dividends paid
BLACKBERRY LTD. $12 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 528.8 million; Market cap: $6.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.9; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) is best known for its BlackBerry smartphones. However, competition from Apple’s iPhone and Android-powered devices has cut the number of BlackBerry users worldwide to 37 million from 85 million in 2013. (All amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) The company also earns fees on software it installs on its clients’ email servers. These programs let its businesses and government clients manage their employees’ phones and encrypt sensitive data. In response to its shrinking smartphone sales, BlackBerry has cut jobs and sold surplus real estate. If you exclude unusual items, the company lost $45 million, or $0.09 a share, in its 2015 fiscal year, which ended February 28, 2015. However, that’s a big improvement over its 2014 loss of $711 million, or $1.35 a share....
TEMPUR SEALY $58.80 (New York symbol TPX; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(800-878-8889; www.tempursealy.com; Shares outstanding: 61.0 million; Market cap: $3.5 billion; No dividends paid) continues to fend off attempts by activist investor H Partners Management to replace the company’s CEO.
H Partners, which owns 10% of Tempur Sealy’s shares, is best known for taking part in the turnaround of theme-park operator Six Flags Entertainment between 2010 and 2013. H Partners believes Tempur Sealy has performed poorly compared to other mattress makers since its 2013 purchase of Sealy Corp.
Whatever the outcome of H Partners’ investment, the activist investor’s involvement should draw attention to Tempur Sealy’s growth prospects.
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H Partners, which owns 10% of Tempur Sealy’s shares, is best known for taking part in the turnaround of theme-park operator Six Flags Entertainment between 2010 and 2013. H Partners believes Tempur Sealy has performed poorly compared to other mattress makers since its 2013 purchase of Sealy Corp.
Whatever the outcome of H Partners’ investment, the activist investor’s involvement should draw attention to Tempur Sealy’s growth prospects.
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CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL $677.60 (New York symbol CMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (303-595-4000; www.chipotle.com; Shares outstanding: 31.0 million; Market cap: $21.1 billion; No dividends paid) offers only naturally raised meat that comes from animals that are raised humanely, never given antibiotics or hormones and fed a pure vegetarian diet.
Chipotle had a total of 1,783 outlets at the end of 2014 and plans to add 190 to 205 more this year. However, its strict adherence to its food standards could make continued expansion increasingly difficult.
That’s because demand for natural and humanely raised livestock is growing, especially in the U.S., where fast-food chains ranging from Dunkin’ Donuts to McDonald’s are switching over. In addition, new chains using naturally raised meat, like Five Guys and Shake Shack, are expanding rapidly.
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Chipotle had a total of 1,783 outlets at the end of 2014 and plans to add 190 to 205 more this year. However, its strict adherence to its food standards could make continued expansion increasingly difficult.
That’s because demand for natural and humanely raised livestock is growing, especially in the U.S., where fast-food chains ranging from Dunkin’ Donuts to McDonald’s are switching over. In addition, new chains using naturally raised meat, like Five Guys and Shake Shack, are expanding rapidly.
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ADOBE SYSTEMS INC. $76.03 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 500.3 million; Market cap: $38.0 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 first quarter, which ended February 27, 2015, Adobe earned $0.44 a share, up 46.7% from $0.30 a year earlier. Revenue gained 10.9%, to $1.11 billion from $1.00 billion.
Like Symantec, Adobe is shifting from selling software as a one-time purchase and toward a subscription model. It now gets 70% of its revenue from recurring sources, up from 52% a year ago.
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In its fiscal 2015 first quarter, which ended February 27, 2015, Adobe earned $0.44 a share, up 46.7% from $0.30 a year earlier. Revenue gained 10.9%, to $1.11 billion from $1.00 billion.
Like Symantec, Adobe is shifting from selling software as a one-time purchase and toward a subscription model. It now gets 70% of its revenue from recurring sources, up from 52% a year ago.
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DELPHI ENERGY $1.78 (Toronto symbol DEE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(403-265-6171; www.delphienergy.ca; Shares outstanding: 155.5 million; Market cap: $269.0 million; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and natural gas in Alberta. Its average daily production of 12,035 barrels of oil equivalent is 69% gas and 31% oil.
In the quarter ended December 31, 2014, Delphi’s cash flow per share rose 42.9%, to $0.10 from $0.07. That’s because it raised its production by 33.9% and realized higher oil prices.
Like Birchcliff, Delphi will cut spending this year: its outlays will now total $50 million, down from $101 million in 2014. However, that should still let it keep production steady at today’s levels. The company could also raise its spending later this year if oil and gas prices move higher.
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In the quarter ended December 31, 2014, Delphi’s cash flow per share rose 42.9%, to $0.10 from $0.07. That’s because it raised its production by 33.9% and realized higher oil prices.
Like Birchcliff, Delphi will cut spending this year: its outlays will now total $50 million, down from $101 million in 2014. However, that should still let it keep production steady at today’s levels. The company could also raise its spending later this year if oil and gas prices move higher.
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BIRCHCLIFF ENERGY $7.73 (Toronto symbol BIR; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-261-6401; www.birchcliffenergy.com; Shares outstanding: 152.3 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; No dividends paid) develops, produces and explores for oil and gas, mainly in the Peace River Arch area near the Alberta/B.C. border. About 85% of its output is gas. The remaining 15% is oil.
In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share rose 17.1%, to $0.41 from $0.35 a year earlier. The company raised its daily output by 32.8%, offsetting lower oil prices and boosting its cash flow.
Like many oil and gas producers, Birchcliff plans to cut back on exploration and development spending. This year, it will devote $266.7 million to this purpose, down from $450.0 million in 2014.
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In the three months ended December 31, 2014, Birchcliff’s cash flow per share rose 17.1%, to $0.41 from $0.35 a year earlier. The company raised its daily output by 32.8%, offsetting lower oil prices and boosting its cash flow.
Like many oil and gas producers, Birchcliff plans to cut back on exploration and development spending. This year, it will devote $266.7 million to this purpose, down from $450.0 million in 2014.
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IAMGOLD CORP. $2.67 (Toronto symbol IMG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative)(1-888- 464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 391.3 million; Market cap: $1.0 billion; No dividends paid) will sell its 1% revenue royalty on the Diavik diamond mine in the Northwest Territories to Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (symbol SSL on Toronto).
Diavik is Canada’s largest diamond mine and has been in operation since 2003.
Sandstorm will pay $52.5 million U.S. in cash plus three million warrants. IAMGold can exercise the warrants for up to five years after production from a new zone at Diavik starts up. The exercise price is $4.50; Sandstorm currently trades at $4.38.
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Diavik is Canada’s largest diamond mine and has been in operation since 2003.
Sandstorm will pay $52.5 million U.S. in cash plus three million warrants. IAMGold can exercise the warrants for up to five years after production from a new zone at Diavik starts up. The exercise price is $4.50; Sandstorm currently trades at $4.38.
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The three companies below make testing gear that other manufacturers rely on to improve their products. As well, all three have built strong relationships with their clients, which gives them a strong competitive advantage. Still, only one is a buy right now. AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. $41 (New York symbol A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 336.0 million; Market cap: $13.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 1.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.agilent.com) has completed its plan to split into two publicly traded companies. One firm kept the Agilent name and stock symbol and focuses on testing equipment for medical research labs. It gets 70% of its revenue from overseas....
TERADATA CORP. $43 (New York symbol TDC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 147.9 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.teradata .com) makes computers and software that capture and store large amounts of a business’s data. It then analyzes this information and identifies buying habits and other trends. In 2014, Teradata’s earnings fell 1.5%, to $452 million from $459 million in 2013. But per-share earnings rose 3.6%, to $2.86 from $2.76, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue gained 1.5%, to $2.73 billion from $2.69 billion. Strong competition from bigger firms, like IBM and Oracle, will likely cut Teradata’s 2015 earnings to $2.60 a share. The stock trades at a somewhat high 16.5 times that forecast....
ALCOA INC. $13 (New York symbol AA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $15.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 0.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.alcoa.com) has agreed to buy RTI International Metals (New York symbol RTI), which makes titanium components for airplanes, armoured vehicles, oil and gas machinery and other industrial products. RTI’s investors will exchange their holdings for Alcoa common shares. If you include RTI’s cash balances and debt, the deal is worth $1.5 billion. Alcoa expects to close it in the next six months. Alcoa is a buy....