Oprah Winfrey and actor Tom Cruise pose at Cruise's home in Telluride, Colo., on April 25, 2008, where the pair taped a one-on-one interview. In May of 2005, Cruise caused a stir in an interview on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" when he jumped up on her couch in a declaration of his love for future wife Katie Holmes.
Corus Entertainment Inc.'s decision to rebrand VIVA to the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) and bring the queen of daytime television to Canadian screens will strengthen its position among advertisers who target women and enable it to launch a major new channel, said Scotia Capital analyst Paul Steep.
Upside: "We anticipate that Corus should see solid traction from OWN building upon VIVA's existing subscriber base and leveraging multi-national advertiser interest," Mr. Steep wrote. He upgraded Corus' rating to "1-sector outperform" from "2-sector perform," citing the launch of OWN, improvements in radio margins, and increasing free cash flow.
Manulife Financial Corp. is aiming for $4-billion in net earnings in 2015, a 13 per cent return on equity, and lower variance in potential outcomes through hedging activities, said TD Newcrest analyst Doug Young.
Upside: "Given a slightly improved macro outlook, we are increasing our target price to $16.50 from $15.50," wrote Mr. Young, while maintaining his "hold" rating. He also adjusted his fourth-quarter and 2010 earnings estimates to reflect higher interest rates and equity markets.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s stock is inexpensive compared to its peers, and it has the potential to appreciate 35 per cent to trade in line with rivals such as Cenovus Energy Inc., wrote Canaccord Genuity analyst Phil Skolnick, who rates the stock "buy" and has a target price of $44.
Upside: "The advantages of the Horizon project vs. other mining projects are not appreciated by the market and there is more to this story than just Horizon," said Mr. Skolnick, who also said CNQ is not likely to make a corporate acquisition.
Emera Inc.'s contract with Nalcor, owned by the Newfoundland government, to jointly develop transmission projects to move energy from the Lower Churchill Falls hydro project appears to be "meaningfully accretive," said RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Kwan.
Upside: "The transmission projects to serve Lower Churchill Falls could add roughly $0.17/share to earnings, using our 2012 estimate as a proxy year. In reality, the project will not be in service until 2016/2017," said Mr. Kwan. He raised his price target to $33 from $32.
George Weston will benefit from initiatives to boost productivity over the next two to three quarters, but investors are keeping an eye on its rivals as well as rising input costs in 2011, National Bank Financial analyst James Durran said.
Upside: "Strong margin performance at Weston Foods, driven by productivity gains and other structural changes, are expected to offset a continued, albeit eased, revenue decline, driving a 3.5 per cent year-on-year EBITDA lift to $81.7-million," Mr. Durran wrote, ahead of third-quarter earnings due November 23. He rates the stock "sector perform," has an $87 price target and said the stock is "modestly undervalued."
Sonali Verma