stantec

T. ROWE PRICE GROUP INC. $152 is a buy. The company (Nasdaq symbol TROW; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 227.6 million; Market cap: $34.6 billion; Divd yield: 2.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.troweprice.com) last raised its quarterly dividend by 18.4% with the March 2020 payment....

NUTRIEN LTD. $54 (www.nutrien.com) is still a buy. The company is the world’s largest producer of agricultural fertilizers. It also sells seeds, fertilizer and other agricultural products through 2,000 retail stores in seven countries....

The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the pace of new construction projects. But, the large backlog of orders for both of these leading engineering firms will help them rebound with the global economy. Still, for your new buying, we prefer Stantec given SNC’s new restructuring plan will weigh on its short-term earnings.


STANTEC INC....

These two Canadian industrial firms are leaders in their niche markets. Their strong reputations should continue to help them win new customers and contracts. Both of those are key to future dividend increases.


STANTEC INC. $43 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol STN; Cyclical-Growth Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 111.9 million; Market cap: $4.8 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.stantec.com) sells a range of consulting, design and technology services to clients in the oil and gas, transportation and construction industries.


With the April 2020 payment, Stantec raised its quarterly dividend by 6.9%, to $0.155 a share from $0.145....

STANTEC INC. $41 is a buy. The stock (Toronto symbol STN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 111.5 million; Market cap: $4.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.stantec.com) offers you exposure to this leading seller of consulting, project-delivery, design and technology services....

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $101 is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 500.0 million; Market cap: $50.5 billion; Dividend yield: 2.1%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.thomsonreuters.com) last raised its quarterly dividend with the March 2020 payment....

Amazon.com has now jumped to a new all-time high for our subscribers, including a 42% bounce from the bottom it reached during the recent downturn.


Investors now realize, more than ever, that the company’s dominance in e-commerce—through its aggressive retail strategies, massive distribution power and strong Prime program—will continue to build momentum in the wake of the coronavirus.


Furthermore, it continues to solidify its dominance in the cloud through its Amazon Web Services unit; its investment in Alexa virtual assistant AI technology further sets it up for a major role in the use of voice interfaces by individual consumers but also e-commerce retailers.


AMAZON.COM INC....

The shares of CGI, Canada’s largest provider of computer outsourcing services, have dropped about 30% in the past month due to the COVID-19 outbreak. That in part reflects the pandemic’s role in limiting visits by the company’s representatives to both existing and prospective clients.


However, the company is in a strong position to survive the crisis, and thrive again when the economy rebounds....

Subscriber update on April 3, 2020

We now see Luckin Coffee as a sell. The stock has dropped sharply on news that the company’s board of directors is investigating reports that senior executives and employees engaged in financial misconduct. Luckin is looking into allegations that chief operating officer Jian Liu and other employees reporting faked sales transactions amounting to $310 million.
The company’s long-term business model appears intact, and while the allegations are serious, the huge drop may more reflect today’s extremely volatile markets rather than the impact of the potential misconduct....

We’re promoting four stocks from our Power Growth Investor newsletter to our Successful Investor Aggressive Growth Portfolio. The move reflects their now-large market caps and their established dividend histories. That means they now warrant your consideration.


While they remain riskier than many of our TSI recommendations, these four are leaders in their fields and are using acquisitions to stay on top....