PROCTER & GAMBLE CO. $62 (New York symbol PG; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 2.9 billion; Market cap: $179.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 2.8%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is buying the Ambi Pur air freshener business from SARA LEE INC. $12 (New York symbol SLE; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 697.3 million; Market cap: $8.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend yield: 3.7%; WSSF Rating: Above Average). Procter will pay $470 million when the deal closes in the first half of 2010. Europe accounts for most of Ambi Pur’s sales, so buying it complements Procter’s Febreeze air fresheners, which it mainly sells in North America. Sara Lee will use the cash to buy back shares and invest in its main food businesses. Both Procter & Gamble and Sara Lee are buys.

YUM! BRANDS INC. $35 (Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 467.7 million; Market cap: $16.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 2.4%; WSSF Rating: Average) announced that its 2009 earnings per share should rise by 12%. That’s because strong growth at its fast-food outlets in China and other countries is offsetting slow sales in the U.S. Lower food costs and income taxes are also contributing to the higher earnings. The company should earn $2.20 a share in 2009. The stock trades at 15.9 times that estimate. Yum feels its earnings will rise 10% in 2010, to $2.42 a share. That gives it a p/e ratio of 14.5, which is reasonable in light of Yum’s growing Asian operations. Yum Brands is a buy.

BUCKEYE PARTNERS L.P. $54 (New York symbol BPL; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Units outstanding: 51.4 million; Market cap: $2.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; Dividend yield: 6.9%; WSSF Rating: Average) operates over 8,700 kilometres of pipelines in the northeastern and midwestern U.S. that pump gasoline, jet fuel and other petroleum products. The partnership also operates 3,900 kilometres of pipelines on behalf of major oil and chemical companies. Aside from pipelines, it owns oil and natural-gas storage terminals and other related businesses. Fewer people are flying or driving because of the weak economy. That has hurt fuel demand, and Buckeye’s revenue. In response, the partnership has laid off 260 employees, or 25% of its workforce. This cost Buckeye $29.1 million in severance and other one-time payments. However, it expects these measures will lower its annual expenses by $18 million to $22 million by mid-2010. If you exclude restructuring charges, Buckeye’s earnings rose 26.4% in the three months ended September 30, 2009, to $58.9 million from $46.6 million a year earlier. Earnings per unit gained 20.0%, to $0.90 from $0.75, on more units outstanding. The gains came mostly from lower costs, as revenue fell 14.7%, to $423.4 million from $496.2 million....

The recession and the slow pace of the recovery have hurt demand for electrical power at these two midwestern utilities. However, regulators will probably let them raise their rates to cover some of the shortfall. That should help them maintain their dividends and replace aging power plants. Still, we see only Alliant as a buy right now. AMEREN CORP. $28 (New York symbol AEE; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 236.9 million; Market cap: $6.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.8; Dividend yield: 5.5%; WSSF Rating: Average) sells electricity and natural gas to 3.4 million customers in Illinois and Missouri. In the third quarter of 2009, Ameren’s earnings rose 3.7%, to $255 million from $246 million a year earlier. However, earnings per share fell 0.9%, to $1.16 from $1.17, on more shares outstanding. These figures exclude several non-recurring charges, including the costs to close two generating units at one of its power plants. Revenue fell 11.9%, to $1.8 billion from $2.0 billion. Electricity sales to consumers fell 10%, as cool summer weather cut air-conditioner use. Sales to industrial customers fell 3%....

PEPSICO INC. $61 (New York symbol PEP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 1.6 billion; Market cap: $97.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.3; Dividend yield: 3.0%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) will pay $900 million for the right to make and distribute certain soft drinks in North America owned by Dr. Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (New York symbol DPS). The price is equal to 52% of the $1.7 billion, or $1.09 a share, that PepsiCo earned in the third quarter of 2009. This new 20-year contract replaces existing deals with PepsiCo’s two main bottlers, which the company is buying in 2010. Dr. Pepper drinks account for around one-third of the bottlers’ profits, so extending this licensing deal enhances their prospects. PepsiCo is a buy.

H&R BLOCK INC. $21 (New York symbol HRB; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 335.5 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.8; Dividend yield: 2.9%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is best known for its income-tax preparation business, but it also sells accounting services to businesses through wholly owned RSM McGladrey. This subsidiary recently ended a legal dispute with auditing firm McGladrey & Pullen LLP. The companies also renewed their alliance until 2015. Ending the alliance would have been difficult, since both firms share employees and office space. They also serve many of the same clients. H&R Block is a buy. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC. $26 (New York symbol TXN; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $33.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 1.8%; WSSF Rating: Average) is seeing stronger demand for its chips, but is having trouble filling new orders. Still, the company expects that its revenue will range between $2.9 billion and $3.02 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009. That’s slightly better than its earlier forecast of $2.78 billion to $3.02 billion. As well, Texas Instruments expects its per-share earnings for the quarter to range from $0.47 to $0.51. That’s up from its previous estimate of $0.42 to $0.50....

UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORP. $70 (New York symbol UTX; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 937.5 million; Market cap: $65.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.2; Dividend yield: 2.2%; WSSF Rating: Above Average) is buying 49.5% of U.K.-based Clipper Windpower PLC. Clipper makes turbines and other equipment for wind-power projects. United Technologies is paying $271 million. That’s equal to 26% of the $1.1 billion, or $1.14 a share, that it earned in the three months ended September 30, 2009. Clipper is currently losing money. However, demand for wind-power equipment is growing strongly as countries look for ways to cut their fossil-fuel use. Clipper should also benefit from United Technologies’ jet-engine and fuel-cell expertise. Moreover, it can use United Technologies’ distribution network to increase its sales....

TERADATA CORP. $32 (New York symbol TDC; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector: Shares outstanding: 171.2 million; Market cap: $5.5 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; No dividends paid; WSSF Rating: Average) makes computers and software that capture and store large amounts of a business’s data, including its sales and inventory. Teradata then analyzes this information and identifies buying habits and trends. This helps its clients make better business decisions. The company gets 55% of its revenue from North and South America, followed by Europe (25%) and Asia (20%). The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of NCR Corp. until October 1, 2007. That’s when NCR handed out its Teradata shares to its own shareholders as a special dividend.

Followed usual spinoff pattern

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ENCANA CORP. $31 and CENOVUS ENERGY INC. $26 are now trading as separate stocks after EnCana split itself into two companies. One kept the EnCana name, and focuses on unconventional natural gas. The other operates as Cenovus Energy and specializes in oil-sands projects. Shareholders received one share in each of the two new firms for every EnCana share they owned. Investors should allocate 51.5% of their adjusted cost base to the new EnCana, and 48.5% to Cenovus. EnCana has moved up since the split, as cold weather has caused natural-gas prices to jump. As well, ExxonMobil’s purchase of natural-gas producer XTO Energy has fuelled speculation that EnCana’s smaller size will make it a takeover target. Best Buy. Cenovus has moved lower, as environmentalists demand more controls over oil-sands projects. However, its low-cost operations should help it pay for any new carbon-reducing equipment. Buy.

YAMANA GOLD $12.93 (Toronto symbol YRI; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 733.3 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; Dividend yield: 0.3%) owns six operating gold mines in Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It also holds interests in five properties that are still under development. In the three months ended September 30, 2009, Yamana posted revenue of $333.2 million. That’s up 50.3% from $221.6 million a year earlier. (All figures except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars.) Earnings per share (excluding one-time items) tripled, to $0.12 from $0.04. Cash flow per share rose 64.2%, to $0.23 from $0.14. Record high production and gold prices were the main reasons for the gains. The company produced 314,707 ounces of gold in the latest quarter, up 33.7% from 235,406 a year earlier. The rise is partly because it started production at the Gualcamayo mine in Argentina....