(Business Edge columnist Gyle Konotopetz regularly profiles the top stock picks of some of Canada's most accomplished investment pros.)

FEATURED PRO: Randy Oliver is president and portfolio manager of Hesperian Capital Management (www.hesperiancapital.com). The Calgary firm manages the Norrep series of funds that specialize in small- and mid-cap stocks.

Fund Form: The Norrep fund has a one-year return of 60.4 per cent compared to the group average of 28.8 per cent and a five-year compound annualized return of 27.5 per cent compared to the group average of 8.8 per cent.

Management Expense Ratio: 2.49 per cent.

Randy Oliver

Oliver's Perspective: "The market looks pricey to me right now and it's harder to find good names in this environment. However, we've made money for our clients in the years that the market has been down, so I don't lose any sleep over what the market is doing. I try not to emphasize in my books the short-term market outlook because it's going to be higher five years from now than it is now. That's the best answer I can give you.

"I've tried to get a bit more conservative in picking stocks this time because I do have concerns about values in the current market."

First Star

* PetroBank Energy (TSX:PBG)

* Recent Price: $8.75.

* 52-Week Range: $1.70-$8.76.

* Snapshot: PetroBank owns oilsands leases near Conklin and also produces oil and natural gas from projects in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin and in Colombia.

* CEO: John Wright.

* Head Office: Calgary.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 125; Revenue (last 12 mos), $65.3 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 18.3 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $8.6 million; Market Cap, $482.4 million; Shares Outstanding, 55.1 million.

* Oliver's View: "The biggest reason we bought into this at $2.60 was because of the tarsands. If PetroBank were to be valued based on the price per barrel of oil in the ground that Teck paid (Teck Corp. recently paid $475 million for a 15-per-cent interest in the Fort Hills Oil Sands Project) it'd be worth $15 a share. It's an overlook. PetroBank has a whole pile of valuable assets. My initial goal was to see it trading at $7 or $8 but now that we have a better feel for what oilsands assets are worth, PetroBank is worth even more. We think it's worth $15 a share just based on its tarsands assets, it also has Colombian properties that they could take public and the company also has good operations elsewhere."

* Oliver's Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.petrobank.com

Second Star

* Strongco Income Fund (TSX:SQP.UN)

* Recent Price: $15.24.

* 52-Week Range: $14.06-$16.25.

* Snapshot: Strongco is a multi-line industrial equipment distributor with operations across Canada.

The company sells and rents equipment, and also sells parts and services and maintains equipment.

* CEO: Robin MacLean.

* Head Office: Mississauga, Ont.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 13.39; Revenue (last 12 mos), $368.6 million; Earnings (last 12 mos), $9.51 million; Market Cap, $146.7 million; Shares Outstanding, 9.62 million; Monthly Cash Distribution, 15 cents per unit; Dividend Yield, 11.32 per cent.

* Oliver's View: "This is a heavy equipment dealer supplying everything from tractors to graders to the resource industries across Canada. That makes this a neat play on the resource industry and a play on the second tier of the industry, the suppliers. The company's yield is getting up to around 12 per cent. They're in the right industry at the right time and they're mispriced in our mind."

* Oliver's Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.strongco.com

Third Star

* Lassonde Industries (TSX:LAS.SV.A)

* Recent Price: $35.

* 52-Week Range: $23-$35.99.

* Snapshot: Lassonde develops, manufactures and markets fruit juices and fruit drinks as well as an assortment of specialty food products. Products are sold in Canada, the New England states, Europe, Asia and North Africa.

* CEO: Pierre-Paul Lassonde.

* Head Office: Rougemont, Que.

* Vital Stats: Current Price/Earnings Ratio, 19.6; Revenue (last 12 mos), $275.1 million; 5-Yr Revenue Growth, 3.1 per cent; Earnings (last 12 mos), $11.3 million; Market Cap, $238.5 million; Shares Outstanding, 6.8 million.

* Oliver's View: "The health-food market is growing at the expense of the pop and soft-drink markets. On top of that, they're a company that is very conservatively capitalized, well run and with a high return on equity. Although the stock has moved up strongly, it's still only trading at a low P/E (price/earnings ratio). The earnings numbers are growing very strongly this year and it's a core type of value stock we like to have in our portfolio."

* Oliver's Risk Rating: Medium.

* Web Watch: www.lassonde.com

Oliver's Edge Record (past 12 mos): 54.1 per cent. Best Pick: PetroBank Energy (TSX:PBG) +212.5 per cent. Worst Pick: Canam Group (TSX:CAM.SV.A) -0.6 per cent.

Disclosure: Oliver owns shares in the Norrep funds in which the featured stocks are held.

(Investors should do their own due diligence or consult a registered investment professional before making investment decisions.)