pension plan

ARCONIC INC. $18 (New York symbol ARNC; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 483.2 million; Market cap: $8.7 billion; Dividend yield: 1.3%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.arconic.com) is a leading maker of engineered-aluminum products for cars and jet engines.


On November 1, 2016, Arconic spun off Alcoa Corp....

Prospects for all three of these companies from our Aggressive Growth Portfolio continue to improve, either through acquisitions or cost cuts. Still, each stock fell sharply in 2018 and will likely remain depressed in 2019.


Instead of selling, however, we continue to recommend investors hold their shares....

A: WPT Industrial REIT, $12.78, symbol WIR.U on Toronto (Units outstanding: 44.5 million; Market cap: $568.7 million; www.wptreit.com), is a Canadian REIT that owns and manages industrial properties in the U.S.

Right now, WPT has 54 properties in 15 states....

GANNETT CO., INC. $11 (New York symbol GCI; Cyclical- Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 113.7 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; Dividend yield: 5.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) publishes newspapers in the U.S....

TORSTAR CORP. $1.20 (www.torstar.com) has agreed to merge its eight employee registered defined-benefit pension plans with the larger Colleges of Applied Arts & Technology Pension Plan. That plan covers 42 participating employers, and has $11 billion in assets under administration....

AT&T has now completed its $103 billion takeover of Time Warner. Big acquisitions like this add considerable risk. However, Time Warner’s extensive library of movies and TV shows should help the company compete with online video providers like Netflix and YouTube.


The stock dropped after AT&T closed the deal, but the company’s long-term prospects remain bright....

In the past few years, Canadian Tire has acquired several retail chains, including the Forzani Group (sporting goods) and Mark’s (casual clothing). Those new businesses have helped it compete with bigger U.S.-based retailers such as Walmart and Costco.

Canadian Tire’s latest acquisition—clothing maker Helly Hansen—seemed to catch investors by surprise and the stock fell 7%....

These two firms are subject to the ups and downs of cyclical industries, but their strong reputations and high-quality clientele should let them keep raising their dividends.


SNC-LAVALIN GROUP INC. $55 (Toronto symbol SNC; Cyclical-Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 175.5 million; Market cap: $9.7 billion; Dividend yield: 2.1%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.snclavalin.com) is a leading Canadian engineering and construction firm specializing in large infrastructure projects, including roads, bridges and water-treatment plants.


Starting in March 2018, SNC increased its quarterly dividend by 5.1%, to $0.287 a share from $0.273....

A: Glencore Xstrata plc Holdings (ADR), $4.99, symbol GLCNF on the U.S. over-the-counter market (ADRs outstanding: 14.4 billion; Market cap: $73.1 billion; www.glencore.com), is an Anglo–Swiss multinational commodity-trading and mining company headquartered in Baar, Switzerland....

HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC. $14 (Toronto symbol HCG; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 80.3 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.1; Dividend suspended in May 2017; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.homecapital.com) is a mortgage lender serving borrowers who fail to meet the stricter standards of Canada’s big banks and other larger, traditional lenders.

The company offers most of its loans through 4,000 independent mortgage brokers....