. WestJet also invested heavily in a state-of-the-art computer reservation system over the last year. We think the WestJet is just getting started, and its biggest gains still lie ahead. The company’s fleet of 90 fuel-efficient Boeing Next-Generation 737s serve 71 destinations in North America and the Caribbean. WestJet has 45 more of these planes on order through 2017....

WESTJET AIRLINES $13 (Toronto symbol WJA; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 139.8 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield 1.5%) serves 71 destinations in North America and the Caribbean. The company operates a fleet of 90 Boeing Next-Generation 737s. These planes feature more legroom, leather seats and television screens built into the back of each seat. But most important, the planes are roughly 30% more fuel-efficient than older planes. And WestJet is scheduled to receive 45 additional 737s through 2017. In the three months ended September 30, 2010, WestJet’s revenue rose 14%, to $684.6 million from $600.3 million a year earlier. Earnings jumped 71.8%, to $54 million from $31.4 million. Earnings per share rose 54.2%, to $0.37 from $0.24, on more shares outstanding. This was WestJet’s 22nd consecutive quarter of profitability. The recovering economy pushed up demand for its flights; that was the main reason for the higher revenue and earnings. WestJet’s $906.6 million of debt is 50.4% of its $1.8-billion market cap. However, it holds cash of $1.2 billion, or $8.65 a share....

THE BOEING CO., $63.09, New York symbol BA, fell 10% this week after an electrical fire forced one of its new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet planes to make an emergency landing. In response, the company has suspended test flights until it can determine the cause of the problem. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating this incident. The new plane is already over two years behind schedule due to parts shortages and structural problems where the wings connect to the plane’s body. Recent problems with the parts in the tail section have also delayed production. This latest setback prompted one customer to cancel its order for eight 787s. However, another airline decided to buy these planes....