recent acquisitions

BROADRIDGE FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS $30.69 (New York symbol BR; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (201-714-3000; www.broadridge.com; Shares outstanding: 121.2 million; Market cap: $3.7 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) serves the investment industry in three main areas: investor communications, securities processing and transaction clearing. The company processes 85% of all proxy votes in the U.S.

In its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter, which ended June 30, 2013, Broadridge’s earnings jumped 61.4%, to $134.6 million from $83.4 million a year earlier. Pershare earnings rose 67.2%, to $1.12 from $0.67, on fewer shares outstanding.

If you disregard unusual items, such as writedowns and costs to integrate recent acquisitions, Broadridge’s per-share earnings would have risen 12.7%, to $1.15 from $1.02. On that basis, the company’s latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $1.09 a share.
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SYMANTEC CORP., $26.52, Nasdaq symbol SYMC, sells computer-security technology, including anti-virus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers. The stock jumped 8% this week after the company reported record quarterly revenue and earnings. In its fiscal 2014 first quarter, which ended June 28, 2013, Symantec’s revenue rose 2.5%, to $1.71 billion from $1.67 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. The company is doing a good job of selling its products as ongoing subscriptions instead of one-time purchases. Subscriptions now account for 45% of Symantec’s revenue, up from 44% a year ago....

Dundee International REIT, $9.91, symbol DI.UN on Toronto (Units outstanding: 108.8 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; www.dundeeinternational.com), is the only Canadian real estate investment trust that focuses on investing outside the country. Dundee International aims to grow by acquiring different types of properties in certain European countries, starting with Germany. The trust first sold units to the public in August 2011. Initially, it sold 27 million units for $10 each to raise $270 million. It raised a further $140 million in an issue of debentures....

Amica Mature Lifestyles Inc., $8.53, symbol ACC on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 30.7 million; Market cap: $262.3 million; www.amica.ca), manages, develops and markets luxury housing for seniors. Amica now owns or has interests in 27 residences, including two under development. These properties are in B.C., Alberta and Ontario, with a focus on the Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver areas. When all these buildings are complete, the company will have a total of 3,474 suites. Amica caters to an affluent market, with rent starting at more than $3,000 a month for a one-bedroom suite....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests for advice on specific stock picks and other questions 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, an Inner Circle member asked about a stock that has risen sharply this year. AutoCanada’s franchise car dealerships have profited from robust car sales and the company continues to expand. Pat looks at whether AutoCanada can sustain its growth and also measures the risk of its growth-by-acquisition strategy....

AutoCanada Inc., $28, symbol ACQ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 19.9 million; Market cap: $557.2 million; www.autocan.ca), has 30 franchised car dealerships in six provinces. It sells numerous brands, but Chrysler vehicles supply nearly 75% of its revenue. The company aims to increase its number of dealerships by 20% over the next two years. That’s why it recently paid $3.8 million for People’s Automotive, a Volkswagen dealership in Grande Prairie, Alberta. It also paid $23.3 million for two dealerships in Winnipeg that sell Audis and Volkswagens. In addition, AutoCanada recently announced a deal to buy a large Chrysler dealership in Calgary. It did not reveal the purchase price, but this business had $68 million of revenue in 2012. AutoCanada plans to sell $40 million of new shares at $25.00 each to help pay for this purchase. This will increase the number of shares outstanding by 8%....

TELUS CORP., $37.39, Toronto symbol T, has agreed to buy rival wireless carrier Mobilicity. This privately held company began operating in 2010 and has 250,000 subscribers, mainly in large cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. To put that in context, Telus has 7.7 million wireless customers across Canada. Like other new entrants into Canada’s wireless market, Mobilicity has had a hard time competing with large, established carriers like Telus. As a result, it is close to bankruptcy....

SYMANTEC CORP., $24.35, Nasdaq symbol SYMC, sells computer-security technology, including anti-virus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers. In its fiscal 2013 fourth quarter, which ended March 29, 2013, Symantec’s revenue rose 4.0%, to $1.75 billion from $1.68 billion a year earlier. That beat the consensus revenue estimate of $1.73 billion. The company is doing a good job of selling its products as ongoing subscriptions instead of one-time purchases. Subscriptions now account for 44% of Symantec’s sales to consumers and 14% of its sales to businesses. Earnings rose 11.0%, to $314 million from $283 million. Symantec spent $125 million on share repurchases in the latest quarter. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 15.8%, to $0.44 from $0.38. These figures exclude costs related to the company’s plan to lay off 30% to 40% of its managers and streamline its product lines. On that basis, the latest earnings exceeded the consensus estimate of $0.38 a share. Symantec continues to spend around 15% of its revenue on research....

Please note: The next Stock Pickers Digest newsletter issue will be sent out on Friday, May 24, 2013. WESTJET AIRLINES LTD., $21.85, symbol WJA on Toronto, fell almost 13% this week, even though it reported record earnings in the latest quarter. WestJet reports that its earnings jumped 33.3% in the three months ended March 31, 2013, to $91.1 million from $68.3 million a year earlier. That marks the company’s 32nd consecutive quarter of profitability. Earnings per share rose 38.8%, to $0.68 from $0.49, on fewer shares outstanding. Revenue rose 8.6%, to $967.2 million from $891.0 million a year earlier....

STANTEC INC. $43.25 (Toronto symbol STN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (780-917-7288; www.stantec.com; Shares outstanding: 46.0 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.5%) sells a range of consulting, project delivery, design and technology services....