CAE Inc.

CAE INC. $11 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 259.7 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) received orders for 35 flight simulators in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. That’s down slightly from 37 in 2012.

However, CAE continues to win contracts for its pilot-training operations: it now has over 100 flight schools in 30 countries. For example, it recently agreed to build a pilot-training facility for the Kuwait Air Force. Other recent contracts include deals to train pilots for airlines in South America, Turkey and Ireland.

The company probably earned $0.69 a share in fiscal 2013, and the stock trades at 15.9 times that figure. CAE’s fiscal 2014 earnings could rise to $0.79 a share, and the stock trades at a more reasonable 13.9 times that forecast. The $0.20 dividend yields 1.8%.

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TELUS CORP., $37.39, Toronto symbol T, has agreed to buy rival wireless carrier Mobilicity. This privately held company began operating in 2010 and has 250,000 subscribers, mainly in large cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. To put that in context, Telus has 7.7 million wireless customers across Canada. Like other new entrants into Canada’s wireless market, Mobilicity has had a hard time competing with large, established carriers like Telus. As a result, it is close to bankruptcy....

Bombardier continues to win orders for its new CSeries passenger jets, which are 20% more fuel efficient than current models. CAE should also benefit from strong CSeries sales, because it makes simulators that train pilots to fly the new planes. We see both stocks as buys, but CAE is the better choice for conservative investors.

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $4.25 and BBD.B $4.23; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.8 billion; Market cap: $7.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; Dividend yield: 2.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bombardier.com) had commitments in place for 382 CSeries planes, including 148 firm orders, at the end of 2012....

TRANSCANADA CORP., $47.92, Toronto symbol TRP, continues to move ahead with its plan to convert its main natural gas pipeline, which pumps gas from Alberta to markets in central and eastern Canada, to handle crude oil. That’s because rising production of shale gas in the northeastern U.S. has lowered this pipeline’s volumes and hurt its profitability. The company is now signing up oil producers. If demand is strong, it will begin converting the pipeline. TransCanada did not say how much this would cost, but it should complete the project by late 2017. Converting this pipeline to oil would also improve TransCanada’s long-term prospects, particularly if the U.S. government rejects its proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which would pump crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast....

TRANSCONTINENTAL INC., $12.40, Toronto symbol TCL.A, is the largest commercial printer in Canada and the third-largest in North America. It also publishes newspapers and magazines. The company plans to pay a special dividend of $1.00 a share on April 26, 2013, to shareholders of record on April 5. That’s in addition to its regular quarterly payout of $0.145 a share, for a 4.7% annualized yield. Meanwhile, Transcontinental earned $28.5 million in its fiscal 2013 first quarter, which ended January 31, 2013. That’s up 5.2% from $27.1 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 12.1%, to $0.37 from $0.33, on fewer shares outstanding....

CAE INC. $11 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 259.2 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) recently sold seven flight simulators and related equipment....

TECK RESOURCES LTD., $33.11, Toronto symbol TCK.B, reported better-than-expected earnings for 2012. However, concerns over lower prices for coal, copper and other commodities caused the stock to fall 10% this week. In 2012, Teck’s earnings fell 38.5%, to $1.5 billion, or $2.60 a share. These figures exclude unusual items, such as gains on asset sales. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $2.48 a share. In 2011, Teck earned a record $2.5 billion, or $4.18 a share. Revenue fell 10.2%, to $10.3 billion from $11.5 billion. The company met its production targets for all of its key commodities. However, the slow global economy hurt prices for its coal (down 24.9%), lead (down 13.8%), molybdenum (down 13.3%), silver (down 11.4%), zinc (down 11.1%), and copper (down 9.8%)....

CAE INC. $11 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 259.2 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) recently sold seven flight simulators and related equipment....

PLEASE NOTE: This is our last Hotline for 2012. Our next Hotline will go out on Friday, January 4, 2013. RESEARCH IN MOTION LTD., $10.86, Toronto symbol RIM, reported a lower-than-expected loss in its latest quarter. Its revenue matched the consensus estimate. However, due to its falling share of the smartphone market, RIM has had to cut the fees it charges wireless carriers to use its proprietary messaging network. RIM earns higher profits from this service than selling hardware, so lower fees will hurt its profitability. That’s why the stock fell 22% today....

CAE INC. $10 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 258.7 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.4; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) is the world’s leading maker of flight simulators for commercial airlines, with 70% of the market. It also makes simulators for military clients. The company began training pilots for its customers in 2001; it now has over 100 flight schools in 30 countries.

CAE gets 50% of its revenue from military clients. That cuts its exposure to cyclical commercial airlines, which supply 45% of its revenue.

New markets have big potential

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