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
Today, Pat McKeough revealed his 3 Best U.S. Stocks of the Year in the latest issue of Wall Street Stock Forecaster. You can be among the first to see these picks and act on his recommendations. And you can save on a full year of Pat’s top U.S. stock recommendations in Wall Street Stock Forecaster…starting with a 30-day free trial. Choose your best price now....
PLEASE NOTE: One week from today, on February 5, 2016, shortly after the stock market closes at 4:00 p.m. Toronto time, we will reveal our top picks for safety-conscious investors to subscribers of Canadian Wealth Advisor. You can be among the first to hear about our top picks for 2016. Because you’re a loyal subscriber, we are happy to offer you a low-priced, no-risk introduction to Canadian Wealth Advisor. Click here. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++...
The lower Canadian dollar has made it more expensive to buy U.S. stocks. However, the American market gives you access to the world’s leading companies. What’s more, U.S. dollar investments give you foreign currency diversification.
We feel it’s more important than ever to build a varied portfolio of high-quality stocks....
We feel it’s more important than ever to build a varied portfolio of high-quality stocks....
SYMANTEC CORP. $19 (Nasdaq symbol SYMC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 680.0 million; Market cap: $12.9 billion; Priceto- sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.2%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.symantec.com) said in 2014 that it would split into two publicly traded firms. One would keep the Symantec name and focus on antivirus and security software. The other, called Veritas Technologies, would focus on Symantec’s information-management business, which makes products for data backup and recovery. However, the company instead decided to sell Veritas to the Carlyle Group (Nasdaq symbol CG) for $8.0 billion. Now Carlyle seems to be having trouble raising the funds to buy Veritas. As a result, Symantec and Carlyle have altered the deal’s terms. Symantec will now receive $7.0 billion, including $6.6 billion in cash and $400 million in Veritas stock. It plans to complete the sale by the end of January 2016....
Computer technology continues to change— and spread— rapidly. We feel the best way to profit from this growth is by investing in well-established companies that lead their markets, like the four we analyze below. All of them have strong earnings and balance sheets. That lets them spend heavily on product development and buy smaller firms with attractive technologies. We have a high opinion of all four, but we see only two as buys right now....
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. $121 (New York symbol IBM, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 970.1 million; Market cap: $117.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.5; Dividend yield: 4.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ibm.com) recently paid $130 million for Ustream, a private firm specializing in cloud-based videostreaming services. Its clients include NASA, Samsung, Facebook, Nike and the Discovery Channel. The purchase will help IBM with its plan to bring its analyticssoftware expertise to online video content. This will help its clients make better use of their video libraries and protect their copyrighted material. The company expects the market for cloud-based video services and software to total $105 billion by 2019. IBM is a buy....
BHP BILLITON LTD. ADRs $21 (New York symbol BHP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; ADRs outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $33.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.3; Dividend yield: 11.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.bhpbilliton.com) will write down its U.S. onshore oil holdings by $4.9 billion (after taxes) in response to the decline in oil prices. In 2011, it spent $20.6 billion on acquisitions of U.S. shale oil and gas properties. The company is also seeing sharply lower prices for its other commodities, including iron ore, metallurgical coal and copper. The resulting decline in BHP’s cash flow will probably prompt it to cut its $2.48 dividend, which yields a high 11.8%. BHP Billiton is still a hold....
AMERICAN EXPRESS CO. $55 (New York symbol AXP, Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 969.0 million; Market cap: $53.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.americanexpress.com) is one of the world’s largest issuers of payment cards, with 117.8 million cards outstanding in over 130 countries. Amex issues two types of cards: charge cards, which have no preset spending limit and must be paid in full each month; and traditional credit cards, which let users carry a balance. The company is also a bank that accepts deposits and makes loans. It cuts its credit risk by mainly catering to clients with above-average incomes and good credit histories. Amex wrote off just 1.9% of its U.S. loans in 2015, up slightly from 1.8% in 2014. Its international write-off rate crept up to 2.2% from 2.1%....
On June 29, 2015, the old Gannet spun off its newspaper operation as a separate company that would keep the Gannett name (see box). Gannett’s broadcasting and Internet unit was then renamed Tegna. Under the deal, for every two shares investors held, they received one share of the spinoff company and two shares in Tegna. Both firms are now improving their prospects through acquisitions and new alliances. These deals will also help them maintain their current dividends....
GANNETT CO., INC. $14 (New York symbol GCI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector: Shares outstanding: 115.4 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.gannett.com) publishes daily newspapers in 92 U.S. markets, including its flagship paper, USAToday, and 19 dailies in the U.K. The company recently agreed to buy Journal Media Group (New York symbol JMG), which publishes 15 dailies and 18 weeklies in nine states. The purchase price is $280 million, which includes Journal’s cash holdings. Gannett expects to close the deal in the first quarter of 2016. The purchase will add $0.10 to $0.15 a share to Gannett’s earnings in the first year; the company will likely earn $1.66 a share in 2016, and the stock trades at 8.4 times that estimate. Savings from combining printing plants and other operations should increase Gannett’s earnings by $0.20 to $0.25 a share in the second year. The $0.64 dividend seems secure and yields 4.6%....