stock pickers

Bellatrix Exploration, symbol BXE on Toronto, produces oil and natural gas in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. Gas makes up about 62% of its output; the remaining 38% is oil. Bellatrix is one of the natural gas stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. In the three months ended June 30, 2011, the natural gas stock’s production fell 2.9%, to 11,783 barrels of oil equivalent per day (including natural gas) from 12,141 barrels. However, the decline was mostly due to wet weather conditions....

Amazon.com, $213.49, symbol AMZN on Nasdaq (Shares outstanding: 456.0 million; Market cap: $96.4 billion; www.amazon.com), is a world leader in selling books, movies and music online. In addition, the company sells a wide range of other products, such as electronics and toys. It also operates Amazon Marketplace, which lets online sellers market their products on Amazon’s web sites. The company gets 55% of its sales from North America, and 45% from overseas. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Amazon’s revenue rose 38.2%, to $9.9 billion from $7.1 billion a year earlier. Electronics sales were particularly strong, gaining 59.1%, to $5.6 billion. North American revenue jumped 44.6%, and international revenue rose 31.1%....

Demand for medical devices and supplies will undoubtedly continue to grow as the population ages. Companies in this fast-changing field make a wide range of products, from wheelchairs to syringes and surgical instruments. Some medical-equipment firms are large and well-established, like Baxter International (symbol BAX on New York), one of the stocks we cover in our Wall Street Stock Forecaster newsletter. Baxter gets most of its sales from its Medical Products division, which makes intravenous pumps, syringes and kidney-dialysis equipment. Overall, the company has over $12.8 billion U.S. in annual sales. It also has a long history of paying dividends....

Alimentation Couche-Tard, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, is the largest convenience-store operator in Canada, with over 2,000 outlets. It also has over 3,500 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. Couche-Tard sells fuel at over 68% of its stores. We analyze Couche-Tard in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that gives you Canadian stock tips for the part of your aggressive investing. In the three months ended April 24, 2011, earnings excluding one-time items rose 19.0%, to $64.0 million, or $0.35 a share. A year earlier, Couche-Tard earned $53.8 million, or $0.30 a share (all figures except share prices in U.S. dollars). The latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $0.30 a share....

MART RESOURCES $0.59 (Toronto symbol MMT; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (403-270-1841; www.martresources.com; Shares outstanding: 340.2 million; Market cap: $188.2 million; No dividends paid) trades at a low multiple to cash flow. That reflects investor concern about operating in politically unstable Nigeria. Right now, Mart is producing oil from its 50%-held Umusadege field in southern Nigeria’s Niger Delta region. This field is about 150 kilometres northeast of the major port city of Warri. The Niger Delta region accounts for over 90% of the company’s proven reserves. This area is the scene of many long-standing ethnic conflicts, including a failed breakaway attempt by the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra between 1967 and 1970. The Nigerian army is still active in the Niger Delta, where it suppresses attacks on oilfields and pipelines, as well as hostage-taking by militant groups and criminal gangs....

WESTJET AIRLINES $14.65 (Toronto symbol WJA; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (1-877-493-7853; www.westjet.com; Shares outstanding: 145.1 million; Market cap: $2.0 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%) is upgrading its “interline” agreement with Delta Air Lines to a full “code sharing” arrangement. WestJet signed an interline agreement with Delta in February 2011. Under these agreements, airlines co-operate on flights and baggage handling. But under a “code sharing” agreement, WestJet can also sell seats and move luggage onto Delta flights. That will let it serve more cities without having to add flights of its own. Code-sharing agreements are especially valuable for attracting business passengers. That’s because these agreements let customers seamlessly connect between flights and gain extra frequent-flyer points....

AlarmForce Industries, symbol AF on Toronto, reported record quarterly revenue of $10.1 million in the three months ended April 30, 2011. That’s up 10.3% from $9.2 million a year earlier.

AlarmForce is one of the stocks we analyze in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter that helps you make hot stock picks for the part of your portfolio you devote to aggressive investing.

Earnings fell 9.2%, to $949,000, or $0.08 a share, from $1.0 million, or $0.09 a share....

When a company splits its shares, it is simply cutting itself up into a different number of pieces, without changing its fundamental value.

Members of our Inner Circle service ask for our advice on a wide range of investments from buying penny stocks to investing in shares of large, multinational companies. For example, an Inner Circle member interested in buying penny stocks recently asked our advice on North American Tungsten. The company’s projects are located in the Northwest Territories and Yukon Territory. Tungsten is used in a wide range of products, from wind turbines to light bulbs. To give you a sense of how my Inner Circle service works, I’d like to share this question about buying penny stocks, and our answer, with you. I hope you enjoy and profit from it....

Chesapeake Energy, $29.88, symbol CHK on New York, is a recommendation of our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. It’s a buy. A: UGI Corp., $32.15, symbol UGI on New York (Shares outstanding: 110.5 million; Market cap: $3.6 billion; www.ugicorp.com), has five main divisions: Gas Utility (which accounted for 32% of UGI’s 2010 earnings), Midstream & Marketing (26%), International Propane (22% of 2010 earnings), AmeriGas Propane (17%), and Electric Utility (3%). UGI distributes natural gas and electricity to nearly 568,000 customers in eastern Pennsylvania; 44%-owned AmeriGas is the largest U.S. propane marketer, serving about 1.3 million users in 50 states....