investment

WAL-MART STORES INC., $84.30, New York symbol WMT, reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings this week. However, the stock fell 2% as sales missed the consensus forecast. The company also plans to boost its U.S. workers’ pay. In the fourth quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, which ended January 31, 2015, Wal-Mart’s earnings rose 14.2%, to $5.2 billion, or $1.53 a share. A year earlier, it earned $4.5 billion, or $1.34. Without unusual items, such as costs to close some less profitable stores in Japan, the company’s earnings rose 0.6%, to $1.61 a share from $1.60. That beat the consensus estimate of $1.54....

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL INC., $52.21, Toronto symbol QSR, took its current form on December 12, 2014, as a result of Burger King Worldwide’s (old symbol BKW) acquisition of Tim Hortons Inc. (old symbol THI). Restaurant Brands is the world’s third-largest fast-food chain, after McDonald’s and Yum Brands, with 14,372 Burger King outlets and 4,671 Tim Hortons locations in 100 countries. In the three months ended December 31, 2014, the company lost $514.2 million, or $2.52 a share, compared to a profit of $66.8 million, or $0.19 (all amounts except share price in U.S. dollars). If you exclude merger costs and other unusual items, gross earnings before depreciation, interest and taxes rose 23.1%....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on stock tips as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. We give you Pat’s buy-hold-sell recommendation as well as his analysis of the stock. This is part of the specific buy, hold and sell advice we offer you in our daily posts. Every week you get “A Stock to Sell” on Monday, “Best Canadian Stocks” on Tuesday, and “U.S. Stock Picks” on Thursday.

This week we had a question from an Inner Circle member about a Canadian seafood company whose stock has risen in recent months. Clearwater Seafoods has enjoyed strong financial results while benefiting from a positive outlook for seafood markets. Pat examines the factors behind the company’s strong showing. He also assesses Clearwater’s longer-term outlook in light of both rising global demand and stiff global competition.

Q: Pat: Can you offer any information or advice on the recent price rise and volume of Clearwater Seafoods on the TSX? Thanks.

A: Clearwater Seafoods (symbol CLR on Toronto; www.clearwater.ca) is one of North America’s largest seafood companies and the biggest holder of shellfish licenses and quotas in Canada.

The stock has risen on the company’s strong financial results and a positive outlook for its seafood markets.

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When you let “theme investing” play a role in an investment decision, weigh your decision carefully before you act. Make sure you have other reasons to buy. After all, a powerful investing theme can overwhelm your judgment. It can lead you to buy stocks that have little genuine appeal. For example, the most powerful investing theme of the past few decades was the Internet stock mania. By the second half of the 1990s, it was clear that the web was going to have a huge impact on the economy and the world, and was going to create vast fortunes. Those assumptions were absolutely accurate. However, it’s easy to set up a company with an Internet-based business. It’s much harder hard to create a profit-making company, regardless of a link to a fashionable investing theme. That’s why unsuccessful Internet-based stock promotions vastly outnumbered the pioneering Internet stocks that prospered. It’s why most Internet speculations turned out to be terrible investments....

Every Monday we feature “A Stock to Sell” as our daily post. With every stock or investment we recommend as a sell, we give you a full explanation of why we advise against investing in it at this time.

Extendicare Inc. (symbol EXE on Toronto; www.extendicare.com) is one of North America’s largest retirement- and nursing-home operators. Its 259 long- and short-term senior-care facilities can house 28,401 residents.

The stock fell sharply in November 2014, from over $8, when Extendicare announced an agreement to sell most of its U.S. business for $870 million U.S. in a deal with two investment firms, Formation Capital and an affiliate of Safanad Inc.

These operations generated $868.9 million U.S. of revenue in the first nine months of 2014—more than half of Extendicare’s $1.6-billion U.S. total in that period.

The company will keep 10 nursing homes in the U.S. for now, but it intends to sell them. It will also hold on to two other U.S. businesses: Virtual Care Provider, which supplies computer support and consulting to long-term care providers, and Laurier Indemnity, which insures against liability risks.

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ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $40.95 (New York symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index, which consists of stocks that mainly trade on the Santiago Stock Exchange. The fund’s top holdings are S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 10.6%; Enersis SA (electricity), 9.6%; Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 7.9%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electricity), 7.2%; LATAM Airlines, 5.0%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 4.9%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 4.9%; Banco de Chile, 4.4%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 4.2%; and Quimica y Minera de Chile (mining), 4.1%. The fund’s industry breakdown is: Utilities, 28.3%; Financials, 18.1%; Materials, 11.8%; Consumer Discretionary, 11.4%; Consumer Staples, 9.3%; Industrials, 8.2%; Energy, 7.7%; Telecommunications, 2.2%; and Information Technology, 2.2%....

ISHARES MSCI GERMANY FUND $29.42 (New York symbol EWG; buy or sell through brokers) tracks the stocks in the MSCI Germany Index. This index aims to replicate 85% of the market capitalization of the German stock market. The remaining 15% is unavailable for investment, partly due to limitations on foreign ownership. The ETF’s top holdings are Bayer (diversified chemicals), 9.9%; Daimler (autos), 7.5%; BASF (chemicals), 7.3%; Siemens (engineering conglomerate), 7.9%; Allianz (insurance), 8.2%; SAP (software), 5.3%; Deutsche Telekom, 4.7%; Deutsche Bank AG, 3.7%; BMW AG, 3.4%; and Volkswagen AG, 3.1%....

BOMBARDIER INC., Toronto symbols BBD.A $2.69 and BBD.B $2.58, fell 12% this week after announcing several moves to improve its struggling aerospace division. It will also suspend its dividend and issue new shares and debt to shore up its balance sheet. As part of the plan, Bombardier’s chief executive officer, Pierre Beaudoin, will step down and become executive chairman. Alain Bellemare, the former CEO of United Technologies, will take over as CEO. (United Technologies is a recommendation of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, our newsletter that focuses on U.S. stocks.) Bombardier now says its new CSeries passenger jet will cost $5.4 billion to develop, up from its earlier forecast of $4.4 billion (all amounts except share prices in U.S. dollars). After several setbacks, it expects to begin deliveries by the end of 2015....

Canadian Tire’s shares have jumped 24% in the past year, mainly thanks to its successful takeover of the Forzani chain of sporting goods stores. It has also made deals that have helped unlock the hidden value of its credit card business and real estate holdings. We feel the stock still has plenty of room to rise, for a number of reasons. For one, Canadian Tire’s new growth plan should help it compete with online sellers and attract younger shoppers. It also stands to gain from Target’s decision to close all 133 of its Canadian locations. CANADIAN TIRE CORP. $118 (Toronto symbol CTC.A; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 78.1 million; Market cap: $9.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.canadiantire.ca) began operating in 1922 and is now one of Canada’s leading retailers....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific advice on buying stocks as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. We give you Pat’s buy-hold-sell recommendation as well as his analysis of the stock. This is part of the specific buy, hold and sell advice we offer you in our daily posts. Every week you get “A Stock to Sell” on Monday, “Best Canadian Stocks” on Tuesday, and “U.S. Stock Picks” on Thursday. This week an Inner Circle member asked about a company whose rental trucks are a familiar sight on North American highways. Ryder System makes the bulk of its revenue leasing truck fleets under long-term deals. It extends its service to helping clients manage warehousing and distribution. The company has also entered into a venture with a clean energy firm to develop a truck to run on compressed natural gas, potentially a money-saver when gasoline prices are higher. Pat examines the company’s financial situation and assesses its growth prospects. ...