recent acquisitions
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WAL-MART STORES INC., $62.68, New York symbol WMT, is closing 269 of its less profitable stores; it currently has 11,600 outlets worldwide.
Of the total, 154 will be in the U.S., including all 102 of its smaller Walmart Express locations....
And you can save on a full year of Pat’s top stock recommendations in Stock Pickers Digest…starting with a 30-day free trial.
Choose your best price now
WAL-MART STORES INC., $62.68, New York symbol WMT, is closing 269 of its less profitable stores; it currently has 11,600 outlets worldwide.
Of the total, 154 will be in the U.S., including all 102 of its smaller Walmart Express locations....
We’re still positive on the long-term outlook for stocks. But in a time of rising market volatility, plunging commodity prices and international tension, it’s more important than ever to diversify, rather than focus on a single pick of the year. Moreover, we find lots of attractive long-term buys among the stocks we cover.
With that in mind, we’ve chosen to highlight three picks from our Stock Pickers Digest recommendations....
With that in mind, we’ve chosen to highlight three picks from our Stock Pickers Digest recommendations....
AGT FOOD & INGREDIENTS $36.50 (Toronto symbol AGT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604-231-1100; www.agtfoods.com; Shares outstanding: 23.8 million; Market cap: $862.3 million; Dividend yield: 1.6%) buys and processes a range of pulses—which include peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas—as well as other specialty crops.
Saskatchewan-based AGT owns 13 processing plants in Canada, nine in Turkey, four in Australia, two in the U.S., one in China and one in South Africa.
In the three months ended September 30, 2015, AGT earned $0.51 a share, up 10.9% from $0.46 a year earlier....
Saskatchewan-based AGT owns 13 processing plants in Canada, nine in Turkey, four in Australia, two in the U.S., one in China and one in South Africa.
In the three months ended September 30, 2015, AGT earned $0.51 a share, up 10.9% from $0.46 a year earlier....
These telecom firms’ recent acquisitions cut their reliance on traditional telephones and let them profit from growing markets, like Latin America, and highdemand services, such as mobile video. AT&T INC. $34 (New York symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 6.2 billion; Market cap: $210.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 5.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.att.com) is the largest wireless provider in the U.S., with 126.4 million subscribers. It also sells phone, TV and high-speed Internet access to 64.1 million users. The company recently completed its $48.5-billion purchase (70% stock and 30% cash) of DirecTV, which has 19.6 million satellite TV customers in the U.S. and 12.5 million in Latin America....
American Hotel Income Properties REIT, $10.30, symbol HOT.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 34.8 million; Market cap: $354.8 million, www.ahipreit.com), owns 79 hotels comprising 6,891 rooms in 27 U.S. states.
Of that total, 44 of its hotels (which operate under the Oak Tree Inn brand) mainly house railway employees.
American Hotel believes this is a profitable niche market, as contracts with large railways keep occupancy rates high relative to the overall hospitality industry. The hotels are close to large rail-switching yards and hubs, and the railways guarantee to keep them about 76% occupied. The specially designed buildings feature crew shuttles and 24-hour food service.
The remaining 35 hotels operate under a variety of licensed banners, including Hilton, Holiday Inn and Marriott.
American Hotel began trading in February 2013, after it sold 10.1 million units to the public at $10.00 each.
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Of that total, 44 of its hotels (which operate under the Oak Tree Inn brand) mainly house railway employees.
American Hotel believes this is a profitable niche market, as contracts with large railways keep occupancy rates high relative to the overall hospitality industry. The hotels are close to large rail-switching yards and hubs, and the railways guarantee to keep them about 76% occupied. The specially designed buildings feature crew shuttles and 24-hour food service.
The remaining 35 hotels operate under a variety of licensed banners, including Hilton, Holiday Inn and Marriott.
American Hotel began trading in February 2013, after it sold 10.1 million units to the public at $10.00 each.
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SUNCOR ENERGY INC., $36.03, Toronto symbol SU, has extended its hostile all-stock takeover offer for Canadian Oil Sands (Toronto symbol COS) from December 4, 2015, to January 8, 2016. That’s because Alberta securities regulators upheld Canadian Oil Sands’ request for more time to look for another buyer. However, Suncor did not increase the size of its offer: Canadian Oil Sands investors would still receive 0.25 of a Suncor share for each share they own. The deal requires at least two-thirds of shareholders to tender their holdings. Canadian Oil Sands’ main asset is its 36.74% stake in the Syncrude oil sands development near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Suncor already owns 12.0% of Syncrude, so buying Canadian Oil Sands would give it effective control, with a 48.74% stake. The company feels its expertise running similar projects would help Syncrude improve its efficiency and profits....
WYNDHAM WORLDWIDE $77.38 (New York symbol WYN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (973- 753-6000; www.wyndhamworldwide.com; Shares outstanding: 116.1 million; Market cap: $8.9 billion; Dividend yield: 2.2%) has now added all of its hotel rooms to the TripAdvisor Instant Booking platform. With Instant Booking, travellers click on the “Book on TripAdvisor” button to set up a reservation. TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site. It reaches over 340 million unique visitors a month and has more than 225 million traveller reviews and opinions. It launched its Instant Booking platform in the U.S. in June 2014 and has since expanded it to the U.K., with other international markets to follow. Wyndham Worldwide is a hold....
AGT FOOD & INGREDIENTS INC., $31.53, symbol AGT on Toronto, buys and processes a range of pulses, which include peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas, as well as other specialty crops. The Saskatchewan-based company owns processing plants in Canada, the U.S., Turkey, Australia, China and South Africa.
Before one-time items, AGT earned $0.51 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2015, up 10.9% from $0.46 a year earlier. Revenue gained 26.1%, to $362.8 million from $287.7 million. The increases came from recent acquisitions and higher processing activity.
AGT continues to benefit from its plan to focus on more-profitable products, such as ingredients and packaged foods, as opposed to simply cleaning, splitting and bagging bulk crops. Food makers use these ingredients in products such as baked goods, soups and beverages, as well as pet food and animal feed.
The stock trades at a low 13.2 times the $2.38 a share AGT will probably earn in 2016. It yields 1.9%.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: AGT Food & Ingredients is a buy.
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Before one-time items, AGT earned $0.51 a share in the three months ended September 30, 2015, up 10.9% from $0.46 a year earlier. Revenue gained 26.1%, to $362.8 million from $287.7 million. The increases came from recent acquisitions and higher processing activity.
AGT continues to benefit from its plan to focus on more-profitable products, such as ingredients and packaged foods, as opposed to simply cleaning, splitting and bagging bulk crops. Food makers use these ingredients in products such as baked goods, soups and beverages, as well as pet food and animal feed.
The stock trades at a low 13.2 times the $2.38 a share AGT will probably earn in 2016. It yields 1.9%.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: AGT Food & Ingredients is a buy.
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Canada’s big five banks (including Bank of Montreal, see page 118) make up the bulk of most investors’ finance-sector holdings. However, we feel it’s prudent to diversify beyond the banks with stocks like the three we analyze below. All three are leaders in their niche markets, which helps them thrive in good times and hold their own when the economy weakens. We see all three as buys, but only aggressive investors should consider Home Capital Group. GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $35 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 993.2 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend Yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest insurance company, after Manulife Financial (Toronto symbol MFC). It also offers mutual funds, retirement planning and wealth management....
GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $35 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 993.2 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.0; Dividend Yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest insurance company, after Manulife Financial (Toronto symbol MFC). It also offers mutual funds, retirement planning and wealth management. Power Financial (Toronto symbol PWF) owns 67.2% of Great-West. As of September 30, 2015, the company had $1.15 trillion of assets under administration, up 12.9% from a year earlier. Great-West gets 45% of its earnings from Canada, where it operates under well-known labels like Great-West Life, Canada Life and Freedom 55....