Summary Rockwell Collins recently approved its $30B takeover by United Technologies. The transaction is expected to close later in 2018. The acquisition is a shrewd move although United Technologies appears to be paying slightly more than full price. The recently introduced US tax changes will enable United Technologies to repatriate funds held overseas which will [...]
Summary UNP is North America’s largest publicly traded railroad. Its extensive rail network places it in an advantageous position. It continues to make progress in reducing its Operating Ratio (OR). In FY2017 its OR was 63%. Its 2019 target is ~60%. UNP rewarded shareholders with dividend payments and share repurchases totalling $5.995B in 2017. I [...]
Events Subsequent to January 10, 2018 Post The following is an update to my January 10, 2018 Becton Dickinson (NYSE: BDX) article. On January 23, 2018, BDX held its Annual Meeting of Shareholders and reaffirmed its guidance. Details are as follows: [...]
Summary On January 23, 2018, CNR reported diluted EPS of C$7.24 for 2017, up 55% over 2016 diluted EPS of C$4.67 and adjusted diluted EPS of C$4.99, up 9% over 2016 adjusted diluted EPS of C$4.59. Q4 results were impacted by challenging operating conditions, including harsh early winter weather across the network which increased the [...]
Summary BK is one of the 10 largest asset managers in the world on the basis of assets under management (AUM). Technology spend is significant in order to remain at the forefront of the industry. This makes it difficult for smaller competitors to compete directly with BK in certain lines of business. BK’s earnings should [...]
Summary Becton Dickinson closed the acquisition of CR Bard on December 29, 2017 thus resulting in projected FY2018 annual revenue of ~$16B versus ~$12B in FY2017. The company’s risk profile has changed dramatically as a result of the debt taken on to acquire CareFusion and CR Bard. Debt is now non-investment grade-speculative and lower medium [...]
Summary Honeywell is a high quality company worthy of holding as a long-term investment even though it does not have an impeccable dividend history. Honeywell will be spinning off two segments of its business before the end of 2018. Studies suggest spin-offs perform well but that investors must stay the course over the long haul [...]
Summary BMO released its Q4 and FY2017 results on December 5, 2017 to mixed reaction from Bay Street analysts. Results were negatively impacted by a $0.112B charge related the hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico area. BMO has a US presence which needs to be beefed up. “Bolt-on” acquisitions are more likely given that reasonably [...]
Summary TD is akin to some of my grade school classmates who consistently generated B+/A- grades versus my grades which were a different letter of the alphabet. TD shareholders should give thanks to former TD executives who had the foresight to acquire Canada Trust in 2000 and 2 US banks (Banknorth in 2005 and Commerce [...]
Summary BNS recently reported strong FY2017 results which coincided with a recommendation by PAA Research that investors short the Canadian banks. BNS generates 50+% of its revenue from Canada but its international operations are in 4 key countries where the GDP growth outlook is superior to that for Canada and the US. BNS continues to [...]
