dividends paid

The lower Canadian dollar has made it more expensive to buy U.S. stocks. However, the American market gives you access to the world’s leading companies. What’s more, U.S. dollar investments give you foreign currency diversification.

We feel it’s more important than ever to build a varied portfolio of high-quality stocks....

Computer technology continues to change— and spread— rapidly. We feel the best way to profit from this growth is by investing in well-established companies that lead their markets, like the four we analyze below. All of them have strong earnings and balance sheets. That lets them spend heavily on product development and buy smaller firms with attractive technologies. We have a high opinion of all four, but we see only two as buys right now....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $3.35 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 152.3 million; Market cap: $461.5 million; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and gas in Western Canada. In the quarter ended September 30, 2015, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share dropped 42.0%, to $0.29 from $0.50 a year earlier. Sharply lower oil and gas prices offset a 12.3% production rise. Now more than ever, it’s crucial for oil and gas producers to have sound balance sheets that can weather a long downturn....

BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $3.35 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 152.3 million; Market cap: $461.5 million; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and gas in Western Canada. In the quarter ended September 30, 2015, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share dropped 42.0%, to $0.29 from $0.50 a year earlier. Sharply lower oil and gas prices offset a 12.3% production rise. Now more than ever, it’s crucial for oil and gas producers to have sound balance sheets that can weather a long downturn....

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL $465.50 (New York symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (303-595-4000; www.chipotle.com; Shares outstanding: 31.2 million; Market cap: $14.6 billion; No dividends paid) continues to suffer as it copes with food-safety concerns at its restaurants. In October and November 2015, E. coli infections sickened 52 customers at Chipotle locations in nine states and forced the company to temporarily close some outlets. Recent norovirus outbreaks at restaurants in California and Massachusetts have added to the bad publicity. Norovirus, which causes stomach problems, is highly infectious, though not fatal. Chipotle now believes these problems cut its same-restaurant sales by 14.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015. It also expects to spend $14.0 million to $16.0 million to test and replace food and improve its food-safety procedures....

ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $87.94 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 498.8 million; Market cap: $44.4 billion; No dividends paid) makes software that lets computer users create, edit and share documents in the popular PDF format. Graphic designers also use its programs to create print publications and web pages. In its fiscal 2015 fourth quarter, which ended November 27, 2015, Adobe earned $0.62 a share, up 59.0% from $0.39 a year earlier. Revenue jumped 21.7%, to a record $1.31 billion from $1.07 billion. In the latest quarter, the company added 833,000 Creative Cloud subscribers (net of cancellations). This service now has 6.2 million users, up 78.6% from a year ago. Adobe is also seeing strong demand for its newer cloud-based offerings, including Document Cloud, which lets users create, manage and sign online documents for a monthly fee....

ACI WORLDWIDE $18.83 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-390-7600; www.aciworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 118.3 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; No dividends paid) makes software for processing transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. Its products also help cut fraud. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, ACI’s revenue fell 4.3% to $238.7 million from $249.6 million a year earlier. Earnings declined 6.1%, to $14.8 million, or $0.13 a share, from $15.7 million, or $0.14. The higher U.S. dollar cut revenue and earnings at the company’s international operations. ACI is benefiting from the shift to chip-and-PIN debit and credit cards. That migration is the result of a liability shift for the EMV (EuroPay, MaterCard and VISA) payment networks, which came into effect in October 2015....

IAMGOLD $1.84 (Toronto symbol IMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 391.4 million; Market cap: $660.9 million; No dividends paid) owns 41% of the Sadiola mine and 40% of the Yatela mine, both located in Mali; 90% of the Essakane gold mine in Burkina Faso; 100% of the Doyon mine in Quebec; and 95% of the Rosebel mine in Suriname, South America. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, IAMGold’s revenue fell 27.6%, to $207.6 million from $286.7 million a year earlier. Cash flow per share dropped to $0.09 from $0.24. Lower gold prices and production caused the declines. IAMGold’s long-term production outlook is positive. Meantime, the company holds a high $730.2 million U.S. in cash and gold bullion. A large part of that cash came from the $500-million sale of its Niobec niobium mine in Quebec’s Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region in early 2015. When used as an additive, niobium makes steel stronger, more heat-resistant and easier to weld....

CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL $465.50 (New York symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (303-595-4000; www.chipotle.com; Shares outstanding: 31.2 million; Market cap: $14.6 billion; No dividends paid) continues to suffer as it copes with food-safety concerns at its restaurants. In October and November 2015, E. coli infections sickened 52 customers at Chipotle locations in nine states and forced the company to temporarily close some outlets. Recent norovirus outbreaks at restaurants in California and Massachusetts have added to the bad publicity. Norovirus, which causes stomach problems, is highly infectious, though not fatal. Chipotle now believes these problems cut its same-restaurant sales by 14.6% in the fourth quarter of 2015. It also expects to spend $14.0 million to $16.0 million to test and replace food and improve its food-safety procedures....

ACI WORLDWIDE $18.83 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-390-7600; www.aciworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 118.3 million; Market cap: $2.2 billion; No dividends paid) makes software for processing transactions involving credit cards, debit cards, automated teller machines, point-of-sale terminals and interbank payments. Its products also help cut fraud. In the three months ended September 30, 2015, ACI’s revenue fell 4.3% to $238.7 million from $249.6 million a year earlier. Earnings declined 6.1%, to $14.8 million, or $0.13 a share, from $15.7 million, or $0.14. The higher U.S. dollar cut revenue and earnings at the company’s international operations. ACI is benefiting from the shift to chip-and-PIN debit and credit cards. That migration is the result of a liability shift for the EMV (EuroPay, MaterCard and VISA) payment networks, which came into effect in October 2015....