takeovers

MENTOR GRAPHICS $24.12 (Nasdaq symbol MENT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (503-685-7000; www.mentor.com; Shares o/s: 108.2 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; Divd. yield: 0.9%) makes systems that improve the design of electronic products and speed up their development....

MENTOR GRAPHICS $24.12 (Nasdaq symbol MENT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (503-685-7000; www.mentor.com; Shares o/s: 108.2 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; Divd. yield: 0.9%) makes systems that improve the design of electronic products and speed up their development....

Over the years, many investors have asked why so many of the stocks we recommend have attracted takeover bids. The answer is simple: when we look for stocks to buy, we pay special attention to hidden assets. These are valuable assets that investors overlook, discount or disregard altogether....

MENTOR GRAPHICS $21.65 (Nasdaq symbol MENT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (503-685-7000; www.mentor.com; Shares o/s: 106.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Divd. yield: 1.0%) makes systems that improve the design of electronic products and speed up their development....

MENTOR GRAPHICS $21.65 (Nasdaq symbol MENT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (503-685-7000; www.mentor.com; Shares o/s: 106.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Divd. yield: 1.0%) makes systems that improve the design of electronic products and speed up their development....

EXTENDICARE INC., $8.69, symbol EXE on Toronto, owns 64 senior-care facilities that can house 8,464 residents—both long- and short-term. It manages another 54 residences that are home to 6,426 seniors. Extendicare also operates 47 ParaMed Home Health Care branches in six provinces. ParaMed’s 10,900 staff members provide nursing care and other forms of assistance to clients who remain in their own homes. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, the company’s revenue rose 29.8%, to $284.4 million from $202.2 million a year earlier. Cash flow jumped 72.5%, to $12.2 million, or $0.14 a share, from $7.1 million, or $0.08....

MENTOR GRAPHICS $19.74 (Nasdaq symbol MENT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (503-685-7000; www.mentor.com; Shares o/s: 117.5 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Divd. yield: 1.1%) makes systems that improve the design of electronic products and speed up their development. Its systems are used in a range of industries. The auto business is one of the company’s biggest growth areas because of the shift from mechanical to electronic systems: electronics now make up roughly 40% of a car’s cost. In the three months ended January 31, 2016, Mentor’s revenue fell 23.2%, to $337.3 million from $439.1 million a year earlier....

SIERRA WIRELESS $18.58 (Toronto symbol SW; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604-231-1100; www.sierrawireless.com; Shares outstanding: 32.3 million; Market cap: $577.9 million; No dividends paid) makes modules that connect products—including smart electricity meters and vehicles—to the Internet. This is known as machine- to-machine networking or, more generally, as the Internet of Things. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s revenue fell 2.8% from a year earlier. That’s a drop from $149.1 million to $144.8 million (all figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, the company earned $2.5 million, or $0.08 a share, down sharply from $9.1 million, or $0.29, a year earlier....

We’re still positive on the long-term outlook for stocks. But in a time of rising market volatility, plunging commodity prices and international tension, it’s more important than ever to diversify, rather than focus on a single stock of the year. Moreover, we find lots of attractive long-term buys among stocks we cover. With that in mind, we’ve chosen to highlight one pick from each of our portfolios (Conservative, Aggressive and Income) for 2016. All three of these high-quality stocks offer strong growth prospects and trade at reasonable multiples to earnings. CAE INC. $15 (Toronto symbol CAE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 269.2 million; Market cap: $4.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.cae.com) is the world’s leading maker of flight simulators, which help teach airline and military pilots how to take off, land and handle a variety of emergency situations....

ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD, $62.78, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, operates 8,006 convenience stores throughout North America and 2,217 in Europe, including Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden and Denmark), Poland, the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and Russia. In the three months ended October 11, 2015, Couche-Tard’s sales fell 5.7%, to $8.44 billion from $8.95 billion a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). The decline came from lower gasoline prices and the sale of its aviation-fuel business late last year. The higher U.S. dollar also cut the contribution from the company’s European operations. Without one-time items, earnings per share rose 20.0%, to $0.66 from $0.55, partly due to higher profit margins on merchandise and fuel. The company also paid less interest as it reduces the debt it took on to fund acquisitions, including its $2.7-billion purchase of Norway’s Statoil Fuel & Retail gas station chain in June 2012. As well, in March 2015, it paid $1.7 billion for the Pantry, which has more than 1,500 convenience stores in 13 southern U.S. states....