canadian tire

A history of consumer loyalty, big store upgrade initiatives and smart acquisitions keep Canadian Tire among our favourite dividend stocks

Thanks to its big client base and high-quality rigs, we see Precision Drilling as a stock poised for a big rebound when oil prices recover.

As part of our three-prong approach to investing, we recommend investors spread their money out across the five main economic sectors: Manufacturing, Resources, Consumer Goods, Finance and Utilities. We also advise investing mainly in well-established companies, and downplaying stocks in the broker/media limelight. Due to recent stock market turmoil, investor interest in one of the less-volatile sectors—Consumer Goods—is rising. That includes the three Canadian retailers we analyze below. All are profiting from recent acquisitions, while their upgraded stores are attracting more shoppers. They’re also rolling out effective loyalty programs that spur repeat visits....

CAE INC., $14.81, Toronto symbol CAE, earned $50.6 million in its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended June 30, 2015, up 15.5% from $43.8 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose at a slower pace of 11.8%, to $0.19 from $0.17, on more shares outstanding. That beat the consensus estimate of $0.18. Revenue gained 5.9%, to $557.0 million from $526.2 million, but that fell short of the consensus forecast of $571.1 million. About 90% of the company’s revenue comes from overseas, so it’s benefiting from the lower Canadian dollar. CAE gets 60% of its sales by selling flight simulators and pilot-training services to airlines, and this business’s revenue rose 8.8%. The company sold eight simulators during the period and expects its full-year total to be near the 41 it sold in fiscal 2015....

Thanks to the essential service it provides for pipelines, we rate this Canadian growth stock highly even with low oil prices.

The 2014 purchase of Shoppers Drug has increased the value of Loblaw’s stock and confirms it as one of our top Canadian stocks.

CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $134 (www.canadiantire.ca) has opened a new store in Edmonton that’s three times the size of its typical outlet. The company plans to use this location to test new features, such as a car simulator that lets customers test drive tires in different weather conditions. Other innovations include interactive display screens, and a drive-through area that makes it easier for customers to pick up online orders. Best Buy. CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $73 (www.cn.ca) faces several challenges, including falling crude-by-rail volumes and higher safety-related costs. However, CN continues to improve its efficiency with new locomotives and tracks. That should help it reach its goal of increasing its dividend payout ratio to 35% of its earnings before one-time items, up from 27% in 2014. Buy. TORSTAR CORP. $6.04 (www.torstar.com) owns 16.1% of ecommerce website Shop.ca, which provides an online platform for over 500 merchants. Shop.ca doesn’t carry inventory or fulfill orders. Instead, it earns commissions on sales of merchandise through its site. Shop.ca will likely sell shares to the public in the next few months, which would help Torstar unlock the value of this investment. Buy.

RIOCAN REIT $30.05 (Toronto symbol REI.UN; Units outstanding: 315.8 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 4.7%; www.riocan.com) continues to hit new all-time highs, even with the closure of the Future Shop chain.

Electronics retailer Best Buy (New York symbol BBY) recently closed 66 of its 131 Future Shop outlets in Canada and will convert the remaining 65 to Best Buy stores.

There are only 10 Future Shops in RioCan’s malls, so these closures and conversions should have little impact on its results. Combined, 32 Best Buy and Future Shop stores rent space from RioCan, accounting for just 1.5% of its 2014 rental revenue.

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CANADIAN TIRE CORP., $133.55, Toronto symbol CTC.A, recently sold 20% of its financial services division to Bank of Nova Scotia (Toronto symbol BNS) for $500 million. That’s the main reason why the company’s earnings fell 3.0% in the quarter ended April 4, 2015, to $68.5 million from $70.6 million a year earlier. Per-share profits were unchanged at $0.88 on fewer shares outstanding, but that beat the consensus estimate of $0.87. Overall sales fell 2.3%, to $2.5 billion from $2.6 billion, mainly because lower gasoline prices hurt revenue at Canadian Tire’s gas stations. But if you exclude fuel-station revenue, the company’s overall sales gained 2.2%....

BOMBARDIER INC., Toronto symbols BBD.A $2.65 and BBD.B $2.63, plans to sell shares in its transportation division to the public. This business makes passenger railcars and accounts for 45% of Bombardier’s total revenue. The company expects to complete the sale in the fourth quarter of 2015. The new shares will mainly trade on Germany’s stock exchange because that’s where this business is based. Bombardier will hang on to a majority stake. Meanwhile, the company earned $170 million, or $0.09 a share, in the first quarter of 2015 (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). These figures exclude unusual items, such as costs related to its recent decision to suspend development of the Learjet 85 business jet. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.05 a share. They are also up 12.6% from $151 million, or $0.08 a share, a year earlier. Revenue gained 1.0%, to $4.40 billion from $4.35 billion....