Most actively traded companies on the TSX, TSX Venture Exchange

TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the TSX Venture Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (15,030.74, up 56.09 points):

Petrowest Corp. (TSX:PRW). Oil and gas. Up 10 cents, or eight per cent, to $1.35 on 12.9 million shares.

EMC Metals Corp. (TSX:EMC). Miner. Down 1.5 cents, or 15 per cent, to 8.5 cents on 6.1 million shares.

Belo Sun Mining Corp. (TSX:BSX). Miner. Down 1.5 cents, or 7.32 per cent, to 19 cents on four million shares.

B2Gold Corp. (TSX:BTO). Miner. Up two cents, or 0.65 per cent, to $3.09 on 3.9 million shares.

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TSX:TRQ). Miner. Down 18 cents, or 4.92 per cent, to $3.48 on 3.4 million shares.

Twin Butte Energy Ltd. (TSX:TBE). Oil and gas. Down three cents, or 1.67 per cent, to $1.77 on 3.2 million shares.

Toronto Venture Exchange (1,013.14, down 1.90 points):

Elkwater Resources Ltd. (TSXV:ELW). Oil and gas. Down 19 cents, or 23.75 per cent, to 61 cents on 4.1 million shares.

Keek Inc. (TSXV:KEK). Online media. Down 0.5 cents, or 3.03 per cent, to 16 cents on 3.5 million shares.

Companies reporting major news:

Empire Company Ltd. (TSX:EMP.A). Supermarkets. Up 59 cents, or 0.88 per cent, to $67.69 on 159,495 shares. Sobeys announced plans to close about 50 of its underperforming stores, most of them in Western Canada where parent company Empire purchased the Canada Safeway supermarket chain. Empire also posted fourth-quarter adjusted net earnings from continuing operations of $131.3 million, or $1.42 per diluted share, beating estimates of $1.29, while sales were $5.94 billion, up $1.68 billion year over year, but narrowly missing expectations of $5.95 billion. It also upped its dividend 3.8 per cent to 27 cents a share.

Shaw Communications (TSX:SJR.B). Communication services. Unchanged at $26.35 on 1.9 million shares. The media giant reported quarterly earnings per share of 47 cents, two cents less than estimates. Revenue in the quarter was $1.34 billion, up one per cent year over year.