Activist targets: 2 buys & 1 sell

OWENS-ILLINOIS INC. $19 (New York symbol OI; Shares outstanding: 159.3 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.o-i.com) is the world’s largest manufacturer of glass bottles. Based in Ohio, it has 78 plants in 23 countries, including the U.S. and Canada.
New York-based hedge… Read More

Heavy-equipment dealers see higher demand

These two distributors of Caterpillar heavy equipment continue to see strong cyclical demand for their products. That has pushed up their share prices, but these stocks are still attractive in relation to their projected earnings.
FINNING INTERNATIONAL INC. $32 (Toronto symbol FTT; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing &… Read More

IMO’s expansion pays off

IMPERIAL OIL LTD. $43.70 (Toronto symbol IMO; Shares o/s: 802.7 million; Market cap: $34.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.7%; www.imperialoil.ca) has already seen the benefits of recent expansions at its Kearl oil sands property. It’s also doing a good job of controlling its operating costs.
This… Read More

Updating BCE Inc. and Telus

BCE INC. $52.14 (Toronto symbol BCE; Shares o/s: 898.0 million; Market cap: $46.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Divd. yield: 5.8%; www.bce.ca) is Canada’s largest traditional telephone service provider: it has 3.1 residential million customers in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces. The company also has… Read More

These Canadian insurers thrive in Asia

MANULIFE FINANCIAL CORP. $23.19 (Toronto symbol MFC; Shares o/s: 2.0 billion; Market cap: $46.0 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 3.8%; www.manulife.ca) is Canada’s largest life insurer.
The company also sells other forms of insurance, including health, dental and travel plans; in addition, it offers mutual funds… Read More

Updating Ameren Corp., Idexx Laboratories Inc., and Tegna Inc.

AMEREN CORP. $62 (New York symbol AEE; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 242.6 million; Market cap: $15.0 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 2.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.ameren.com) provides power and natural gas to 3.3 million clients in Illinois and Missouri.
Thanks to warmer-than-normal weather in Missouri,… Read More

Cost cutting helps insulate Alcoa

ALCOA CORP. $40 (New York symbol AA; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares o/s: 185.0 million; Market cap: $7.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.6; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.alcoa.com) has benefitted from higher prices in the past few months for alumina (used to make aluminum metal)… Read More

PepsiCo taps healthy-food demand

PEPSICO INC. $112 (Nasdaq symbol PEP; Conservative Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares o/s: 1.4 billion; Market cap: $156.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.5; Dividend yield: 3.3%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pepsico.com) will now buy SodaStream International Inc. (Nasdaq symbol SODA) for $3.2 billion. Based in Israel, that firm… Read More

Toromont is the better industrial buy

TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $66 (Toronto symbol TIH; High-Growth Dividend Payer Portfolio; Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares o/s: 81.3 million; Market cap: $5.4 billion; Dividend yield: 1.4%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.toromont.com) distributes a broad range of industrial equipment, including machinery made by Caterpillar. It also makes refrigeration… Read More