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On the economic front, there are no Canadian releases today; however, in the U.S., third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) will a key statistic to take note of.

In terms of third-quarter earnings, there are only four companies in the S&P/TSX composite index scheduled to report today, Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO-T), Norbord Inc. (OSB-T), Colliers International Group Inc. (CIG-T), and MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd. (MDA-T).

Next week will be busy. There are 71 companies in the S&P/TSX composite index that are currently expected to report their quarterly results. Thursday will be the busiest day of the week with 40 companies scheduled to release their earnings results. On Tuesday November 1, Canadian August GDP figures are announced, and ending the week is the closely watched U.S. non-farm payroll report, released on Friday November 4 before the market opens.

In addition, we are just 11 days away from the U.S. presidential election held on Tuesday November 8. In advance of the election, investors may choose to sit on the sidelines and wait for the election results. With a potential absence of buyers, this may cause the stock market to drift lower.

Let's briefly recap what happened on Thursday. The S&P/TSX composite index climbed 26 points, or 0.18 per cent to close at 14,834. There were 98 securities in the TSX Index that advanced, 148 securities declined in value, and just one stock closed the day unchanged. Energy stocks were the leaders, while gold stocks were laggards.

The S&P/TSX composite index is up 0.73 per cent month-to-date, and up 14.02 per cent year-to-date.

On today's TSX Breakouts report, there are 16 securities on the positive breakouts list (stocks with positive price momentum), and exactly double the number of stocks, 32 securities, on the negative breakouts list (stocks with negative price momentum).

Financial stocks are steadily edging higher with investors expecting interest rates to continue to drift higher. A stock benefiting from this improving sector sentiment is Power Corporation of Canada (POW-T).

A brief outline is provided below that may serve as a springboard for further fundamental research.

The company

Power Corporation is a holding company with a 65.6 per cent interest in Power Financial (PWF-T) as of August 5. Power Financial is a holding company with interests in Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial, and Parjointco. Great-West Lifeco's subsidiaries include Great-West Life, London Life, and Canada Life. Reported within IGM Financial are its two key business segments, Investors Group Inc. and Mackenzie Financial Corp.

Dividend policy

The company pay its shareholders a quarterly dividend of 33.5 cents per share, or $1.34 on a yearly basis. This equates to an annualized dividend yield of 4.6 per cent.

Management is committed to returning capital to its shareholders. In May, the company announced a 7.6 per cent increase to its dividend.

Valuation

Analysts commonly value the stock using a net asset value approach, and also consider the stock on a price-to-earnings multiple basis. According to Bloomberg, the stock is trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 9.5 times the 2017 consensus estimate, below its five-year historical average of 9.8 times.

Analysts' recommendations

This financial stock is covered by 10 firms according to Bloomberg. These firms in alphabetical order are as follows: Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, CIBC World Markets, Desjardins Securities, Edward Jones, EVA Dimensions, Morningstar, RBC Capital Markets, Scotia Capital, and TD Securities. There are three 'buy' recommendations and seven 'hold' recommendations.

Target prices range from a low of $29 to a high of $34, implying up to 17 per cent upside potential. Individual target prices provided by seven firms in numerical order are as follows: $29, $30, $31, two at $32, $33, and $34. The average one-year target price is $31.57, implying there is 9 per cent upside potential over the next 12 months.

The Street is forecasting Power Corp. to report EPS of $2.50 in 2016, rising 22 per cent to $3.05 in 2017.

Analysts have been revising their forecasts lower throughout 2016. For instance, at the beginning of the year, the consensus EPS estimate was $3.25 for 2016 and $3.42 for 2017.

Chart watch

Year to date, the stock price is relatively unchanged, up 0.1 per cent. However, month-to-date, the share price is up over 4 per cent as life insurance companies have gained strength and positive price momentum.

There is initial overhead resistance at $30, and after that at $31, near its closing price peak set in April.

There is downside support at $28, which is close to its 50-day moving average (at $27.86), and failing that, very strong support around $27.

The relative strength index is 70, suggesting the share are in overbought territory. Generally, a reading at or above 70 indicates an overbought condition.

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The Breakouts file is a technical analysis screen intended to identify companies that are technically breaking out. In addition, this report highlights a company's dividend policy, analysts' recommendations, and provides a brief technical analysis for a security to provide readers with more information.

If a stock appears on the positive breakouts list, this indicates positive price momentum, and that a company may be worthwhile for investors to look at the fundamentals in order to determine if the recent price strength is warranted and will continue. If a security appears on the negative breakouts list, this indicates negative price momentum, and may be indicative of either deteriorating fundamentals or perhaps indicates a buying opportunity.

Securities screened are from the S&P/TSX composite index, the S&P/TSX Small Cap index, as well as Canadian small cap stocks outside of these indexes that have a minimum market capitalization of $200-million.

A technical analysis screen does not replace fundamental analysis, but can help identify companies worth having a closer look at.

Price breakouts

Positive BreakoutsOct. 27 close
BAD-TBadger Daylighting Ltd $29.81
BNS-TBank of Nova Scotia $72.23
CLS-TCelestica Inc $15.97
CRH-TCRH Medical Corp $6.40
GWO-TGreat-West Lifeco Inc $33.89
IMO-TImperial Oil Ltd $44.88
LIF-TLabrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp $14.39
MAL-TMagellan Aerospace Corp $17.31
NA-TNational Bank of Canada $47.72
OCX-TOnex Corp $86.44
POW-TPower Corp of Canada $28.98
SJ-TStella-Jones Inc $47.30
SLF-TSun Life Financial Inc $44.89
SU-TSuncor Energy Inc $41.61
TD-TToronto-Dominion Bank $60.75
WFT-TWest Fraser Timber Co Ltd $45.50
Negative Breakouts
AIM-TAimia Inc $7.52
ASR-TAlacer Gold Corp $2.81
AXY-TAlterra Power Corp. $5.74
AI-TAtrium Mortgage Investment Corp. $11.96
BOX.UN-TBrookfield Canada Office Properties $26.37
CAM-TCanam Group Inc $8.73
CCL.B-TCCL Industries Inc $235.38
CIG-TColliers International Group Inc $53.00
CJR.B-TCorus Entertainment Inc $10.81
BCB-TCott Corp $17.59
EMP.A-TEmpire Co Ltd $18.99
FSZ-TFiera Capital Corp $12.06
FCR-TFirst Capital Realty Inc $21.44
FSV-TFirstService Corp $56.32
GIL-TGildan Activewear Inc $34.32
HSE-THusky Energy Inc $14.91
III-TImperial Metals Corp $5.05
IT-TIntertain Group Ltd $8.25
KBL-TK-Bro Linen Inc. $38.75
LAC-TLithium Americas Corp $0.75
MRD-TMelcor Developments Ltd $12.53
NLN-TNeuLion Inc $0.90
NGD-TNew Gold Inc $5.07
ORL-TOrocobre Ltd. $3.09
PTM-TPlatinum Group Metals Ltd $2.30
PG-TPremier Gold Mines Ltd $2.99
P-TPrimero Mining Corp $1.90
PUR-TPure Technologies Ltd. $4.91
REI.UN-TRioCan Real Estate Investment Trust $25.87
SIA-TSienna Senior Living Inc $16.15
SRU.UN-TSmart Real Estate Investment Trust $33.51
UNS-TUni-Select Inc $29.51

Source: Bloomberg