Rising production spurs their appeal

ALAMOS GOLD $4.63 (Toronto symbol AGI; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (604-681-2802; www.alamosgold.com; Shares outstanding: 266.3 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion; Dividend yield: 0.6%) owns the Mulatos and El Chanate mines in Mexico, and the Young-Davidson and Island mines in northern Ontario.
The company also has a number of development projects… Read More

Here’s our Pick of the Month

TEXAS ROADHOUSE $62.07 (Nasdaq symbol TXRH; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (502-426-9984; www.texasroadhouse.com; Shares outstanding: 71.6 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.6%) is a full-service, casual-dining restaurant chain with 570 locations spread across 49 U.S. states and eight foreign countries. Its restaurants operate under two banners—Texas… Read More

U.S. push helps spur Fortis dividend

LISTEN:  

FORTIS INC. $47 (Toronto symbol FTS; Income-Growth Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 426.6 million; Market cap: $20.1 billion; Dividend yield 3.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Highest; www.fortisinc.com) began supplying electricity to St. John’s,… Read More

Big Telus investments continue to pay off

TELUS CORP. $47 (Toronto symbol T; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 598.2 million; Market cap: $28.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.telus.com) has 9.15 million subscribers and is Canada’s third-largest wireless carrier after Rogers (No. 1) and… Read More

Transformation cuts Thomson’s risk

THOMSON REUTERS CORP. $68 (Toronto symbol TRI; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 504.9 million; Market cap: $34.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.0; Dividend yield: 2.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.thomsonreuters.com) recently sold 55% of its Financial & Risk (F&R) business to a consortium led by Blackstone… Read More

Alberta’s rail plan will benefit CN

CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILWAY CO. $106 (Toronto symbol CNR; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 728.3 million; Market cap: $77.2 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 5.6; Dividend yield: 1.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.cn.ca) recently signed a three-year contract to ship 50,000 to 60,000 barrels of Cenvous’s… Read More

Two energy producers, but just one is a buy

In response to weaker oil and natural gas prices, Encana has decided to aggressively expand in the U.S., while Cenovus is cutting its output.
We’re confident that both approaches will pay off. However, Encana’s big, newly announced acquisition increases its risk, which is why the stock… Read More

Great-West’s purchases raise profit and risk

GREAT-WEST LIFECO INC. $28 (Toronto symbol GWO; Conservative Growth and Income Portfolios, Finance sector; shares outstanding: 988.4 million; Market cap: $27.7 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; Dividend yield: 5.6%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest insurance company, after Manulife Financial. It also offers mutual funds and… Read More