merger

Concerns over their high debt levels, combined with rising interest costs, have hurt the shares of these two green-energy producers. However, both are selling less-important assets to pay down their debt. That will help them maintain their current dividend rates for shareholders.


ALGONQUIN POWER & UTILITIES CORP....

This month, we’re adding two of the world’s leading fast-food operators—Restaurant Brands and Starbucks—to our regular TSI Dividend Advisor coverage.


Both firms are using their strong brands to expand overseas, which should continue to spur long-term earnings growth....

WYNDHAM HOTELS & RESORTS INC., $73.66, is still a buy. The company (symbol WH on New York) is the world’s largest hotel franchiser, with 851,000 rooms spread across 9,100 hotels in 95 countries. Its portfolio of 24 brands includes Super 8, Days Inn, Wyndham Grand, Ramada, La Quinta and Wyndham.

This week, the company rejected an unsolicited takeover offer from rival Choice Hotels International, Inc....

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, $120.19, Toronto symbol RY, is still a buy.

Canada’s largest bank by market capitalization raised your quarterly dividend by 2.3% with the August 2023 payment. Investors now receive $1.35 a share instead of $1.32. The new annual rate of $5.40 yields a solid 4.5%.

In November 2022, the bank agreed to pay $13.5 billion in cash for the Canadian operations of U.K.-based HSBC Holdings plc (New York symbol HSBC)....

In the past few years, big pharmaceutical companies have spun off their consumer drug operations. That’s part of their strategy to focus on more-profitable prescription drug businesses. These two recent spinoffs have decent long-term prospects, but their shares will likely remain depressed until they cut their high debt loads.


VIATRIS INC....

RTX CORP., $75.80, New York symbol RTX, is still a buy for long-term gains.

The company recently changed its name from Raytheon Technologies Corp. (it did not change the trading symbol). Formed from the 2020 merger of Raytheon and United Technologies, it is a leading maker of commercial aircraft equipment, electronic systems for military aircraft, and guided missiles.

The stock dropped 4% this week after the company’s Pratt & Whitney unit announced that contaminated metal in some engine parts will force it to remove and inspect between 600 and 700 jet engines over the next three years.

RTX will record a charge of $3.0 billion in the third quarter of 2023 to cover these costs....

Potash prices have fallen 60% in the past year after spiking in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In response, Nutrien paused its plan to expand its potash production. However, the long-term outlook for fertilizer prices remains bright, particularly as China and India aim to boost their domestic food production....

These two railways recently re-routed some of their traffic due to the B.C. port workers strike. The strike has now ended, which should let them recover those added costs over the next few months.


CANADIAN PACIFIC KANSAS CITY LTD. $106 is your #1 Conservative Buy for 2023. The company (Toronto symbol CP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 931.5 million; Market cap: $98.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 9.6; Dividend yield: 0.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cpkcr.com) took its current form on April 14, 2023, when Canadian Pacific Ltd....

A: FactSet Research Systems Inc., $433.45, symbol FDS on New York (Shares outstanding: 38.1 million; Market cap: $16.6 billion; www.factset.com), is a leading provider of financial data and portfolio analytics to investment firms worldwide.

In March 2022, FactSet completed the acquisition of CUSIP Global Services for $1.93 billion in cash....

BLOOMIN’ BRANDS INC., $26.75, symbol BLMN on Nasdaq, owns and franchises more than 1,475 restaurants in 47 states and 13 countries. Its restaurant brands include Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill and Bonefish Grill. The Tampa Bay, Florida-based company owns about 80% of those restaurants, with the rest franchised.

On August 18, 2023, activist investor Starboard Value filed documents with the U.S....