These safety-conscious stocks remain buys

Article Excerpt

METRO INC., $58.11, is a buy. The stock (Toronto symbol MRU; Shares o/s: 254.2 million; Market cap: $14.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.6%; www.metro.ca) lets you tap 950 grocery stores and 650 drugstores, in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. To improve its long-term profitability and drive investor value, Metro now plans to build a new distribution centre near Montreal to handle fresh and frozen products. The new facility will use robotic equipment to cut its labour costs. As well, the company is expanding its produce and dairy-products distribution centre in Laval, Quebec. In all, Metro expects to spend $420 million on these projects. That’s equal to 3% of its $14.8 billion market cap (the total value of all outstanding shares). The new distribution centre should open in 2023, while it expects to complete the Laval expansion in 2024. CENOVUS ENERGY, $5.00, is a buy for patient investors. The company (Toronto symbol CVE; Shares o/s: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $6.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; No dividends paid; www.cenovus.com) owns…