thomson reuters

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $53 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 750.4 million; Market cap: $39.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) mainly sells information products to financial clients such as banks and brokerages....

Brexit—Britain’s vote to leave the European Union—has hurt the stock prices of these four companies. Investors fear that a weaker British pound in the wake of the vote will limit the contribution of their U.K. businesses.

These stocks will likely remain volatile until Britain negotiates new trade terms with the EU....

McDonald’s Corp. will improve its menu and cut its operating costs to lift earnings—and increase dividends and share buybacks by 2017.

Thomson Reuters Corp. plans to sell its intellectual properties unit to boost buybacks as its new digital platform improves earnings

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $53 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 752.4 million; Market cap: $39.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) mainly sells information products to financial clients, such as banks and brokerages. In 2015, this business supplied 52% of Thomson’s revenue. The company also sells specialized information to professionals in the legal (27%); tax and accounting (11%); and intellectual property and science (8%) fields. Its Reuters news division supplies the remaining 2%. Thomson now plans to sell its intellectual property business. It will probably use the expected proceeds of $3 billion to buy back its own shares (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). The sale should close later this year....

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $53 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 752.4 million; Market cap: $39.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) mainly sells information products to financial clients, such as banks and brokerages. In 2015, this business supplied 52% of Thomson’s revenue. The company also sells specialized information to professionals in the legal (27%); tax and accounting (11%); and intellectual property and science (8%) fields. Its Reuters news division supplies the remaining 2%. Thomson now plans to sell its intellectual property business. It will probably use the expected proceeds of $3 billion to buy back its own shares (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). The sale should close later this year....

SUNCOR ENERGY INC., $35.86, Toronto symbol SU, has completed its all-stock takeover of Canadian Oil Sands (Toronto symbol COS). Under the deal, Canadian Oil Sands investors received 0.28 of a Suncor share for each share they held. As a result, the Toronto Stock Exchange delisted Canadian Oil Sands’ shares on March 23, 2016. Based on Suncor’s share price just before the deal closed, it paid $4.8 billion for Canadian Oil Sands. If you include Canadian Oil Sands’ debt of $2.4 billion, the total price was $7.2 billion. To put that in context, Suncor’s market cap (the value of all outstanding shares) is $55.6 billion....

THOMSON REUTERS INC. $50 (www.thomsonreuters.com) plans to sell its intellectual property and science information businesses. It would probably apply the expected proceeds of $3 billion—equal to 8% of its $38.2-billion market cap—on share repurchases. Buy.

CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE $96 (www.cibc.com) earned $2.55 a share in the quarter ended January 31, 2016. That’s up 8.1% from $2.36 a year earlier. Strong gains at the bank’s main personal and business banking operations offset weaker earnings from wealth management and securities trading. CIBC also increased its dividend by 2.6%; the new annual rate of $4.72 a share yields 4.9%. Buy. ROYAL BANK OF CANADA $73 (www.rbc.com) recently completed its $7.1-billion acquisition of Los Angeles-based City National Bank. This business added $53 million to its latest quarterly profits. Even so, Royal’s overall earnings fell 0.4%, to $2.45 billion from $2.46 billion a year earlier; earnings per share fell 4.2%, to $1.58 from $1.65, on more shares outstanding. These declines are mainly due to weaker results from its insurance and securities trading operations. Even so, Royal boosted its dividend by 2.5%; the new annual rate of $3.24 a share yields 4.4%. Buy. THOMSON REUTERS INC. $50 (www.thomsonreuters.com) plans to sell its intellectual property and science information businesses. It would probably apply the expected proceeds of $3 billion—equal to 8% of its $38.2-billion market cap—on share repurchases. Buy....

Broadridge Financial Solutions boosts earnings through acquisition and niche investment services.