dividends paid

RUBY TUESDAY, INC. $9.69 (New York symbol RT; SI Rating: Speculative) (865-379-5700; www.rubytuesday.com; Shares outstanding: 64.8 million; Market cap: $627.8 million; No dividends paid) owns 656 restaurants in the U.S. Franchisees run another 165 American outlets, and international franchisees operate 58 restaurants in Canada, Chile, Dubai, Egypt, Guam, Greece, Hawaii, Honduras, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Romania, Saudi Arabia and Trinidad. Ruby Tuesday offers casual American dining. The company continues to improve its menu: It now includes a wide variety of appetizers, handcrafted burgers (including beef, bison, turkey, chicken and crab), a 46-item salad bar, fish, ribs and steaks. In the three months ended June 1, 2010, Ruby Tuesday’s earnings per share rose 17.9%, to $0.33 from $0.28 a year earlier. That’s mainly because the company closed stores, made better use of its workers and cut costs during the quarter....

INTUITIVE SURGICAL $314.05 (Nasdaq symbol ISRG; SI Rating: Average) (515-507-5000; www.intuitivesurgical.com; Shares outstanding: 39.4 million; Market cap: $12.4 billion; No dividends paid) makes the “da Vinci,” a computerized surgical system. Intuitive’s shares trade at a high price, but you can buy as few as you wish through any broker. Guided by a miniature camera connected to a 3-D monitor, surgeons use the da Vinci to operate by remotely manipulating tiny robotic arms. This is safer and far less invasive than regular surgery, and helps cut a patient’s recovery time and post-operative discomfort. It also lowers scarring and infection risk. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Intuitive earned $88.7 million, or $2.26 a share, up 42.1% from $62.4 million, or $1.62 a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 34.6%, to $350.7 million from $260.6 million....

AMAZON.COM $129.65 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 447.8 million; Market cap: $58.1 billion; No dividends paid) reports that its sales jumped 41.2% in the latest quarter, to $6.6 billion from $4.7 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share rose 39.4%, to $0.46 from $0.33. Sales of electronic books for its Kindle reader continue to grow strongly. In the first half of 2010, Amazon sold 143 e-books for every 100 hardcover books. In the month of June, that ratio rose to 180:100. Amazon was one of the first companies to sell e-books. But major competitors, particularly Apple’s iPad, will erode that advantage....

ACI WORLDWIDE $20.09 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; SI Rating: Speculative) (402-334-5101; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 33.4 million; Market cap: $670.1 million; No dividends paid) makes software and provides services that help its clients process transactions that involve credit cards, debit cards, automated-teller machines, smart cards, point-of-sale terminals and inter-bank payments. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, ACI Worldwide lost $150,000, or nil per share. That’s much better than the $3.6 million, or $0.10 a share, it lost a year earlier. Cash flow per share rose sharply, to $0.28 from $0.02. Revenue rose 6%, to $92.4 million from $87.2 million. The company continues to add clients. It has also taken steps to cut its costs, including layoffs. That’s why its results improved so significantly....

These three penny mines have promising mineral properties, substantial cash holdings, plus connections with major companies than can play a key part in helping them achieve financial success. MIRANDA GOLD $0.43 (Toronto symbol MAD; SI Rating: Start-up) (604-689-1659; www.mirandagold.com; Shares outstanding: 51.2 million; Market cap: $22.0 million; No dividends paid) explores for gold, mainly in the Cortez Trend and Battle Mountain-Eureka regions of Nevada. It has 13 properties in various stages of production in these areas, which are two of the world’s most productive gold belts. The company also has an exploration project in Alaska, and is applying for an exploration license in Colombia. Miranda takes part in a number of joint ventures. These agreements are crucial for junior-exploration firms, as they give them a way to fund further exploration on properties where they have already discovered minerals. Joint ventures also let juniors retain an interest in the properties without taking on debt or resorting to dilutive share issues....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $9.60 (Toronto symbol BIR; SI Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Units outstanding: 124.8 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta/B.C. border. In the three months ended June 30, 2010, Birchcliff’s production rose 9.3%, to 12,357 barrels of oil equivalent per day (this measurement includes natural gas) from 11,313 barrels a year earlier. Cash flow per share rose 5.6%, to $0.19 from $0.18. Birchcliff will now spend $227.2 million on exploration and development this year. It will fund these activities from its cash flow, as well as with debt. Currently, the company’s debt of $236 million is just 19.7% of its $1.2 billion market cap, so it can easily borrow more funds....

APPLE INC. $261 (Nasdaq symbol AAPL; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 913.6 million; Market cap: $238.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.2; No dividends paid; WSSF Rating: Average) will give users of its new iPhone 4 smartphone a free rubber bumper that fits over the device. This bumper seems to solve the reception problems that some users have reported. The company estimates that this solution will cost it $175 million. That’s small compared to the $3.25 billion, or $3.51 a share, Apple earned in the three months ended June 26, 2010. That’s up 78.0% from $1.8 billion, or $2.01 a share, a year earlier. Sales rose 61.3%, to $15.7 billion from $9.7 billion. Despite the reception problems, demand for the new iPhone remains strong....

FORD MOTOR CO. $13 (New York symbol F; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 3.4 billion; Market cap: $44.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.4; No dividends paid since June 2006; WSSF Rating: Speculative) earned $2.6 billion in the three months ended June 30, 2010. That’s up 14.9% from $2.3 billion a year earlier. However, earnings per share fell 11.6%, to $0.61 from $0.69, on more shares outstanding. Revenue rose 16.8%, to $31.3 billion from $26.8 billion. The company sold 1.4 million cars and trucks during the quarter, up 18.8% from 1.2 million a year earlier. However, high U.S. unemployment could slow Ford’s sales in the second half of 2010. Ford is a hold.

LIZ CLAIBORNE INC. $4.76 (New York symbol LIZ; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 94.5 million; Market cap: $449.8 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.2; No dividends paid since December 2008; WSSF Rating: Extra Risk) will close its 87 “Liz Claiborne” outlet stores over the next few months. These stores sell heavily discounted clothing and accessories. The company has sold many of its less-profitable brands over the past few years. As well, it has signed exclusive deals that let it sell its clothing through other retailers. These moves have left the Liz Claiborne outlet stores with less merchandise to sell. The company will likely record a $7-million non-cash charge for writedowns of goodwill and other intangible assets. It lost $35.9 million, or $0.38 a share, in the first quarter of 2010. The company also expects cash charges to terminate leases and pay severance to employees. It will finalize these charges in the next few weeks....

WESTJET AIRLINES $12.56 (Toronto symbol WJA; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 138.8 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividends paid) reported that its revenue rose 7.4% in the three months ended March 31, 2010, to $619.8 million from $579.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 55.5%, to $0.12 from $0.27, mostly due to one-time expansion costs at WestJet Vacations, plus higher fuel costs. WestJet’s load factor hit 78.2% in June 2010, up from 72.9% in June 2009. The load factor is the portion of available seats that are occupied by paying passengers. It increased even though WestJet added 10.9% to its passenger capacity. Revenue passenger miles (the total of paying passengers on all flights, multiplied by distance travelled) rose 19% this year from June 2009....