Investment Q&A

Q: I’m worried about ECI. The price trend has been down for three months, but my bigger worry is about criticism of its core business model in the media recently. It seems some of ECI’s clients are complaining they were locked into high-priced long-term (14+ year) water heater rental contracts unknowingly, and without the ability to opt out, when they bought their new homes. Apparently if they want to get out of these contracts now they must pay huge sums of money that make doing so very uneconomic. There are demands for government action to regulate such predatory contracts. Some water heater rental companies are doing this for sure, though I am unsure about the specific terms of ECI’s contracts compared to other companies. Can you shed any light on this? In your view, how much is this raising the risk profile of ECI?

Q: Corus earnings were almost double estimates. Do you see more improvement in the future or was this the result of one-offs?

Q: I understand that the key criterion for evaluating a company’s ability to continue to pay a dividend is “ free cash flow”.

1. What is ENB’s free cash flow?
2. What is the dividend payout ratio?
3. Is free cash flow projected to grow over the next 3 years?
4. I looked for this information on your “profile “ page for ENB.
I did find 5 yr dividend growth 17.48 ... is that a percentage number for that time period?
I did find price to cash flow but not the information I was looking for.

Can you help me both with the information requested and provide some guidance in how best to interpret and use the profile information.

Thanks for all your help here.

Q: Do you know what is driving BBU.UN? It has made quite a significant move but no news that I can find. Thank you.

Q: I took a loss on KWH.UN in 2017 ( one of very few losses on 5i recommendations!) . Is the Return of Capital reported on the Crius T3 added or deducted from the Cost Basis? Thanks!

Q: Hello
Just wondering how close we are to cashing in the receipts for $31.00?
Thanks
Rick

Q: Hello 5i, Can I get your assessment of this company. It seems to be building a base in the 50 to 55 range since Mar 2017. Can you confirm these parameters that were taken from BMO Investorline.
Revenue: 4,444 (million)
Estimated EPS Growth: 24.1%
Estimated P/E Ratio: 238.60
DPS: 2.429000 (4.5%)
Price/Book Ratio: 0.85
If this range of of 50-55 is in fact a base building what do you see as a breakout for it.
Thanks for your service.

Q: can you provide me your opinion on this stock , please and thank you....cheers

Q: would like to add a good dividend stock(s) with a safe dividend and decent chance for price growth....could you rank these three, or would you buy them all in equal parts? thanks.

Q: In an announcement on apr4 altagas mentioned that they might sell minority interests in their northern bc hydro assets as part of wgl financing. Do you think this might be considered negative by the market?

Q: JCP stated that its nominees will buy $3m of KWH.un if JCP successfully elect director candidates to Board.Your view please.Txs for U great services & opinions

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan,and Team,

The Motley Fool had an article called "3 Canadian Dividend Aristocrats With Dangerously High Payout Ratios".

They cite current and 2018 payout ratios for these three stocks:
CGX: 150% and 144%
ECI: 182% and 124%
PKI: 340% and 329%. (yikes!)

They end the article with this statement:
"It’s important for investors to understand the sustainability of a company’s dividend. These aristocrats all have a history of raising dividends, but their high payout ratios are reason for concern. This does not necessarily mean they are bad investments, but investors looking for sustainable dividends may be better off looking elsewhere."

Should this article be taken with a 'grain of salt'? Are their payout ratio numbers valid? What about the Motley Fool in general? Is it worth reading their articles?

Thanks as always for your level-headed and pertinent advice.

Q: Please provide me with a list of solid Canadian stocks (such as the Brookfield group) in which I may receive dividends/distribution in US dollars.
Is the income converted to CDN for income tax purposes (by me, the co. or RevCan) ?
I assume there will not be any withholding tax as they would be CDN companies?
Would I be charged a commission by anyone, i.e. the company or Scotia iTrade?
Anything else I need to know?
Thanks
Derek

Q: I'm looking for a few boring US stocks which have held up well of late to offset my more 'exciting' tech holdings. Can you give me your opinion on Firstenergy and Hanover Insurance (THG)?

Q: I am down 50% in ALA and 17% for ENB in my TFSA.
Does it make any sense to hold or should I just sell. If sell, what should I replace them with for a long-term hold?

Q: What is your opinion about the WesternOne. DB .G Is it save to keep it till 2020 or
sell .The price is dropping .anything new ?

thanks a lot

Margit

Q: Is the BGI.UN dividend reasonably safe? How is it covered?

Thanks.

Howard

Q: Good morning. Why is K-Bro Linen continuing to drop almost daily? Is it time to sell?

Q: I hold both IPL (1.7%) and ENG (2.2%) in my portfolio. ENB has been hit harder over the last 12 months. Do you believe it will have a better recovery than IPL and if so, would it make sense to sell IPL and add to my ENB position. They would be no tax consequences.

Q: Hi,

Just wondering what your take is on the steady decline in share price over the past year?
Thanks:)