stock pickers
WESTJET AIRLINES $12.12 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 141.3 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; Dividend yield: 1.7%) reports that its revenue rose 13.3% in the three months ended September 30, 2011, to $775.3 million from $684.1 million a year earlier. Demand remains high for the company’s flights, and it has entered into new partnerships with other airlines. These were the main reasons for the higher revenue. However, earnings fell 10.4%, to $39.3 million from $43.8 million. Earnings per share fell 6.7%, to $0.28 from $0.30, on fewer shares outstanding. Higher fuel prices were the main reason for the lower earnings. Fuel costs averaged $0.89 a litre in the latest quarter, up 27% from a year earlier....
How to cut your risk with ‘thin-trading’ stocks. Many speculative or aggressive stocks are inactive or “thin” traders. These stocks may trade
DUNDEE REIT, $32.92, symbol D.UN on Toronto, owns and manages 18.9 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space. The real estate investment trust’s occupancy rate is 95.8%. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Dundee’s revenue rose 75.4%, to $110.9 million from $63.2 million a year earlier. Most of the increase came from properties the trust recently purchased. The best way to assess a real estate investment trust’s operating performance is to look at its cash flow, and Dundee’s cash flow rose 69.4% in the latest quarter, to $36.6 million from $21.6 million. Cash flow per unit rose just 11.5%, to $0.58 from $0.52, due to more units outstanding (the trust issued new units to pay for the acquired properties)....
Commodity investments: Acquisitions help offset weakness in other operations. Ag Growth International Inc. (symbol AFN on Toronto;)), is a
How we use three financial ratios to uncover bargain stocks. When you’re looking for bargain stocks, it’s best to focus on shares of quality companies
TRILOGY ENERGY CORP., $35.29, symbol TET on Toronto, owns oil and gas properties in the Kaybob and Grande Prairie areas of central Alberta. About 71% of Trilogy’s production is natural gas. The remaining 29% is oil. In the three months ended September 30, 2011, Trilogy produced an average of 29,035 barrels of oil equivalent per day (including natural gas). That was up 29.3% from 22,462 barrels a day a year earlier. Trilogy’s daily production should rise to an average of 30,000 barrels for all of 2011. Cash flow per share rose 82.1%, to $0.51 from $0.28 a year earlier; the production increase and higher oil prices were the main reasons for the gain....
Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. This week, an Inner Circle member asked Pat about one of Canada’s major mining stocks. Labrador Iron Ore Royalty has quietly built a position as a world leader in iron ore. Now it faces several challenges in today’s volatile commodity markets....
MOSAID TECHNOLOGIES INC., $45.95, symbol MSD on Toronto, has agreed to a friendly, $46.00-a-share, all-cash takeover offer from U.S.-based private-equity firm Sterling Partners. Mosaid mainly licenses computer chip and telecommunications technology, including patents for technology used in smartphones and laptops. The Sterling Partners bid counters last week’s $42-a-share hostile offer from Wi-LAN. Prior to that, Wi-LAN had offered $38 a share....
Pat McKeough responds to many personal questions on stocks and other investment topics from the members of his Inner Circle. Every week, his comments and recommendations on a selection of the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And every Friday, we offer you one of the highlights from these Q&A sessions. An interesting question came up this week about Ocean Power Technologies, a company that is generating electricity from ocean waves. This raised the issue of the risks and rewards associated with a renewable energy stock. In particular, Pat drew the comparison between the long-term prospects of wave power and wind power....
Technological advances can spur on some powerful growth stocks. However, when a company bases its future growth on the widespread adoption of a single technological breakthrough, it can also add risk. Intuitive Surgical (Nasdaq symbol ISRG; www.intuitivesurgical.com) makes the da Vinci, a computerized surgical system....
