Updating TIM HORTONS INC., AMEREN CORP. and CHEVRON CORP.

Article Excerpt

TIM HORTONS INC. $37 (New York symbol THI; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 173.9 million; Market cap: $6.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.7; Dividend yield: 1.4%; WSSF Rating: Average) is selling half of its Maidstone Bakeries business to Aryzta AG of Switzerland. (Tim Hortons and Aryzta own the bakery through a joint venture.) Based in Brantford, Ontario, Maidstone supplies donuts and other baked goods to Tim Hortons’stores in Canada and the U.S. Tim Hortons will receive $475 million when the sale closes on October 29, 2010 (all amounts except share price and market cap in Canadian dollars). As part of the deal, Maidstone will continue to supply Tim Hortons until 2016. The company could use the proceeds to pay a special dividend, or buy back a large number of shares. Buybacks boost per-share earnings, and give remaining shareholders a larger stake in the company. Tim Hortons is a buy. AMEREN CORP. $29 (New York symbol AEE; Income Portfolio, Utilities…