Updating Transcontinental Inc., Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Fortis Inc. and ShawCor Ltd.

Article Excerpt

TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $15 (Toronto symbol TCL.A; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 83.7 million; Market cap: $1.3 billion; SI Rating: Average) has paid an undisclosed sum for L’Autre Voix, a community newspaper that serves 13,500 households in the Côte-de-Beaupré region of Quebec. It has also acquired the Italian-language weekly newspaper Corriere Italiano, which serves the Italian community in the Montreal area. Transcontinental now operates 172 community newspapers across Canada. The stock has moved down lately, as the high Canadian dollar hurts profits from its operations in the United States and Mexico. As well, slowing consumer spending and Internet competition could also hurt advertising revenue. However, small newspapers such as these are less vulnerable to competition from the Internet than larger newspapers. Transcontinental is a buy. MAPLE LEAF FOODS INC. $14 (Toronto symbol MFI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 129.1 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; SI Rating: Average) considered selling its Rothsay rendering operations as part of its current restructuring plan,…