Diamonds may be forever, but that truism doesn't always translate to the income statement. Dominion Diamond (NYSE: DDC ) , the Canadian mine owner that until recently owned and operated the ultra-luxurious Harry Winston brand, released its fourth-quarter and year-end results to an unimpressed Wall Street. The newly reorganized company is the largest Canadian diamond purveyor, and one of the leading precious-stone companies in the world. The question is: Is the company better now as a pure mining play, compared to its time as owner of, arguably, the most illustrious name in diamond retail? Let's take a look at earnings and valuation for more clues.
Bye-bye, Harry
At the tail end of March, Dominion Diamond completed the sale of iconic retailer Harry Winston to Swatch (NASDAQOTH: SWGAY ) for $750 million plus the company's existing $250 million debt load, for a total acquisition of $1 billion. Harry Winston is perhaps best known for its lending out multimillion-dollar pieces to celebrities attending awards ceremonies and parties. In addition to the typical jewelry lineup, the company also makes incredibly expensive watches.
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited(AEM)
Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited, through its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and production of mineral properties in Canada, Finland, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as silver, copper, zinc, and lead. Its flagship property includes the LaRonde mine located in the southern portion of the Abitibi volcanic belt, Canada. The company was founded in 1953 and is based in Toronto, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vatalyst]
With headquarters in Canada, Agnico-Eagle is a gold producer that has been around for a while with operations in Canada, Finland and Mexico and the United States that has paid a cash dividend for 29 consecutive years. AEM gained 25% over the year and reported 83.5% growth in quarterly earnings. It has a market capitalization of $11.4 billion and a trailing P/E ratio of 34x with expectations of earning $0.55 per share. AEM, like other operators like it, are likely a better bet than ETF trust options like SPDR Gold Shares (GLD).
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: S&P 500/Barra Value(SU)
Suncor Energy Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as an integrated energy company. The company involves in the development of petroleum resource basins in Canada's Athabasca oil sands; acquisition, exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas in Canada and internationally; transportation and refining of crude oil; and marketing of petroleum and petrochemical products primarily in Canada. Its Oil Sands segment produces bitumen recovered from oil sands through mining and in-situ technology, and upgrades it into refinery feedstock, diesel fuel, and by-products. This segment?s products include gasoline and distillates. The company?s Natural Gas segment acquires, explores, develops, and produces natural gas, natural gas liquids, oil, and by-products from reserves located primarily in western Canada, the Northwest Territories, Alaska, and the Arctic Islands. Its International and Offshore segment engages in the exploration and pro duction of oil and gas in offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, in the North Sea, and in Libya and Syria. The company?s Refining and Marketing segment refines crude oil at Suncor's refineries in Edmonton, Alberta; Montreal, Quebec; and Sarnia, Ontario in Canada, as well as in Commerce City, Colorado into a range of petroleum and petrochemical products for sale to retail, commercial, and industrial customers. It also transports crude oil through pipelines in eastern and western Canada, as well as through wholly-owned pipelines in Wyoming and Colorado; and produces specialty lubricants and waxes. In addition, this segment operates retail sites in Canada under the Petro-Canada brand; and in Colorado under Phillips 66 and Shell brands. Suncor Energy Inc. also engages in third-party energy trading activities. The company was formerly known as Suncor Inc. and changed its name to Suncor Energy Inc. in April 1997. Suncor Energy Inc. was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Calgary , Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sam Collins]
The recent merger with Petro-Canada made Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU) one of Canada’s largest oil and gas producers. It is focused on Alberta’s vast Athabasca oil sands, making it independent of operations outside of North America.
Compared with other international oil companies, SU is not only safe from problems in the Middle East, but its profit margins increase greatly when oil rises above $80 per barrel, making it a hedge against rising prices due to Middle East tensions.?
Technically, SU broke from a saucer formation on Friday, with a long-term target of $50 and a trading target of $45.?
- [By Stephen]
Suncor Energy (SU, $26.61). Largest energy producer in Canada's oil sands has very good cost structure, production upside and is cheap vs. earnings.
10 Best Blue Chip Stocks To Buy For 2014: Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc.(POT)
Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan Inc. produces and sells fertilizers and related industrial and feed products primarily in the United States and Canada. The company mines and produces potash, which is used as fertilizer. It also offers solid and liquid phosphate fertilizers; animal feed supplements; and industrial acids that are used in food products and industrial processes. In addition, the company produces nitrogen fertilizers, as well as nitrogen feed and industrial products, including ammonia, urea, nitrogen solutions, ammonium nitrate, and nitric acid. Further, it holds the right to mine 785,759 acres of land in Saskatchewan; and 58,263 acres of land in New Brunswick in Canada. The company sells its fertilizers primarily to retailers, dealers, co-operatives, distributors, and other fertilizer producers; industrial products primarily to chemical product manufacturers; and purified phosphoric acid directly to consumers of the product. Potash Corporation was founded i n 1953 and is based in Saskatoon, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Fabian]
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (POT) produces fertilizers, agricultural
chemicals and feed products — primarily its namesake “potash,” or potassium carbonate mixed with other nutrients. Though this company is down dramatically from its highs in 2008, I think POT has bottomed out and now investor sentiment is turning around.For instance, Potash’s moved 1.1 million tons of crop nutrients in the fourth quarter, which was down compared to the previous quarter, but the 23% slide was a dramatic improvement over the 65% decline for the full year. Potash has been struggling to find a right production target, and I feel like the company is close to an effective target.
What’s more, potash prices could be on the rise globally after leading exporter Belarussian Potash Co. boosted prices by more than 6% in Brazil and Asia. That means companies like POT can also command a higher price — and deliver bigger profits going forward.
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Information Services Group Inc.(III)
Information Services Group, Inc. operates as a fact-based sourcing advisory company principally in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. It provides strategic consulting, benchmarking and analytics, managed services, and research services with a focus on information technology, business process transformation, and enterprise resource planning. The company serves financial services, telecom, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, transportation and travel, and energy and utilities industries; and state and local governments and airport and transit authorities. Information Services Group, Inc. was founded in 2006 and is based in Stamford, Connecticut.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Peter Leeds]
According to The Washington Post over $1.8 trillion dollars is sitting idle in America's corporations. The original reasons companies were hoarding cash, such as economic uncertainty and European debt contagion fears, are beginning to take a back seat to growth plans. These companies (such as Microsoft with $40 billion cash, Caterpillar with $3 billion, Exxon at $11 billion, etc...) will look to use their cash to capture market share and expand. I'm expecting this increased spending to result in a mild improvement in the unemployment rate, pushing it down from 9% to 7.5% in 2012.
A consulting firm like Information Services Group (III) will be one of the primary beneficiaries of increased corporate activity. They have top clients from a broad range of industries, such as financial services, manufacturing, health care, energy, and more. With the majority of their clientele increasing spending, a portion of those funds will find their way to III. The Peter Leeds price outlook: $2.40.
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.(CMG)
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. develops and operates fast-casual, fresh Mexican food restaurants in the United States, Canada, and England. Its restaurants primarily offer burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads. As of December 31, 2011, it operated 1,230 restaurants, which includes 1 ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in Denver, Colorado.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Fernandez]
Chipotle Mexican Grill(NYSE: CMG) owns and operates 775 “fast-casual” Mexican restaurants and offers a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere.
Chipotle adheres to what they call Food With Integrity (FWI), whereby Chipotle seeks better food not only from using fresh ingredients, but ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for animals, the land, and the farmers who produce the food.
Chipotle’s ultimate goal is to be able to serve only organically raised and grown food in all their restaurants.
I have been watching Chipotle for quite some time, since its IPO actually, and recently wrote extensively about the company and the headwinds that they are facing with the economy and rising commodity prices.
You can read all about that here.
Chipotle recently announced earnings and they were actually not too bad.
Chipotle registered positive same-store sales BUT that was as a result of higher menu prices, which they are going to be instituting again during the next couple of quarters.
The also announced a pretty significant stock repurchase program whereby they were going to buy back their “B” shares because they felt they were significantly undervalued and they would get more bang for the buck.
I listened to the conference call and management was very up front and honest about where they were headed in terms of margin deterioration due to higher input costs, and raising prices.
They also talked about the severe economic headwinds, and they lowered their guidance for the next year based on those views.
Chipotle is still high on my list, and an amazing company, but I feel, especially with the shares rising almost 20% from their lows in just a few days, that we’ll have better entry points in the next few ! months.
Also remember to always purchase the “B” shares as they are exactly the same as the “A” shares but are anywhere from 5-15% cheaper and have 10 times the voting power.
Why I Like the Company: Best-in-breed player with significantly higher margins and a lower cost structure than other similar fast-casual restaurant chains; their commitment to organic and natural ingredients sets them apart in a crowded restaurant landscape; stock price is starting to become reasonable again after over a year of hype and overindulgence; company is still expanding at a breakneck speed, even in the face of deteriorating business fundamentals positioning themselves for a quick turnaround; same-store sales are still positive; company still churns out significant cash, and pays for its expansion via its own cash generation with almost no debt.
- [By Fitz Gerald]
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has the potential to be the McDonald’s (MCD) o f the next half-century … in part because this high-quality burrito shop was spun off from McDonald’s in 2006 … so management has been taught well. Revenues are growing steadily and profit margins are consistently in the high single digits, which is great in the restaurant industry. (It’s my son’s favorite restaurant, but I’m not the analyst who submitted it.)
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Waste Management Inc.(WM)
Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides waste management services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. It offers collection, transfer, recycling, and disposal services. The company also owns, develops, and operates waste-to-energy and landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States. Its collection services involves in picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility, or disposal site; and recycling operations include collection and materials processing, plastics materials recycling, and commodities recycling. In addition, it provides recycling brokerage, which includes managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and electronic recycling services, such as collection, sorting, and disassembling of discarded computers, communications equipment, and other electronic equipment. Further, the company e ngages in renting and servicing portable restroom facilities to municipalities and commercial customers under the Port-o-Let name; and involves in landfill gas-to-energy operations comprising recovering and processing the methane gas produced naturally by landfills into a renewable energy source, as well as provides street and parking lot sweeping services. Additionally, it offers portable self-storage, fluorescent lamp recycling, and medical waste services for healthcare facilities, pharmacies, and individuals, as well as provides services on behalf of third parties to construct waste facilities. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is based in Houston, Texas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sam Collins]
Houston-based Waste Management Inc. (NYSE: WM) is the largest trash hauling/disposal company in the United States. This company is a model for steady growth with earnings increasing steadily over many years.?
S&P has a “four-star buy” on WM with a 12-month target of $42. WM pays an annual dividend of $1.36 for a yield of 3.7%.?
Technically, the stock is in a powerful bull channel with support at $36 and resistance at $39. Buy WM as a long-term growth opportunity.
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Silver Wheaton Corp(SLW)
Silver Wheaton Corp., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a silver streaming company worldwide. The company has 14 long-term silver purchase agreements and 2 long-term precious metal purchase agreements whereby it acquires silver and gold production from the counterparties located in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Greece, Sweden, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Portugal. Silver Wheaton Corp. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Christopher Barker]
Parallel to my selection of major producer Goldcorp among my top 10 gold stocks for 2012, Silver Wheaton might appear a relatively conservative pick as compared to the stable of smaller-cap growth stories that fill out the rest of the list. But don't let Silver Wheaton's hefty market capitalization fool you; this is a stock from which I continue to expect multi-bagger gains as this long-term bull market for silver matures. What's more -- with an enterprise value that equates to just $5.63 per total-resource ounce of silver (or $10.77 per ounce of proven and probable silver reserves) the stock remains dirt cheap! It's not quite as cheap as it was when I treated readers to a truly uncommon opportunity just over 3 years ago, but just watch how this stock responds as the market comes to terms with the likelihood of silver penetrating the all-time high near $50 per ounce and blasting into fresh record territory. Keep in mind, Fools, that Silver Wheaton is targeting about a 70% production surge by 2015, to reach a monumental 43 million ounces of silver per year!
Silver Wheaton has been a bit quiet lately with respect to adding new silver stream agreements to the pipeline, and personally I suspect the hiatus is likely linked to an adjustment of its signature rate structure (paying roughly $4 per ounce delivered into a stream agreement) to account for a much-transformed silver price environment. But I do note with interest the company's recent appointment of mining analyst Haytham Hodaly -- as senior vice president for corporate development -- to aid in the negotiation of new silver streams. I do not expect the pause to last through 2012, and view the prospects for one or two major new stream announcements as likely stock catalysts for 2012. And as Silver Wheaton's newly established dividend policy of distributing 20% of cash from operations collides with a rising silver price, I expect Silver Wheaton to remain a major focal point of global silver investment demand.
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Abbott Laboratories(ABT)
Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of health care products worldwide. The company offers adult and pediatric pharmaceuticals for rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriasis, and Crohn's disease; dyslipidemia; HIV infection; prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and anemia caused by uterine fibroids; respiratory syncytial virus; adult males who have low or no testosterone; secondary hyperparathyroidism; hypothyroidism; and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, as well as anesthesia products. It also provides diagnostic products, such as immunoassay systems; chemistry systems; assays used for screening and/or diagnosis for drugs of abuse, cancer, therapeutic drug monitoring, fertility, physiological, and infectious diseases; instruments that automate the extraction, purification, and preparation of DNA and RNA from patient samples, and detect and measure infections agents; genomic-b ased tests; hematology systems and reagents; and point-of-care diagnostic systems and tests for blood analysis. In addition, the company offers a line of pediatric and adult nutritional products. Further, it provides coronary, endovascular, vessel closure, and structural heart devices, such as drug-eluting stent systems, coronary metallic stents, balloon dilatation products, coronary guidewires, vessel closure devices, carotid stent systems, percutaneous valve repair systems, and drug eluting bioresorbable vascular products. Additionally, the company provides blood glucose monitoring meters, test strips, data management software, and accessories for people with diabetes; and medical devices for the eye, including cataract surgery, lasik surgery, contact lens, and dry eye products, as well as branded generic pharmaceutical products. Abbott primarily serves retailers, wholesalers, hospitals, and health care facilities. Abbott was founded in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, Illinois.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Michael Brush]
Abbott Laboratories (ABT) has a dividend yield of 3.6%
Among the company's best-selling drugs are Humira, used to treat autoimmune diseases, and Kaletra, a treatment for HIV and AIDS. The company also sells medical devices, including stents, blood diagnostic kits and nutritional products.
Abbott has a few potential blockbusters in its pipeline, including a treatment for kidney disease. "It's just a good defensive, cash-generating vehicle," says Wright.
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Crown Castle International Corporation (CCI)
Crown Castle International Corp., through its subsidiaries, owns, operates, and leases towers and other wireless infrastructure primarily in the United States and Australia. Its infrastructure includes distributed antenna system (DAS) networks, as well as rooftop installations. The company involves in the rental of antenna space of its towers to wireless communications companies. It also provides network services relating to its towers, which primarily include antenna installations and subsequent augmentations, as well as additional services, such as site acquisition, architectural and engineering, zoning and permitting, other construction, and other services related network development. As of December 31, 2010, it owned, leased, or managed approximately 23,900 towers, including 43 completed DAS networks. The company was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Top 10 Canadian Companies To Own In Right Now: Mistras Group Inc (MG)
Mistras Group, Inc. provides technology-enabled asset protection solutions to evaluate the structural integrity and reliability of critical energy, industrial, and public infrastructure worldwide. It provides traditional non-destructive testing (NDT) services; advanced NDT services; and mechanical integrity services. The company also offers software solutions, including Plant Condition Monitoring Software and Systems, an enterprise software that allows its customers for the warehousing and analysis of data. In addition, it provides Advanced Data Analysis Pattern Recognition and Neural Networks software, which enables acoustic emission (AE) experts to develop automated remote monitoring systems; AE Software Platform, a windows based real time application software; Loose Parts Monitoring Software program for monitoring, detecting, and evaluating metallic loose parts in nuclear reactor coolant systems; and Automated UT and Imaging Analysis Software for analyzing ultrasonic in spection data, and visualizing and identifying the location and size of flaws. Further, the company�s technology packages include TANKPAC for tank inspections; POWERPAC for monitoring discharges in critical power grid transformers; and Acoustic Combustion Turbine Monitoring System, an on-line system to detect stator blade cracks in gas turbines. Additionally, it offers digital radiographic systems to solve specific industrial problems; AE sensors, instruments, and turn-key systems, as well as leak monitoring and detection systems; ultrasonic equipment; vibration sensing products; and on-line monitoring services. Mistras Group, Inc. was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Princeton Junction, New Jersey.
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