Topic: How To Invest

Pat: What is your advice on buying High Liner Foods? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

High Liner Foods, $41.99, symbol HLF on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 15.2 million; Market cap: $638.5 million, www.highliner.com), processes and markets frozen seafood. The company was called National Sea Products before it changed its name in 1998. High Liner sells its products in grocery stores throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico under the High Liner, Royal Sea, Fisher Boy, Mirabel and Sea Cuisine labels. It also sells food to restaurants and institutions under its High Liner, FPI, Mirabel and Viking brands. In addition, High Liner is a major supplier of private-label seafood to North American distributors and grocery stores. In 2007, the company acquired the manufacturing and marketing operations of FPI Ltd. (a former recommendation of our Successful Investor newsletter) for $161.7 million. At the same time, Ocean Choice International bought FPI’s fish harvesting and processing operations in Atlantic Canada for $158.5 million. In December 2010, High Liner bought Viking Seafoods for $31.5 million. Viking is a leading supplier of prepared seafood to restaurants…