Growth Stocks
Although growth stock picks can be highly volatile, they can make good long-term investments. They may be well-known stars or quiet gems, but they do share one common attribute—they are growing at a higher-than-average rate within their industry, or within the market as a whole, and could keep growing for years or decades.
And keep in mind that we focus on growth stocks, which have a good long-term history and favourable prospects. We downplay momentum stocks that tend to attract many investors simply because they are moving faster than the market averages, but are liable to fall sharply when their momentum fades.
There’s room for growth stock investing in your portfolio, but make sure you follow our TSI Network three-part Successful Investor strategy for your overall portfolio:
- Invest mainly in well-established companies;
- Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; Utilities);
- Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.
Make better stock picks when you read this FREE Special Report, Canadian Growth Stocks: WestJet Stock, RioCan Stock and More.
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Growth Stocks Library Archives
DREAM OFFICE REIT $20.59 (Toronto symbol D.UN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-365-3535; www.dream.ca/office; Units outstanding: 107.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 7.3%) is up more than 23% since its recent announcement of a three-year strategic plan to push up its unit price. The trust will sell non-essential properties worth $1.2 billion to realize their full market value. These properties represent about 17% of its holdings. It will use some of the proceeds to pay down debt, and possibly to buy back units. The trust will also cut its annualized distribution by 33.0%, to $1.50 from $2.24. This will lower its payout ratio to 67% of forecast 2016 cash flow. Dream will also suspend its dividend reinvestment program. The DRIP has a high 38% participation rate. That program lets it conserve cash, but issuing more shares at low prices dilutes the interests of current unitholders. The units yield 7.3%....
WAJAX CORP. $16.85 (Toronto symbol WJX; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (905-212-3300; www.wajax.ca; Shares outstanding:20.0 million; Market cap: $335.9 million; Dividend yield: 5.9%) sells and services cranes, forklifts and other heavy equipment. It also provides related parts (such as ball bearings, motors, hoses and fittings) and power systems (including diesel engines and transmissions). The company’s customers are in the natural resource, construction, manufacturing and transportation industries. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Wajax’s clients in mining and oil and gas made fewer purchases. As a result, revenue fell 16.0%, to $324.4 million from $386.1 million a year earlier. Earnings, excluding one-time items, declined sharply, to $4.0 million, or $0.20 a share, from $11.0 million, or $0.66....
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO., $59.44, New York symbol AXP, rose 2% this week on speculation that WELLS FARGO &CO., $50.05, New York symbol WFC, will soon launch a takeover offer. Berkshire Hathaway (New York symbol BKB.B), the holding company controlled by billionaire investors Warren Buffett, owns 15.6% of American Express and 9.8% of Wells Fargo. An acquisition would enhance Wells Fargo’s credit card business and give it access to Amex’s high-quality clientele. In addition, the bank’s large depositor base provides a lower-cost way of funding credit card loans. Combining the two businesses would also allow Wells Fargo to eliminate overlapping operations....
ALIMENTATION COUCHE-TARD, $60.63, symbol ATD.B on Toronto, has agreed to buy 279 Esso gas stations in Ontario and Quebec from Imperial Oil for $1.7 billion. (Imperial Oil is a recommendation of The Successful Investor, our newsletter that focuses on conservative investments.) Imperial Oil is selling all of its 497 company-owned Esso gas stations to independent operators for $2.8 billion. Following the sale, franchisees will operate all of its 1,700 Esso stations across Canada. Besides Couche-Tard, the buyers include 7-Eleven Canada, which is getting 148 stations in Alberta and British Columbia. Parkland Fuel (Toronto symbol PKI) will buy 17 stations in Saskatchewan and Manitoba....
MONSANTO CO., $85.89, New York symbol MON, develops and sells technology-based agricultural products, such as genetically modified seeds, to farmers, grain processors and food companies. It also sells weed- and pest-control products.
The stock fell 5% this week after the company cut its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year. That’s mainly because the high U.S. dollar is hurting the contribution of its overseas sales. As well, lower crop prices give farmers less cash to spend on seeds and pesticides.
For its 2016 fiscal year, which ends August 31, 2016, Monsanto expects to earn $4.40 to $5.10 a share, excluding unusual items. That’s down from its earlier forecast $5.10 to $5.60.
The stock now trades at 18.1 times the midpoint of Monsanto’s new range. That’s a reasonable p/e in light of the worldwide need for more and better food. Moreover, Monsanto spends over 10% of its revenue on research, so it’s more profitable than it seems.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: Monsanto is still a buy.
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The stock fell 5% this week after the company cut its earnings forecast for the current fiscal year. That’s mainly because the high U.S. dollar is hurting the contribution of its overseas sales. As well, lower crop prices give farmers less cash to spend on seeds and pesticides.
For its 2016 fiscal year, which ends August 31, 2016, Monsanto expects to earn $4.40 to $5.10 a share, excluding unusual items. That’s down from its earlier forecast $5.10 to $5.60.
The stock now trades at 18.1 times the midpoint of Monsanto’s new range. That’s a reasonable p/e in light of the worldwide need for more and better food. Moreover, Monsanto spends over 10% of its revenue on research, so it’s more profitable than it seems.
OUR RECOMMENDATION: Monsanto is still a buy.
...
NISSAN MOTOR CO., $19.30, symbol NSANY on Nasdaq, is Japan’s second-largest automaker, after Toyota and ahead of Honda. Nissan is up 13% over the last week after announcing that it will buy back as many of 300 million of its common shares, or 6.7% of the total outstanding. The share repurchase will cost as much as 400 billion yen, or $3.5 billion U.S. The company plans to complete those buybacks by December 22, 2016....
MACY’S INC., $43.43, New York symbol M, operates 885 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s department stores and sells goods online. The company earned $544 million in its fiscal 2016 third quarter, which ended January 30, 2016. That’s down 31.4% from $793 million a year earlier. Per-share earnings dropped 23.5%, to $1.73 from $2.26, on fewer shares outstanding. Macy’s earned $2.09 a share in the latest quarter, if you exclude charges related to the company’s plan to close 35 to 40 of its stores in the next few months. The result beat the consensus estimate of $1.89....
DREAM OFFICE REIT, $19.85, symbol D.UN on Toronto, owns and manages 166 properties comprising 23.0 million square feet of office and retail space in major Canadian cities. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Dream Office’s revenue fell 4.4%, to $196.2 million from $205.2 million a year earlier. The trust’s cash flow gained 3.4%, to $70.9 million from $68.6 million, while cash flow per unit fell 1.6% to $0.62 from $0.63 on more units outstanding. Dream is up more than 21% over the last week since it announced a three-year strategic plan to push up its unit price....
These two former Stocks of the Year continue to lead their markets. But each has moved down lately, mainly because the high U.S. dollar is hurting the contribution of their overseas businesses. However, their underlying sales remain strong, and both are doing a good job controlling their costs. That should spur their long-term earnings growth, and give them more cash for dividends. NEWELL RUBBERMAID INC. $38 (New York symbol NWL; Aggressive Growth and Income Portfolios, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 267.1 million; Market cap: $10.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Dividend yield: 2.0%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.newellrubbermaid.com) makes plastic storage bins, tools, pens and many other household goods. Its main brands include Sharpie markers, Parker and Paper Mate pens, Calphalon cookware, Irwin tools and Graco car seats and strollers....
UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $94 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 836.4 million; Market cap: $78.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 2.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.utc.com) jumped $5 on news that rival Honeywell International (New York symbol HON) seeks to merge the two firms. Anti-trust regulators are unlikely to approve such a merger: the combined company would dominate several markets, including aerospace products (such as jet engines and landing gear) and building equipment (elevators, thermostats). Meanwhile, United Technologies earned $5.6 billion in 2015. That’s down 5.5% from $5.9 billion in 2014. The company used the $9.1 billion it received from last year’s sale of its Sikorsky helicopter operations to buy back $10.0 billion of its shares. As a result, its per-share earnings fell just 2.5%, to $6.30 from $6.46. If you factor out exchange rates, per-share earnings gained 0.5% to $6.49....