spinoffs

Here are short answers to a couple of issues you may have wondered about lately.

This economic statistic deserves a closer look.

We look at lots of economic statistics, but rarely find any worth talking about. Most stats represent random fluctuations in economic data, without revealing any meaningful shift in economic trends.

However, last Friday’s release of U.S....

Alcon began trading as a new spinoff last spring. At current prices, the stock is not inexpensive in relation to this year’s earnings. But we think trends now underway—including the company’s strong position in its key markets—have set its sales, profit and share price on a strong growth path.

Our Successful Investor research department has drawn up this Inner Circle Spotlight report on Alcon to explain why we think the stock will keep paying off for you as an investment, and why now is a good time to buy....

Weight Watchers is on the move again after a bad start to 2019. The company rebranded itself as WW in the fall of 2018, when it expanded its weight-loss services to include “Wellness that works” programs. The move reflects the company’s goal of promoting healthy living, in general, rather than just weight loss.


However, it have failed to effectively communicate the rebranding....

Shopify has made enormous business progress in its less than four years as a public company. More important for our subscribers, however, is the stock’s 822.3% gain since we first recommended it just two years ago at $66.17 in our February 2017 issue.


Online retailing has also made great strides....

YAMANA GOLD $5.11 is a precious metal buy. The gold miner (Toronto symbol YRI; Resources Sector; Shares outstanding: 950.4 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.0%; Takeover Target Rating: Highest; www.yamana.com) lets you tap six gold mines, in Canada, Brazil, Chile and Argentina....

TENNECO INC. $10 is a buy for aggressive investors. The stock (New York symbol TEN; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 80.9 million; Market cap: $809.0 million; Dividend yield: 9.5%; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.tenneco.com) lets you tap a leading maker of auto parts....

We’ve long believed in the power of spinoffs to lift value for investors. Indeed, it’s why we were excited by the possibility that Archer Daniels would set up its Ethanol operations as a separate company and then hand investors shares in the new company. Now, however, the agri-giant has decided to sell that fuel business instead....

VERINT SYSTEMS INC. $589 is a spinoff buy. The software maker (Nasdaq symbol VRNT; Manufacturing & Industry Sector; Shares outstanding: 66.8 million; Market cap: $3.9 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.verint.com) plans to split the company into two separate, publicly traded businesses in early 2021.


The customer engagement business will have almost $1 billion in sales while its cyber intelligence business will have sales of about $500 million....

As we often remind investors, spinoffs are one of the best ways for companies to enhance investor value. Here are two stocks set to benefit from setting up smaller operations as separate firms.


IAC/INTERACTIVE CORP. $272 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol IAC; Manufacturing & Industry Sector; Shares outstanding: 84.6 million; Market cap: $23.0 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Lowest; www.iac.com) owns several online businesses, including U.S....

Long before 2020—indeed, for several decades—we’ve advised Canadian investors to spread their holdings out geographically between Canadian and U.S. stocks. Our view is that virtually all Canadian investors should have, say, 20% to 30% of their portfolios in U.S. stocks, with the remainder primarily in Canadian stocks....