Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, could I get your recommendation on Stella-Jones? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Stella-Jones Inc., $52.97, symbol SJ on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 59.5 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; Manufacturing sector; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; www.stella-jones.com), is a manufacturer of pressure-treated wood products. They include utility poles (40% of sales); railway ties (24%); treated lumber products for residential construction (24%); general-purpose logs and lumber (7%); and lumber for industrial uses such as construction timbers and highway guardrails (5%). Stella-Jones gets most of its utility poles from the timberlands it leases in Quebec and B.C. It also buys wood for railway ties and other products from sawmills in the U.S. and Canada. The company operates 16 wood-treating facilities in Canada and 27 in the U.S. The U.S. provides 69% of its sales, while Canada supplies the remaining 31%. Stella-Jones has grown steadily by acquisitions over the years. Here are the two most recent: In November 2021, the company completed its acquisition of both Cahaba Timber and Cahaba Pressure Treated Forest Products. It paid $36.5 million U.S. for Cahaba…