Here are key updates on three of your buys: Toromont Industries Ltd., Metro Inc. and Shawcor Ltd.

Article Excerpt

TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD., $70, is a buy. The company (Toronto symbol TIH; Aggressive Growth Portfolio; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 81.5 million; Market cap: $5.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 1.5%; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.toromont.com) distributes a range of industrial equipment, including Caterpillar machinery, in eastern Canada. Investors gain even more diverse exposure to commercial and industrial segments through the company’s refrigeration systems business, CIMCO. In October 2017, Toromont acquired Hewitt Group for $1.02 billion in cash and shares. That firm is the exclusive Caterpillar distributor for Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Big acquisitions typically come with big risks, particularly if the new operations fail to live up to their promise. However, Hewitt Group is profitable and savings from the purchase should lift Toromont’s earnings 11.2%, from a forecast $3.47 a share for 2019 to $3.86 in 2020. The stock trades at a reasonable 18.1 times that 2020 estimate. Investors receive an annual dividend rate of $1.08; it yields 1.5%. METRO INC., $56, is…