Investment Objective
The investment objective for our group is “growth”. We have selected a long-term investment for the intent of wealth building. Growth stocks are intended to appreciate in value, as these companies have historical growth above average earnings, excellent cash flows to service their debts and high operating margins.

Barrick Gold Corp.

Barrick Gold Corp. is the gold industry leader. They have the largest un-hedged gold production and gold reserves in the industry. We chose to invest in Barrick Gold Corp. based on their target for growth, “A” rated balance sheet and their vision for being the best gold mining company through safe, profitable and socially responsible practices. Their income is generated from the finding, acquiring, developing and producing of quality gold reserves. In 2010, Barrick produced 7.8 million ounces of gold at a total cost of $457 per ounce and is targeting to grow to an annual production of 9.0 million ounce of gold within 5 years. The company also has exploration and developments projects that include proven and probable reserves of copper and silver.

Stock Analysis
On Feb.2, 2011, we purchased 423.01 of Barrick’s shares for $47.28 each. Their share price fluctuated from the purchase date till Mar.18. The share price was at its lowest the week of Feb.11. It increased by $4.00 by the end of week Feb.18, at the time the company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.12 per share, payable on Mar. 15. During the week of Feb. 25, the stock fell by $0.03, and rose again by $0.61. On Mar. 4, the share price was at its highest, $51.40. On the previous Mar.1st, investors were particularly interested in gold and the price was at a record high, regardless of the political crisis in Libya. The supply of gold is considered inelastic and rising prices don’t impact the quantity of gold supplied to increase. This inelastic supply is caused by production obstacles such as the closing of Libya’s production locations, which creates a shortage of materials, labour or rising costs. On Mar.18th Barrick’s share price fell to $48.87 due to Barrick’s rising capital expenditures of $2 billion. The expenses are a result of higher labour, energy, raw material costs and inflation. Overall, our investment in Barrick Gold Corp. has given us a profit of $672.50 from Feb.2 – Mar.18, 2011.
Financial Ratios

Competitors Ratios

Ratio Comparisons
Barrick Gold Corp. has a higher EPS than its competitors Goldcorp Inc. and Kinross Gold, whose EPS were $2.14 and $0.94 respectively. This means that Barrick Gold Corps’ shareholders earned $3.32 for every common share they owned, an attractive amount that indicates improved profitability over its competitors.
Barrick’s PE ratio is 14.2, less than its competitors which were 19.1 and 17.1. For every dollar of common share earned, Barrick Gold Corp’s shareholder paid less than the investors of Kinross Gold and Goldcorp, making Barrick’s stocks more of a bargain for the time invested.
Barrick has a higher dividend yield than Kinross Gold and Goldcorp Inc. Their yield was 0.93% as compared with the competitors, 0.51% and 0.54%. Barrick’s dividend yield is better as a result of higher earnings.
For each share held by its common shareholders, Barrick’s board of directors declared a dividend payout of 13.25% of earnings for 2010. These shareholders received a higher percentage earnings than the competitors, Kinross Gold and Goldcorp Inc, whose payout ratios were 9.57% and 9.81% respectively.

Canadian Natural Resources
Canadian Natural Resources is one of the largest independent crude oil and natural gas producers in the world. The company continually targets cost effective alternatives to developments and projects, which delivers a defined growth plan and thereby creating value for us as shareholders.
They have a low-cost, diversified combination of assets in North America, the North Sea and Offshore West Africa, which enables them to generate significant value, even in challenging economic environments. Their balanced mix of natural gas, light oil, heavy oil, in-situ oil sands production, oil sands mining and associated upgrading facilities, represents one of the strongest and most diverse asset portfolios of any energy producer in the world. Their financial discipline, commitment to a strong balance sheet, and capacity to internally generate cash flows provide us the means to grow our company in the long term.

Stock Analysis

Canadian Natural Resource’s shares were $43.98 on Feb.7, 2011 and we purchased 454.75 of common shares. The share price fell by $0.78 cents by Feb.11 and increased by $4.05 by Feb. 18th. The increase results from Feb.16th headlines, which indicates that the company entered a partnership with North West Upgrading Inc., to move forward with detailed engineering regarding the construction and operation of a bitumen refinery in Alberta. The company’s share price continued to rise throughout the weeks of Feb.25th to Mar.4th as oil stocks continued to push higher; regardless of the closing of Libya’s oil production facilities. On Mar.3, the company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.09 cents, a 20% increase per common share payable on Apr.1. Following the announcement, the company’s share price hit a high of $49.70 per share. Canadian Natural Resource’s share price fell by $4.55 on Mar.11, but rose again by $2.60 on Mar.18. Our overall investment earned us with a profit of $1,741.60 for 454.75 of CNQ’s shares.
Financial Ratios

Competitors Ratios

Ratio Comparisons
Canadian Natural Resource’s EPS is $2.92 per common share. Their shareholders earned more than its competitors Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy, whose EPS were $2.61 and $2.29 respectively. CNQ’s stock is more attractive and most likely has higher profitability.
CNQ has a lower P/E ratio than its competitors. For every dollar that their common share holders earned, they paid $15.1; as opposed to, $17.1 and $17.6 per share. Canadian Natural Resource’s stock appears to be a better bargain than Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy.
For every dollar the CNQ stock sold for, the company declared a dividend yield of 0.95%. Their divided yield is lower than its competitors. Imperial Oil and Suncor Energy have a better dividend yield by only 1 cent and 4 cents respectively.
For each CNQ share held by its investors, a dividend of 14.38% of earnings was elected to be paid out to its shareholders. Shareholders of Imperial Oil and Suncor energy received a higher dividend payout of 16.48% and 17.47% than shareholders of Canadian Natural Resources.

Goldcorp Inc.
Goldcorp is a Canadian company that is one of the top industry leaders. They are the fastest growing, low cost senior producers of gold. Their income is generated through production, mining and developments of gold within many politically stable American regions. We chose Goldcorp for their commitment to long-term sustainable growth, performance and prosperity to their community, employees, partners and shareholders.

Stock Analysis
On Feb.11, 2011, 490.20 of Goldcorp’s shares were bought for $40.80 per share. The share price rose to $42.41 the following week. News indicates that Goldcorp sold 10.1% of their equity interest in Osisko Mining, sales are expected to generate $530 million in cash and will be used to fund their existing project pipeline. During the weeks of Feb.18 and 25th, Goldcorp’s stock continued to increase another $4.00. At the time, Goldcorp declared an 11% increase in annual dividends to $0.40 per common share. On Feb.24, Goldcorp stated that their quarterly earnings soared due to higher gold and silver prices and increased bullion production. They also announced positive study results for expectations of sustained, high quality gold production in their two major Canadian gold projects. By Mar.4, Goldcorp’s share price increased to $48.70, gold prices were at a record high. The ending share price on Mar.18th was $46.76, $5.96 more than our purchase price on Feb.7, 2011. To conclude, our 490.20 shares grew by a profit of $2,921.59 by Mar.18, 2011.

Financial Ratios

Competitors Ratios

Ratio Comparisons
Goldcorp.’s shareholders earned $2.14 for each common share owed. Their EPS is lower than Barrick Gold Corp. and higher then Kinross Gold, making their stock more profitable than Kinross Gold, but not Barrick Gold Corp. for the year of 2010.
For each common share earned, Goldcorp.’s investors paid $19.1. Barrick Goldcorp had a P/E ratio of 14.2 and Kinross was 17.7. Although Goldcorp.’s shares are considered more of a bargain than Barrick Gold, Kinross still had a lower P/E ratio than Goldcorp, there is no guarantee that Goldcorp.’s P/E ratio will remain higher than its competitor Kinross in the future.
Goldcorp has a dividend yield of 0.51%, which is lower than both its competitors Barrick Gold and Kinross Gold, whose dividend yields were 0.93% and 0.54% respectively.
Goldcorp’s Payout ratio for 2010 is 9.81%, meaning that for every share held by a common shareholder, the company declared a payout dividend of 9.81% of earnings to its shareholders. The company’s main competitor, Barrick Goldcorp. has a higher Payout ratio than Goldcorp. and Kinross Gold is much lower than the two leading companies.

Home Depot
This stock was selected for their recognition as the world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer. Home depot is the 4th largest retailer in the U.S and is one of the top home improvement retailers in the Canada. Their sources of income are generated through retails sales of building materials, appliances, decor, lawn/garden products and so forth. They also earn income through continuing operation and services such as renting tools, installation, contracting and their consumer credit card.

Stock Analysis
On Feb. 7, 2011, Home Depot’s market price per share was $36.60. With $20,000, we were able to purchase an amount of 546.45 HD shares. The share price rose by almost $2.00 during the weeks of Feb.11 and 18th. During the time, the company announced the hiring of 60,000 employees for their annual Spring Black Friday event. Home Depot then declared a 72%, 4th quarter increase in profits. The increase in sales were generated from the start of a busy home improvement season and the ½ off- price sales of the most sought out products and door busters during their annual spring event. There were no significant changes to HD’s share price from our purchase price of $36.60 on Feb.7; however, the price fell by 6 cents by the end of week Mar.18 to $36.00 per share. The small price drop may be affected by recent news stating that their Canadian regional president, Alan Carmack, was replaced by Bill Lennie due to Carmack’s leave of illness. Our overall investment in Home Depot’s shares had a loss of $327.80 by the end of Mar.18, 2011.