Here’s our Pick of the Month

Article Excerpt

AGT FOOD & INGREDIENTS $36.46 (Toronto symbol AGT; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604-231-1100; www.agtfoods.com; Shares outstanding: 23.9 million; Market cap: $840.7 million; Dividend yield: 1.7%) buys, processes and distributes a range of pulses—peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas—as well as other specialty crops. Based in Saskatchewan, the company owns 13 processing plants in Canada, nine in Turkey, four in Australia, two in the U.S., one in China and another in South Africa. In the three months ended March 31, 2016, AGT’s cash flow per share jumped to $0.83 from $0.37 a year earlier. Revenue gained 14.6%, to $441.4 million from $385.2 million. The increases stem from the company’s expanded processing and recent acquisitions, including short-line railways and bulk-loading facilities in Saskatchewan. A big part of AGT’s success has come from its shift to selling higher-profit-margin products such as ingredients and packaged foods instead of just cleaning, splitting, sorting and bagging bulk crops. Demand for pulses is very strong right now, especially…