Broadridge Financial Solutions

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $26.81 (New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 121.9 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing....

SYMANTEC CORP., $24.35, Nasdaq symbol SYMC, sells computer-security technology, including anti-virus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers. In its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter, which ended March 29, 2013, Symantec’s revenue rose 4.0%, to $1.75 billion from $1.68 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus revenue estimate of $1.73 billion. The company is doing a good job of selling its products as ongoing subscriptions instead of one-time purchases. Subscriptions now account for 44% of Symantec’s sales to consumers and 14% of its sales to businesses. Earnings rose 11.0%, to $314 million from $283 million. Symantec spent $125 million on share repurchases in the latest quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 15.8%, to $0.44 from $0.38. These figures exclude costs related to the company’s plan to lay off 30% to 40% of its managers and streamline its product lines. On that basis, the latest earnings exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.38 a share. Symantec continues to spend around 15% of its revenue on research....

Please note: The next Stock Pickers Digest newsletter issue will be sent out on Friday, May 24, 2013. WESTJET AIRLINES LTD., $21.85, symbol WJA on Toronto, fell almost 13% this week, even though it reported record earnings in the latest quarter. WestJet reports that its earnings jumped 33.3% in the three months ended March 31, 2013, to $91.1 million from $68.3 million a year earlier. That marks the company’s 32nd consecutive quarter of profitability. Earnings per share rose 38.8%, to $0.68 from $0.49, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 8.6%, to $967.2 million from $891.0 million a year earlier....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $26.81 (New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 121.9 million; Market cap: $3.3 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. The company processes 85% of all proxy votes in the U.S.

In its fiscal 2013 third quarter, which ended March 31, 2013, Broadridge’s earnings per share, excluding one-time items, climbed 21.9%, to $0.39 from $0.32.

Revenue rose 5.4%, to $576.7 million from $547.0 million. Broadridge continues to do a good job of attracting new clients. It also held on to 99% of its existing customers.
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YAMANA GOLD INC., $11.81, symbol YRI on Toronto, owns seven operating gold mines in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Argentina. It also holds a 12.5% stake in the Alumbrera copper/gold project in Argentina and has three other properties in advanced stages of development. The stock fell 11% this week in response to concerns that Cyprus may sell some of its gold reserves as it deals with its financial crisis. Investors, who typically buy gold as a hedge against inflation, are also worried that the U.S. Federal Reserve may scale back its quantitative easing policy, which would slow inflation. As a result, gold prices fell from around $1,500 U.S. an ounce to today’s price of $1,401. We feel Yamama’s high-quality mines give it an edge over other junior gold companies. It also plans to increase its production by at least 20% in 2013. Moreover, Yamana’s strong balance sheet is a plus: its debt of $765.9 million (as of December 31, 2012) is a low 8.6% of its $8.9-billion market cap. The company also held cash of $349.6 million, or $0.46 a share....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $22.97 (New York symbol BR: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 122.2 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Dividend yield: 3.1%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications; securities processing; and transaction clearing....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $22.97 (New York symbol BR: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 122.2 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Dividend yield: 3.1%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications; securities processing; and transaction clearing. The company processes 85% of all proxy votes in the U.S.

Before one-time items, Broadridge’s earnings fell 2.2% in its fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2012, to $22.3 million from $22.8 million a year earlier. Earnings per share were unchanged at $0.18 on fewer shares outstanding.

Sales rose 4.1%, to $495.8 million from $476.4 million. Broadridge continues to do a good job of attracting new clients and holding on to existing ones.

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AT&T INC., $33.54, New York symbol T, plans to spend $14 billion over the next three years on upgrades to its wireless and wireline networks. That’s equal to 7% of its $190.5-billion market cap. These upgrades will expand the company’s high-speed fibre optic service to 75% of its home and business customers by the end of 2015. Replacing copper wire with fibre optic cable will also make AT&T’s high-speed Internet service faster and more reliable, and help it sign up more customers for its U-verse digital TV service. In addition, the company now says it will expand its 4G long-term evolution (LTE) wireless service to cover 300 million people in the U.S. by the end of 2014. That’s up from its current plan to reach 250 million by that time. LTE networks are up to five times faster than those in use today....

WESTJET AIRLINES LTD., $18.17, symbol WJA on Toronto, reports that its revenue rose 11.8% in the three months ended September 30, 2012, to $866.5 million from $775.3 million a year earlier. Demand for the company’s flights remains high, and it has entered into new partnerships with other airlines; these were the main reasons for the increase. WestJet’s load factor rose to a record 84.6%. Load factor is the percentage of available seats that are occupied by paying passengers. More important, the rise came despite the fact that the company increased its capacity by 2% to meet higher demand....

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $22.88 New York symbol BR: TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 124.9 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Dividend yield: 3.2%) reports that its earnings rose 12.6% in its 2012 fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2012, to $198.0 million from $175.8 million in 2011. Earnings per share climbed 13.1%, to $1.55 from $1.37, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 6.3%, to $2.3 billion from $2.2 billion. The company continues to do a good job of attracting new clients and holding on to existing ones. Acquisitions also contributed to the gains. Moreover, Broadridge has finished moving its data centre to IBM under an outsourcing contract that expires in June 2022. This deal should save the company roughly $25 million a year....