mckeough

CANADIAN TIRE CORP.(Toronto symbol CTC.A; www.canadiantire.ca) operates 490 Canadian Tire stores, which specialize in automotive, household and sporting goods. The company owns these stores, but franchisees operate most of them. Canadian Tire also operates 299 gas stations and 87 PartSource auto parts stores. In the past few years, the company has diversified its product lines by purchasing retailers with specialized products. These include Mark’s, which sells casual clothing though 386 stores, and Forzani Group, which sells sporting goods through 495 outlets, mainly under the SportChek banner. As well, Canadian Tire will soon complete its $85-million purchase of Pro Hockey Life, which sells hockey equipment through 23 stores....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about investing in stocks and other topics on investment and the economy from the members of his Inner Circle. 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. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week, we received a question from an Inner Circle member about Pitney Bowes. This company has been a leader in the manufacture of postage meters and mailing equipment, and Pat assesses its efforts to adapt to the growing predominance of electronic mail and Internet communications. ...

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about the best stocks to invest in and other topics on investment and the economy from the members of his Inner Circle. 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. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week, one Inner Circle member in search of a U.S. stock asked us about one of the most iconic brands on the American market, Coca-Cola. Pat looks at the company’s penetration of international markets and its efforts to broaden its market with healthier products, while taking into account the increasing appeal of private-label beverages to price-conscious consumers. ...

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about investing in stocks and other topics on investment and the economy from the members of his Inner Circle. 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. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week, Pat received a question from an Inner Circle member about a stock that provides a different approach to excavating for the petroleum and utility industries. Pat assesses the company’s unique arrangement with its operating partners and whether or not it can continue to improve its results in a recovering economy....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about specific stock market advice and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. 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. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week, one Inner Circle member asked us about one of the best known of the big-box warehouse stores. Low prices and an annual membership fee have helped Costco remain profitable. Pat sums up the company’s financial picture and assesses its ability to continue to compete against intense and increasing competition....

TUPPERWARE BRANDS CORP., $76.77, New York symbol TUP, rose 10% this week after it reported better-than-expected earnings. It also raised its dividend and announced that it would buy back more of its shares. The company makes household products, including educational toys and plastic food and beverage containers. It also manufactures a wide range of cosmetics, bath oils and fragrances. In 2012, Tupperware’s earnings rose 3.0%, to $281.4 million from $273.3 million in 2011. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose at a much faster pace of 12.1%, to $4.99 from $4.45. That beat the consensus estimate of $4.96....

RESEARCH IN MOTION LTD., $13.01, Toronto symbol RIM, has launched two smartphones powered by its new BlackBerry 10 software: the BlackBerry Z10 uses a 4.2-inch touchscreen interface while the BlackBerry Q10 features a smaller screen and a physical keyboard. The company will start selling the Z10 in Canada, the U.K. and other countries in the next few days. However, it won’t launch the new phone in the U.S. until March. Investors fear that this delay will further erode the company’s U.S. market share. That’s the main reason why the stock fell 26% this week. RIM will launch the Q10 in April. Unlike other smartphone makers, RIM also sells software that helps businesses and governments encrypt mobile email messages and other sensitive data. The company has used its expertise in this area to create BlackBerry Balance, a feature that lets the new phones easily switch between business and personal modes. BlackBerry Balance should help RIM satisfy its corporate customers’ security needs while letting individuals enjoy personal services, such as music, movies and games....

CHESAPEAKE ENERGY CORP., $20.33, symbol CHK on New York, is up 7.0% from $19 this week. That’s largely because the company’s controversial co-founder, CEO and chairman, Aubrey K. McClendon, has agreed to retire on April 1, 2013. McClendon is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for taking out $1.1 billion of loans from EIG Global Energy Partners that may have put him in a conflict of interest. EIG is a big lender to Chesapeake, and that’s where the potential conflict arises. It has also come to light that McClendon ran a $200-million hedge fund between 2004 and 2008 that traded in the same commodities that Chesapeake produces....

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about investing in stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. 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. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle. This week, an Inner Circle member asked us about an industrial stock that is making its name in several fields, but especially in hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” for the oil and gas industry. As the company’s sales and earnings keep rising, Pat examines the prospects for this stock that has been trading for less than a year. ...

Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions about specific stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. 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. While we reserve our buy-hold-sell advice for Inner Circle members, these excerpts provide a great deal of information and analysis on stocks we’ve covered for members of Pat’s Inner Circle.

This week, an Inner Circle member asked about the wisdom of taking profits on a high-yielding stock whose shares have had a big run-up in price. Pat assesses the prospects of this gas station operator which has done an astute job of franchising its stations but also pursues a growth-by-acquisition that adds risk in a competitive industry.

Q: Hello again Pat: I bought Parkland Fuel Corp. about 18 months ago and have enjoyed the wonderful yield and am up 60% on the stock value. I am tempted to realize my capital gain. What are your thoughts on this stock?

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