Investment Q&A

Q: How would you compare Amaya (AYA) and Surge (SGY) in terms of growth and security ? Of course, Surge pays a substantial dividend, which you view as sustainable. Is this a meaningful plus?

Q: Amaya Gaming has a debenture trading, would you know what the terms are and would this be an alternative to investing in the common stock

Q: Assessing my portfolio weightings: I have BAM.A as 10th largest which is OK but I also own BIP, BEP, BOX, and BRP in lesser quantities. If I think of them as one entity because they are all Brookfields, they would total twice my largest portfolio holding, so in sum would be #1 by far. Is uniting them because they are all intertwined with BAM the correct way to judge the holdings and would you advise scaling back, or are they separate businesses with different yields, growth rates and performance outlooks?

If reducing is advised, I could see substituting, say, HR for BOX and TCN for BRP, but I would have a difficult time finding replacements for BIP and BEP in a large cap utility with an international flavour and outstanding yield for RRSP. I consider BAM core and have held it for many years with good results; insiders own way more BAM than any of the spinoffs which speaks volumes to me. Would 5i have any differing ideas or options? Thanks, J.

Q: Why would you issue a report on a volatile stock like Air Transat which is best suited for traders rather then your investors? Your time and effort would be better spent on covering companies in your portfolio where you have not previously issued a report.
Otherwise, keep up the good work.
I am an INVESTOR for over 40 years.

Q: In your answer to Michael's question on DSG you wrote -It is hard to pre-guess a momentum shift. Many biotechs and techs have been hit hard the past few weeks. Descartes earnings have been solid, and it is not nearly as expensive as some other names caught up in the rotation.

Are you referring to a rotation into cash and fixed income, or a rotation among equity sectors? If the latter, what sectors are attracting the investments?

Thank you.

Q: In response to a question about stopping-out of AVO you stated..."At this time, there may be something fundamental that has changed about the stock." Do you believe something has changed with the company and if so what in particular has changed? Possibly you believe nothing has changed with the company but rather market sentiment has changed. Anyways I am confused - can you clarify your thoughts on the company. (In regards to market sentiment I believe it was Keynes who said that the market could stay irrational longer than one could stay solvent - which is why I don't borrow to buy stocks).
Jim

Q: Should the high debt level at the Boyd Group be a concern? Thanks

Q: What do you think of the rather sharp pullback is DSG shares over the past week? Should we be rotating out of these tech high fliers or will the money come back into them? thanks!

Q: I notice that the US theatre operators are seeing slower growth in ticket sales and are starting to discount same, albeit in only one state. "American movie-theater owners have been super hardcore about one thing, it’s ticket prices. No matter what the Europeans and Canadians do, no matter how many startups try to hack into ticket pricing, exhibitors for years have refused to budge.

Until now.

The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) announced Tuesday that it’s launching an off-night ticket-discount experiment sometime this year. But rather than dive in, they’re carefully dipping a toe: Only one state, which hasn't yet been revealed, will host the program, and it will run only for a limited time."

I know CGX has 70% market share but do you think it is fully valued here?

Q: Capstone (CSE) has secured a long-term contract for its Cardinal facility. Does this settle the uncertainty around the dividend such that, now, the common shares are more attractive than the (still discounted) preferreds?

Q: I was stopped out of AVO today; I set my stop loss at 94% of my purchase price. Please comment on stop losses and how to properly set them. How much of a loss is reasonable before it is time to get out before it is too late? Is the greater volatility part of the package for a stock that has run up quickly? Thank you.

Q: Hi Peter, I've been holding Avo since I bought at 33.35. I'm down over 10%. I'm a retired 64 year old and can't afford too many losses. Should I hold this one or change into a more secure one that pays a divident and is not as volitile.

Man

Q: Hi Peter and team. Have a 15% position in what i consider the "consumer" section of my portfolio made up of Cineplex, Tim Hortons, Dollarama and Couche-Tard. Was thinking of adding on High Liner Foods (HLF) on this recent dip. Cant find any material news to cause its recent decline. Have i missed something or is its recent decline just the ups and down of the market, in your opinion. Lastly, what do you think of High Liner's balance sheet and up to what percentage would you allocate to a "Consumer" portion of a retail investor's portfolio? Thanks, again.

Q: Why such weakness in gold stocks today (g, ar )? I am thinking of adding to positions!!

Q: HLF is down almost 10% the last five days. Any news you might have to account for is it or just some fund exiting a position?

Q: GLN Glentel came out with earnings. Market seems positive. Is it worth holding in here?

TIA

Q: Hi Peter. Is it time to give up on AVO? Do you know if there is any news coming? I'm not sure if it is a bye sell or hold. I'm cautiously optimistic. Thank you. Betty

Q: Further to Edwards question, do you have any insight why ESL continues its steady drift downward? Thanks

Q: Hello Peter....Sector classification question for 2 companies. Is it better to classify Black Diamond as Consumer Discretionary than Energy? And for AutoCanada can it be considered as Retail rather than classified as Consumer Discretionary?...Thanks...Tom M

Q: Hi Peter:
I am retired with a modest pension, and a huge believer in asset allocation focused on Cdn dividend income. I have recently trimmed several positions to raise a bit of cash (now at 7%) to take advantage of a possible summer pullback. In equities I own AD, AQN, ALA, BCE, BNS, BTE, BA, CFN, CGX, CSU, CPG, III, PBH, TCN, WEQ, as well as 2 dividend funds and 1 REIT fund.

Do you see any red flags? Caution flags for me are CFN and WEQ. Once purchased, I normally like to give the stock "time to perform".

Thanks for your help,
Steve