stock pickers
INTACT FINANCIAL CORP., $62.25, symbol IFC on Toronto, dropped about 4% this week on reports that Ontario’s minority Liberal party government may vote in support of an NDP motion calling for a 15% reduction in auto insurance premiums. The vote would be in exchange for NDP support on the next provincial budget, which would avoid triggering an election. The NDP points to premiums charged by insurers rising in 2011 even after the Ontario government introduced reforms in 2010 that lowered benefits for drivers and cut payouts on auto accident claims. Intact has enjoyed improved profits from its Ontario auto insurance business since the reforms were put in place, so it has some room to accommodate a rate reduction. And at the same time, the Liberals and NDP may work out a compromise, such as pushing insurers to lower premiums in exchange for the government doing more to combat fraud and clear a backlog of unresolved disputes between insurers and claimants....
SYMANTEC CORP. (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; www.symantec.com) sells computer security technology, including anti-virus and email-filtering software, to businesses and consumers. It also offers data-archiving software....
ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD, $53.63, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, reported sharply higher sales and earnings in its latest quarter. The company is the largest convenience store operator in Canada, with over 2,000 outlets. It also has nearly 3,700 U.S. stores. The Canadian stores operate under the Couche-Tard and Mac’s banners, while the U.S. stores mainly use the Circle K brand. In the three months ended February 3, 2013, Couche-Tard’s sales jumped 75.2%, to $11.6 billion from $6.6 billion a year earlier. The gain mostly came from Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA, which Couche-Tard bought for $2.7 billion in June 2012 (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). The company also benefited from higher fuel prices and merchandise sales. Couche-Tard gets about 30% of its revenue by selling merchandise....
Here are some natural gas producers we recommend: Encana Corp., $20.18, symbol ECA on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 736.3 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; www.encana.com), is a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our conservative-growth advisory. Encana is one of North America’s largest natural gas producers. The company was a pioneer in the development of unconventional gas reserves (also called “tight gas”). This is natural gas that is trapped in rock formations....
DEVON ENERGY CORP. (New York symbol DVN; www.dvn.com) is one of the largest U.S.-based oil and natural gas explorers and producers. Its production mix is 61% gas and 39% oil....
WESTJET AIRLINES, $23.45, symbol WJA on Toronto, is now in the process of upgrading its interline agreement with Air France to a full code-sharing arrangement. This will be WestJet’s ninth code-sharing deal. Under their current agreement, WestJet and Air France co-operate on flights and baggage handling. WestJet has interline agreements with 21 other airlines around the world. Through code-sharing deals, airlines sell seats on one another’s planes using the same two-letter code. In this case, the AF code will be used when travellers on Air France flights to Toronto connect to Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Quebec City, St. John’s, Moncton and Halifax. The AF code will also apply to Air France passengers taking WestJet flights to Winnipeg and Calgary from Toronto and Montreal....
BELLATRIX EXPLORATION (Toronto symbol BXE;www.bellatrixexploration.com) produces oil and natural gas in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. Gas makes up about 69% of its output; the remaining 31% is oil. In the three months ended December 31, 2012, Bellatrix’s production rose 32.1%, to 18,763 barrels of oil equivalent per day (including natural gas) from 14,209 barrels. Cash flow per share rose 7.1%, to $0.30 from $0.28....
DOREL INDUSTRIES, $39.80, symbol DII.B on Toronto, moved up over 8% this week after it reported improved results in the latest quarter. The company makes a wide range of products, including ready-to-assemble home and office furniture; juvenile products, such as car seats, strollers, high chairs, toddler beds and cribs; and recreational products, mainly bicycles. In the three months ended December 30, 2012, Dorel’s sales rose 10.9%, to $622.6 million from $561.6 million a year earlier (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars)....
AMAZON.COM (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; www.amazon.com) is a major online retailer. It gets about 33% of its sales from books, music and videos. Other products, including electronics, computer games and toys, make up the other 67%. Amazon Marketplace lets other companies sell their products through Amazon’s websites....
