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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: In the globe today there was a somewhat negative article about GSY and cash flow.
No need to reprint the entire article, I am sure you have read it with your morning coffee.
What is your take on this should investors be concerned

A portion below


At the behest of the Ontario Securities Commission, which was looking over the company's filings as part of a "continuous disclosure review," goeasy moved a couple of line items out of one portion of the cash-flow statement and into another. As the company noted in a news release, the change had no impact on the company's net income, earnings per share, cash position or balance sheet.

The change in the company's operating cash flow - a measure of cash the company generates in the ordinary course of business - was massive, however.

The company had told shareholders that it had $153-million in operating cash flow (OCF) in 2016; the reclassification turned the number to negative $21-million. For 2017, $179-million in OCF became negative $89-million. Over two years, that's a swing of $445-million (OCF figures are rounded).

And yet, the markets shrugged. The stock has not moved. Analysts covering the company did not put out notes. This was not "material," the word for what a reasonable investor would find important, a couple of analysts told me via email.

I think there's something wrong here, though, when a primary measure of how a company generates cash from its business can swing that much, and no one seems to care. Are we looking at the wrong things - or do financial statements that are compliant with generally accepted accounting principles - GAAP - not matter?
Read Answer Asked by Leon on July 24, 2018
Q: Hi 5i research team,
What could be the impacts of this news « Canadian banks at risk of losing access to key European currency exchange platform »  in monday’s Globe and Mail on CXI? Could you also comment on their recent acquisition from Laurentian bank? Is it good diversification of operations or are they speading their activities (because growth is lacking?)? Thank you for your collaboration, Eric
Read Answer Asked by Eric on July 24, 2018
Q: Hi Peter & Ryan,
Is H&R REIT a buy here? The unit price erodes as the Trust restructures or whatever it is doing. I like the move into US residential, which is why I own it.
I have read elsewhere that the NBV is $25. Do you concur & is it a buy here?
I own a bit (at 20.25) for the income and was thinking of adding. Finally, do you think there is takeover potential here, as I am thinking? Thanks, I appreciate your opinion.
Terry
ps - thanks for your answers to PXT, which I waded into today.
Read Answer Asked by Terry on July 23, 2018
Q: What are your top five materials sector picks at this time? Canadian and/or American listed. Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Marco on July 12, 2018
Q: SJ stock continues to go sideways despite what appears to be positive news. CN has been announcing a series of planned capital improvements over the past month or two. Yesterday, they outlined plans for Ontario, including the installation of 380,000 new railway ties. New housing starts are up and I believe SJ has operations in both the US and Canada so tariff fears shouldn't be that strong.

I am wondering why this and other such announcements would not be reflected in the share price of SJ as it is a major supplier of ties (I am assuming that 380k is a lot of ties, maybe it isn't). When CN released the last results they mentioned increased spending and the new CEO seems to have ramped things up as well, so it this old news and already reflected in SJs price?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.
Read Answer Asked by Paul on July 12, 2018
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