Big expansion in Brazil

RESTAURANT BRANDS INTERNATIONAL $56.51 (New York symbol QSR; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (905-845-6511; www.rbi.com; Shares o/s: 478.0 million; Market cap: $27.0 billion; Yield: 3.2%) continues to rapidly expand its Burger King outlets in Brazil.
The chain opens on average a new site in Brazil every three to four days. With… Read More

Here are our top picks for 2019

We have lots of attractive long-term buys among the stocks we cover, and overall we’re positive about the long-term outlook for stocks, in general. We feel just as strongly about the need to diversify.
That’s why we’ve chosen three top picks for 2019 from our Stock Pickers… Read More

Emera can handle its debt load

EMERA INC. $44 (Toronto symbol EMA; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares o/s: 233.0 million; Market cap: $10.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.7; Divd. yield: 5.4%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.emera.com) has spent $2 billion in the past year on new projects. Those include its 49.5%-owned Labrador Island Link, which… Read More

New businesses enhance their prospects

The shares of Finning and Toromont have moved down lately in response to lower commodity prices. However, recent acquisitions put both companies in a strong position to expand their earnings when commodity prices rebound.
FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $25 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry… Read More

Great-West takes on risk

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $28.10 (Toronto symbol GWO; shares o/s: 988.4 million; Market cap: $27.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.5%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) is Canada’s second-largest insurance company, after Manulife Financial. It also offers mutual funds and wealth management services. Power Financial (Toronto symbol PWF) owns 67.7% of… Read More

These beaten-down energy stocks offer value

BONAVISTA ENERGY $1.18 (Toronto symbol BNP; Shares o/s: 255.4 million; Market cap: $306.5 million; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; Divd. yield: 3.4%; www.bonavistaenergy.com) explores for oil and gas in B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan. Its output is 70% gas and 30% oil.
In the quarter ended September 30, 2018, the company’s… Read More

BCE and Telus are top telecom buys

BCE INC. $53.97 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares o/s: 898.0 million; Market cap: $48.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Divd. yield: 5.6%; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider: it has 3.1 million residential customers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces. The company also has… Read More

Loblaw adds another niche

LOBLAW COMPANIES $61.05 (Toronto symbol L; Shares o/s: 375.2 million; Market cap: $22.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 1.9%; www.loblaw.ca) shares are up over 21% since mid-October 2018. In contrast, the S&P/TSX Composite Index is down 8%.
The company continues to successfully introduce new products and… Read More

Key milestone adds to TD’s appeal

TD Bank reported higher earnings in the latest quarter for both its Canadian and U.S. businesses. The bank continues to expand; its recent $729 million acquisition of Regina-based wealth management firm Greystone Managed Investments now makes it Canada’s largest wealth management firm. Meanwhile, TD continues… Read More