dividends paid

YAMANA GOLD $11.68 (Toronto symbol YRI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 741.9 million; Market cap: $8.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) has raised its quarterly dividend by 50%, to $0.045 a share from $0.03 a share. This is the second time this year that the company has raised its payout: it increased its quarterly dividend by 50%, to $0.03 from $0.02, with the January 2011 payment. The new rate gives the shares a 1.5% yield. That’s a high dividend rate for a gold stock. By contrast, Barrick Gold yields 1.1%, Newmont Mining yields 1.5% and Goldcorp yields 0.9%. Yamana is also increasing its exploration budget. It will spend $105 million on exploration in 2011, up 23.5% from $85 million in 2010. Yamana expects to keep raising this spending in the following years. It could spend as much as $125 million on exploration in 2012....

FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $35.15 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 29.1 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; No dividends paid) reported that its revenue rose 18.9% in the three months ended March 31, 2011, to $478.4 million from $402.4 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap 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%. Despite the higher revenue, earnings per share fell 6.7%, to $0.14 from $0.15, because of costs to integrate acquisitions. As well, the company’s commercial real-estate division will need to keep hiring more workers to prepare for future growth....

PRECISION DRILLING CORP. $13 (Toronto symbol PD; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resource sector; Shares outstanding: 275.7 million; Market cap: $3.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; No dividends paid since February 2009; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.precisiondrilling.com) provides contract-drilling services to land-based oil and gas producers in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Precision owns 359 drilling rigs. The company earned $0.23 a share in the three months ended March 31, 2011. If you exclude a one-time charge related to the early repayment of certain notes, Precision would have earned $0.30 a share. That’s up 50.0% from $0.20 a share a year earlier. Revenue rose 40.8%, to $525.4 million from $373.1 million. The company continues to see strong demand for rigs that use horizontal drilling techniques to extract oil from hard-to-reach deposits....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $34 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 504.5 million; Market cap: $17.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.2; No dividends paid since June 2005; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.adobe.com) makes software that lets computer users create documents in the popular PDF format. It also makes software that lets graphic designers create print publications and web pages. In its 2011 first quarter, which ended March 4, 2011, Adobe earned $298.1 million. That’s up 40.8% from $211.7 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 45.0% to $0.58 from $0.40, on fewer shares outstanding. These figures exclude several unusual items, such as gains on investment sales and income-tax adjustments. Sales rose 19.7%, to a record $1.0 billion from $858.7 million. Sales rose across all of Adobe’s divisions except print and publishing, where sales fell 1.8%. The uncertain business environment in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami will probably cut Adobe’s second-quarter revenue by about $50 million. Japan is Adobe’s second-biggest source of revenue by country....

If you’ve been following our TSINetwork.ca Daily Updates, or subscribe to one or more of our newsletters and investment services, you’re likely familiar with our three-part investment advice. A key part of that advice is to invest mainly in well-established dividend-paying stocks. (The other two parts are to downplay stocks in the broker/media limelight and spread your money across the five main economic sectors: Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; and Utilities.) With today’s low interest rates, investors are paying more attention to dividend yields (a company’s total annual dividends paid per share divided by the current stock price). Dividend paying stocks are responding by doing their best to maintain, or even increase, their payouts....

EBAY INC. $34 (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $44.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.7; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ebay.com) is paying an undisclosed sum for privately held where.com, which gives mobile-phone users listings for nearby restaurants and shops. That allows advertisers to offer special deals to people who are near their businesses. eBay plans to integrate its PayPal e-commerce system with where.com’s mobile-phone software. That will let customers use their phones to electronically pay for goods and services offered by where.com’s clients. eBay aims to complete this purchase by the end of June 2011. eBay is a buy.

Microsoft and Adobe should see a continued rise in demand for their software as the improving economy prompts businesses to upgrade their computers. Both firms also spend heavily on research, which helps them dominate their markets. However, we prefer Microsoft due to its steadier cash flows and dividend. MICROSOFT CORP. $26 (Nasdaq symbol MSFT; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 8.4 billion; Market cap: $218.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 2.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.microsoft.com) is the world’s largest software company. It gets 75% of its revenue from its Windows operating system and its Office suite of business programs. In its 2011 second quarter, which ended December 31, 2010, Microsoft’s earnings fell 0.4%, to $6.6 billion from $6.7 billion a year earlier. However, earnings per share rose 4.1%, to $0.77 from $0.74, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 4.9%, to $20.0 billion from $19.0 billion....

REITMANS (CANADA) LTD. $17.14 (Toronto symbol RET.A; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (514- 384-1140; www.reitmans.com; Shares outstanding: 66.3 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Dividend yield: 4.7%) owns 968 women’s clothing stores across Canada. The chain consists of 364 Reitmans, 161 Penningtons, 158 Smart Set, 121 Addition Elle, 75 Thyme Maternity, 67 RW & Co. and 22 Cassis stores. Reitmans continues to actively monitor its regional markets, and open and close stores as necessary. In 2010, it opened 31 new stores and closed 40. In the three months ended January 29, 2011, sales rose slightly, to $269.5 million from $268.1 million a year earlier. Earnings fell 19.1%, to $11.4 million, or $0.17 a share, from $14.1 million, or $0.21 a share....

ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES $10.50 (Toronto symbol AF: TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-267-2001; www.alarmforce.com; Shares outstanding: 12.2 million; Market cap: $128.5 million; No dividends paid) sells two-way voice alarm systems and monitoring services in Canada and the U.S. In the quarter ended January 31, 2011, the company’s sales rose 10.0%, to $9.9 million from $9.0 million a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 30%, to $0.13 from $0.10. AlarmForce had 116,700 subscribers on January 31, 2011, up 2.8% from 105,300 a year earlier....

IAMGOLD $19.76 (Toronto symbol IMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 374.7 million; Market cap: $7.4 billion; No dividends paid) has agreed to sell its 18.9% stake in the Tarkwa and Damang gold mines in Ghana to South African mining giant Gold Fields Ltd. for $667 million in cash. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) That will leave IAMGold with 38% of the Sadiola mine and 40% of the Yatela mine, both located in Mali; 100% of the Mupane gold mine in Botswana, 90% of its new Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso, 100% of the Doyon mine in Quebec; and 100% of the Rosebel mine in Suriname, South America. IAMGold also owns the Niobec niobium mine in Quebec, and has a 1% royalty interest in the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories....