dividends paid
WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE $70.50 (New York symbol WYN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (973-753-6000; www.wyndhamworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 128.1 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion; Dividend yield: 2.0%) is one of the world’s largest hospitality companies, with 7,440 franchised hotels worldwide. Wyndham also manages vacation resorts, rental properties, luxury clubs and time-shares. The company now has over 106,000 vacation-rental properties in 100 countries. In the three months ended December 31, 2013, the hotel and resort operator’s revenue rose 9.2%, to $1.20 billion from $1.09 billion a year earlier. Wyndham gets most of its revenue from vacation rather than business travel, and vacation bookings rose in the latest quarter. That helped push up the company’s occupancy rate by 1.9%....
BLACKBERRY LTD. $8.66 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 526.6 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) lost $711 million, or $1.35 a share, in the fiscal year ended March 1, 2014 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S....
DUNDEE CORP. $17 (Toronto symbol DC.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 54.1 million; Market cap: $919.7 million; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.4; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.dundeecorp.com) owns businesses in the wealth management, real estate, natural resource and agriculture industries.
The company lost $92.6 million, or $1.88 a share, in 2013....
The company lost $92.6 million, or $1.88 a share, in 2013....
TEMPUR SEALY $47.64 (New York symbol TPX; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (800-878-8889; www.tempursealy.com; Shares outstanding: 60.7 million; Market cap: $2.9 billion; No dividends paid) completed its $1.3-billion purchase of rival Sealy in March 2013. This was a major acquisition for Tempur Sealy (formerly Tempur-Pedic), but it has let the company diversify into traditional spring-coil beds.
The purchase is also helping Tempur Sealy offset rising competition in its current business; the company makes and distributes mattresses and neck pillows made of its Tempur material, which conforms to the body to provide support and alleviate pressure points.
Competitors Simmons Bedding and Serta have both successfully launched a range of memory-foam mattresses that directly compete with Tempur Sealy’s products.
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The purchase is also helping Tempur Sealy offset rising competition in its current business; the company makes and distributes mattresses and neck pillows made of its Tempur material, which conforms to the body to provide support and alleviate pressure points.
Competitors Simmons Bedding and Serta have both successfully launched a range of memory-foam mattresses that directly compete with Tempur Sealy’s products.
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AMAZON.COM $316.08 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 459.3 million; Market cap: $145.4 billion; No dividends paid) has just unveiled Fire TV, a $99 Internet video-streaming box that plugs into a high-definition TV set. It will compete against similar devices, like Apple TV, Roku and Google Chromecast.
The device, which is about the size of a CD case, runs Google’s Android operating system and offers Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, Pandora, ESPN and other streaming channels.
Fire TV can also be used for gaming. Customers can play popular games, such as Minecraft, as well as thousands more titles to be released soon. Many games will be free, while paid games from Amazon will cost an average of $1.85. Amazon will offer a compatible game controller for $39.99.
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The device, which is about the size of a CD case, runs Google’s Android operating system and offers Netflix, Hulu Plus, Crackle, Pandora, ESPN and other streaming channels.
Fire TV can also be used for gaming. Customers can play popular games, such as Minecraft, as well as thousands more titles to be released soon. Many games will be free, while paid games from Amazon will cost an average of $1.85. Amazon will offer a compatible game controller for $39.99.
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ACI WORLDWIDE $57.16 (Nasdaq symbol ACIW; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (402-334-5101; www.tsainc.com; Shares outstanding: 38.5 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 quarter ended December 31, 2013, ACI’s revenue rose 26.4%, to $283.2 million from $224.1 million a year earlier. That’s mainly due to the contribution from Online Resources Corp., which ACI bought for $126.6 million early last year. Earnings per share rose 3.2%, to $1.30 from $1.26.
ACI has made a number of recent acquisitions: in February 2012, it bought S1 Corp. for $540 million. S1 sells transaction software for banks, credit unions, retailers and other payment processors. It also recently bought Official Payments Holdings for $109 million. Official Payments processes about 20 million payments totalling over $9 billion annually.
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In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, ACI’s revenue rose 26.4%, to $283.2 million from $224.1 million a year earlier. That’s mainly due to the contribution from Online Resources Corp., which ACI bought for $126.6 million early last year. Earnings per share rose 3.2%, to $1.30 from $1.26.
ACI has made a number of recent acquisitions: in February 2012, it bought S1 Corp. for $540 million. S1 sells transaction software for banks, credit unions, retailers and other payment processors. It also recently bought Official Payments Holdings for $109 million. Official Payments processes about 20 million payments totalling over $9 billion annually.
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ADOBE SYSTEMS $62.11 (Nasdaq symbol ADBE; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (408-536-6000; www.adobe.com; Shares outstanding: 497.7 million; Market cap: $30.6 billion; No dividends paid) earned $0.30 a share in the three months ended February 28, 2014. That’s down 14.3% from $0.35 a year earlier. Revenue fell 0.8%, to $1.00 billion from $1.01 billion.
Results fell mainly because Adobe is now selling its Creative Cloud package of photo-editing and desktop-publishing programs as a subscription, instead of a one-time purchase. That hurts its short-term growth, but the switch should provide more predictable revenue streams. Subscriptions now supply over half of Adobe’s revenue.
The stock now trades at 56.5 times the $1.10 a share that Adobe will likely earn in 2014. That’s a high p/e ratio for any company, but especially one that mainly serves customers in cyclical businesses like publishing.
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Results fell mainly because Adobe is now selling its Creative Cloud package of photo-editing and desktop-publishing programs as a subscription, instead of a one-time purchase. That hurts its short-term growth, but the switch should provide more predictable revenue streams. Subscriptions now supply over half of Adobe’s revenue.
The stock now trades at 56.5 times the $1.10 a share that Adobe will likely earn in 2014. That’s a high p/e ratio for any company, but especially one that mainly serves customers in cyclical businesses like publishing.
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AMERIGO RESOURCES $0.47 (Toronto symbol ARG; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.amerigoresources.com; Shares outstanding: 172.5 million; Market cap: $82.8 million; No dividends paid) processes copper and molybdenum from waste rock at Chile’s El Teniente, the world’s largest underground copper mine. This includes rock from the mine’s current production and tailings from the nearby Colihues deposit. This contract runs at least through 2037.
Amerigo gets 94% of its revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum.
A landslide in one of Amerigo’s production areas has hurt its copper and molybdenum production. In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, copper output fell 9.7%, to 12.25 million pounds from 13.56 million a year earlier. Molybdenum production declined 37.6%, to 181,464 pounds from 290,775. However, these operations are now recovering, and production growth is returning to normal.
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Amerigo gets 94% of its revenue by processing copper. The remaining 6% comes from molybdenum.
A landslide in one of Amerigo’s production areas has hurt its copper and molybdenum production. In the quarter ended December 31, 2013, copper output fell 9.7%, to 12.25 million pounds from 13.56 million a year earlier. Molybdenum production declined 37.6%, to 181,464 pounds from 290,775. However, these operations are now recovering, and production growth is returning to normal.
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BELLATRIX EXPLORATION $9.96 (Toronto symbol BXE; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-266-8670; www.bellatrixexploration.com; Shares outstanding: 171.0 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividends paid) has announced an expanded joint venture agreement with Grafton Energy Co. I Ltd. The deal should speed up the development of Bellatrix’s Cardium shale oil deposits in west-central Alberta.
Under the new deal, Grafton increased the amount it is paying Bellatrix to $250 million from $200 million.
In return, Grafton gets 54% of the production from a three-year, $244-million drilling program. It will get this share of the wells’ output until it earns back its $250 million, plus an 8% return on its original investment. It will then hold a 33% interest in each well.
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Under the new deal, Grafton increased the amount it is paying Bellatrix to $250 million from $200 million.
In return, Grafton gets 54% of the production from a three-year, $244-million drilling program. It will get this share of the wells’ output until it earns back its $250 million, plus an 8% return on its original investment. It will then hold a 33% interest in each well.
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BLACKBERRY LTD. $10 (Toronto symbol BB; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 526.0 million; Market cap: $5.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.blackberry.com) has jumped about 50% in the past three months, thanks to its new strategic plan.
In response to weak sales of its new BlackBerry 10 smartphones, the company is cutting 40% of its workforce and selling most of its Canadian real estate, mainly buildings near its Waterloo, Ontario, headquarters. It will lease back some of these properties after the sale.
As well, BlackBerry has signed a new five-year deal with Taiwan-based electronics maker Foxconn. Under this agreement, BlackBerry and Foxconn will jointly develop new smartphones, particularly for fast-growing markets like Indonesia. Foxconn will also assume responsibility for making these phones, which should help BlackBerry better manage its inventories and avoid costly writedowns of unsold phones.
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In response to weak sales of its new BlackBerry 10 smartphones, the company is cutting 40% of its workforce and selling most of its Canadian real estate, mainly buildings near its Waterloo, Ontario, headquarters. It will lease back some of these properties after the sale.
As well, BlackBerry has signed a new five-year deal with Taiwan-based electronics maker Foxconn. Under this agreement, BlackBerry and Foxconn will jointly develop new smartphones, particularly for fast-growing markets like Indonesia. Foxconn will also assume responsibility for making these phones, which should help BlackBerry better manage its inventories and avoid costly writedowns of unsold phones.
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