dividends paid

GOODYEAR TIRE & RUBBER CO. $14.48 (New York symbol GT; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (330-796-2122; www.goodyear.com; Shares outstanding: 242.9 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; No dividends paid) reported better-than-expected sales and earnings in the latest quarter. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, sales rose 14.3%, to $5.1 billion from $4.4 billion a year earlier. Before a one-time charge related to a plant closure, the company earned $0.07 a share. That was much better than the consensus earnings estimate of a loss of $0.07 a share. A year earlier, Goodyear earned $0.44 share. Goodyear’s long-term outlook is positive. However, rising prices for raw materials, especially rubber, will likely limit the company’s earnings growth in the near term....

AMERIGO RESOURCES $1.10 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 171.5 million; Market cap: $188.7 million; No dividends paid) has risen 69% since June 2010 on higher copper prices. Amerigo processes copper and molybdenum from the waste rock from Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest copper mine. The contract runs at least through 2021. Amerigo has a further agreement to process a supplementary source of material from the nearby Colihues tailings pond. The company gets 94% of revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum....

INTERNATIONAL ROAD DYNAMICS $0.62 (Toronto symbol IRD; SI Rating: Speculative) (306-653-6600; www.ird.ca; Shares outstanding: 14 million; Market cap: $8.7 million; No dividends paid) reports that its sales fell 16.4% in the three months ended November 30, 2010, to $10.7 million from $12.8 million a year earlier. The drop was due mainly a stronger Canadian dollar, which pushed down the company’s U.S. sales by 36.8%, to $4.8 million from $7.6 million. In Canada, sales rose 58.3% in the latest quarter. In the quarter, the company lost $335,000, or $0.03 per share, compared to earnings of $337,000, or $0.03 per share a year earlier. The lower sales were the main reason for the earnings decline. International Road Dynamics is still a buy....

AMAZON.COM $164.70 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 448.8 million; Market cap: $73.9 billion; No dividends paid) will now offer free streaming of movies and TV shows to its Amazon Prime members. These customers pay $79 a year to get unlimited two-day shipping. The company will offer Prime members more than 5,000 movies and TV shows. Netflix (New York symbol NFLX), Amazon’s rival in the Internet movie market, offers about 30,000 movies and TV shows for $96 a year. Amazon’s new service will reward Prime members. As well, it will draw attention to the company’s movie and TV-show downloading service, Amazon Instant Video, which lets customers buy or rent more than 90,000 commercial-free movies and TV shows (with prices of up to $3.99 for new releases)....

TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $30.49 (Toronto symbol TIH; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-667-5511; www.toromont.com; Shares outstanding: 76.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 2.1%) has two divisions: the equipment group and the compression group. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, Toromont’s revenue jumped 56.7%, to $709.7 million from $452.8 million a year earlier. The increase was mostly due to its January 2010 purchase of Enerflex Systems Income Fund for $700 million. Enerflex brought new oil and gas compression customers to Toromont. It also expanded Toromont’s international presence. Even so, the company’s earnings per share fell 2.1%, to $0.47 from $0.48. The cost of integrating Enerflex held back earnings....

RESEARCH IN MOTION LTD. $63 (Toronto symbol RIM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 521.8 million; Market cap: $32.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.rim.com) should see greater demand for its BlackBerry smartphones as a result of improvements to the speed and geographic reach of wireless networks in Canada. As well, faster wireless connections improve the prospects for RIM’s upcoming PlayBook tablet computer. This device faces strong competition from the Apple iPad, which accounts for about 90% of tablet sales. However, the PlayBook’s ability to share data with BlackBerry phones should give it an advantage. Research in Motion is a buy.

LA-Z-BOY INC. $10 (New York symbol LZB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 51.9 million; Market cap: $519.0 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; No dividends paid since March 2009; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.la-z-boy.com) makes reclining chairs and other furniture. The company’s aggressive cost cutting, which included laying off 25% of its workforce, shifting production to low-cost countries and closing unprofitable stores, is starting to pay off. In the three months ended January 22, 2011, earnings per share before unusual items fell 29.4%, to $0.12 from $0.17 a year earlier. Even so, the latest results beat the consensus estimate of $0.10 a share. Sales fell 4.3%, to $291.9 million from $305.1 million. La-Z-Boy is a hold.

FORD MOTOR CO. $15 (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 3.6 billion; Market cap: $54.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; No dividends paid since June 2006; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.ford.com) has agreed to form a 50/50 joint venture with Russian carmaker Sollers. This new business should start making passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia under the Ford brand by the end of 2011. Ford first started making cars in Russia in 2002. This experience should cut the risk of this deal. As well, Sollers’ distribution networks should help Ford quickly increase its market share in the country. Ford is a buy....

SYMANTEC CORP. $18 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 763.2 million; Market cap: $13.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.symantec.com) makes software that protects computers from viruses and electronic attacks. The popular Norton anti-virus program is the company’s best-known product. In the past few years, Symantec has expanded its corporate-security operations by purchasing other software companies. That has cut its exposure to cyclical home-computer sales. Big purchases fuelled growth ...

BREAKWATER RESOURCES $6.61 (Toronto symbol BWR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-363-4798; www.breakwater.ca; Shares outstanding: 70.4 million; Market cap: $465.6 million; No dividends paid) (All figures reflect a 1-for-10 consolidation in June 2010) mainly produces zinc. The company operates the Myra Falls mine in B.C., the Mochito mine in Honduras and the Toqui mine in Chile. Breakwater’s shares have jumped 223.5% from $2 in July 2010, along with higher zinc prices. Zinc is now trading around $1.13 U.S. a pound, up 57% from $0.72 last June, largely on higher Chinese industrial demand. Higher zinc prices helped Breakwater earn $0.28 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2010. That’s a big improvement over the $0.10 a share it earned a year earlier. Cash flow was $0.40 a share in the latest quarter....