stock pickers

RuggedCom, symbol RCM on Toronto, makes computer networking equipment that is used in harsh environments. The small cap stock’s products include ethernet switches, network routers, wireless devices, and software. The company’s products are designed to reliably operate under high levels of electromagnetic interference. They can also cope with wide variations in temperature and humidity, as well as vibration and exposure to dust. They also work while exposed to such things as corrosive gases and water. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, RuggedCom’s revenue was $25.6 million. That’s up 24.2% from $20.6 million a year earlier. Sales to clients in the transportation industry jumped 76%, and sales to the electric-power market rose 32%....

Aeropostale Inc., symbol ARO on New York, is a mall-based retailer of casual clothing and accessories. The company has 965 Aeropostale stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. It mainly sells its clothing to 14-to-17-year-olds. Aeropostale’s 47 “P.S. from Aeropostale” stores in the U.S. are aimed at seven-to-12-year-old elementary-school children. In the fiscal year ended January 29, 2011, Aeropostale’s sales rose 7.6% to $2.4 billion from $2.2 billion the previous year. Same-store sales rose only 1%, compared to a gain of 10% in the prior year, but online sales rose 24.2% to $160.2 million from $129.0 million. The company’s earnings rose 0.8%, to $231.3 million from $229.5 million. Earnings per share rose 9.7%, to $2.49 from $2.27, on fewer shares outstanding. In the latest fiscal year, Aeropostale bought back 10.3 million shares for $257.5 million....

Hidden value is one of the key factors we look for when we choose stocks to recommend in our newsletters and investment services, including Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for aggressive investing. (In the latest Stock Pickers Digest, we’ve updated our buy/sell/hold advice on a niche technology firm with an important hidden asset. Read on for further details.) By hidden value, we mean valuable assets that are not getting the attention they deserve from investors. When a company’s assets are wholly or partially hidden, the stock trades for less than it’s really worth, so you get to buy at a bargain price....

The Money Game, a 1968 mega bestseller about investing, was an eye-opener for a generation of investors, myself included. The author, George Goodman, wrote under the pseudonym Adam Smith. It takes a lot of chutzpah for a writer to name himself after the 18th century Scottish father of modern economics, but Goodman/Smith pulls it off. In his book, Smith introduced a number of key investing concepts that go to the heart of our Successful Investor stock investment advice. Smith has a genius for encapsulating his ideas in anecdotes, and here’s one that jumps out. It concerns the need to invest opportunistically, rather than emotionally. The story concerns a group of portfolio managers on a tour of troubled factories in the U.S. northeast. When passing by one facility, the tour’s broker-organizer commented, “I understand this company has thousands of drug addicts among its employees in that facility alone.”...

Zhongpin Inc., symbol HOGS on Nasdaq, is a China-based company that processes meat and other foods. Zhongpin is one of the world stock market investments we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. Zhongpin specializes in pork and pork products, as well as fruit and vegetables. It sells 358 meat products, including chilled pork, frozen pork and prepared meats, as well as 34 fruit and vegetable products. Zhongpin focuses on prepared meat, with its higher profit margins, rather than bulk pork....

Computer Modelling Group, symbol CMG on Toronto, sells software to clients in the oil and gas industry. It also provides consulting services. The company is one of the small cap stock picks we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. Computer Modelling’s software and services help its clients generate more cash flow by getting as much oil as possible from their existing wells. The company makes mostly recurring revenue from software licences and consulting contracts. That gives it long-term stability....

Aastra Technologies, symbol AAH on Toronto, develops and markets products and systems for accessing communication networks, including the Internet. The aggressive investing stock’s technology is centred around business telephone systems, and includes products that integrate traditional and mobile phones. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, Aastra’s sales fell 0.8%, to $216.0 million from $217.8 million a year earlier. If you exclude the negative impact of exchange rates, sales would have risen 8.7%. The weaker sales pushed down Aastra’s earnings by 6.1%, to $14.4 million from $15.3 million a year earlier. Earnings per share declined 8.1%, to $1.02 from $1.11, on more shares outstanding. The company gets three quarters of its sales from Europe. The weaker European economy has hurt demand for the aggressive investing stock’s products, and forced it to cut its prices. It needs a sustained European economic recovery to show a sustained rise in sales and earnings....

WESTJET AIRLINES, $15.48, symbol WJA on Toronto, has just signed a code-sharing agreement with American Airlines. Under these agreements, two airlines co-operate on flights and baggage handling. Last year, WestJet entered into its first code-sharing deal with Cathay Pacific. Initially, WestJet will only connect with American Airlines flights to Chicago and Boston. However, it expects to eventually connect with American Airlines flights that go all across the U.S. Code-sharing agreements are especially valuable for attracting business passengers. That’s because these agreements let customers seamlessly connect between flights and gain frequent-flyer points for the entire distance travelled....

Wyndham Worldwide, symbol WYN on New York, is the third-largest hotel company in the world, with 7,110 franchised hotels. It operates under a number of brands, including Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Ramada, Days Inn, Super 8, Wingate by Wyndham, Baymont Inn & Suites, Microtel Inns & Suites, Hawthorn Suites, Howard Johnson, Travelodge, Knights Inn and Ameri-host Inn. We analyze Wyndham in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for investing in your aggressive portfolio. In addition to hotels, Wyndham manages a number of vacation resorts, rental properties, luxury clubs and time-shares. This wide range of operations gives Wyndham more consistent cash flow than most of its competitors, who mainly focus on hotels....

LoJack Corp., symbol LOJN on Nasdaq, sells systems that help track and recover stolen vehicles. LoJack sells its products in the U.S. and 30 other countries. The company’s Canadian subsidiary is Boomerang Tracking. LoJack is one of the aggressive investing stocks we analyze in our Stock Pickers Digest newsletter. In the three months ended December 31, 2010, LoJack’s revenue rose 12.4%, to $40.0 million from $35.6 million a year earlier. The international division’s revenue jumped 27.1%, to $16.4 million from $12.9 million a year earlier. Sales in Italy were especially strong in the latest quarter: the company added 2,200 clients in the country, and now has a total of 13,000 Italian clients....