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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: I want to re-visit a question I asked previously (based on Eric Nuttall's appearance on BNN Bloomberg) and Lionel's input on it. I've reproduced those questions and answers below for reference.

To clarify, Eric was not bullish on natural gas, at least over the next year. What he was feverish on was heavy oil, and his top picks were the three companies above.

I had mentioned Tourmaline Oil which perhaps shifted the conversation toward natural gas, but I was really interested in your take on the heavy oil companies.

Do you share his enthusiasm about heavy oil? I'd appreciate if you could rank these companies. CVE seems the biggest but I sense he sees more potential in the other two which are smaller.



Q: Eric Nuttall was very bullish, almost feverish, on oil (represented by the companies above) while being down on natural gas. To what extent do you agree?

Asked by Kevin on February 27, 2023
5I RESEARCH ANSWER:
We like Eric and used to work right beside him (Peter answering). He is bright and gained lots of experience over the past 20 years. He showed a lot of guts in the oil crash when his fund dropped 70% in three months and fell to $20M in assets (he now manages more than $2B). The sector is very cheap, and vs past cycles corporate balance sheets are very strong. Certainly the lack of spending may results in higher prices over the next three years (depending on the economy). But...it will always be cyclical. The price of oil in fact is even down 14% from before the Ukraine war started. But we think some sector representation certainly makes sense. The TSX is currently at 17.4% energy. We might consider that a bit on the high side. In terms of natural gas, it can be very weather dependent, but we would be more bullish than Eric; the price has dropped so much this year, but it is also dependent on drilling, and the price drop is going to cause even less spending to be done on new gas wells.

Q: I am optomistic that Peter and Eric Nuttall are bullish on the gas sector, as in the 5i reply to Kevin's query (Feb 27). What are your views on XES? Technically, it looks like it has a huge runway to the upside ...Thanks....Lionel

5I RESEARCH ANSWER:
XES is the SPDR Oil and Gas Equipment & Services ETF. Certainly there is upside potential as oil and gas companies spend. However, there has been a trend in the industry towards dividends and buybacks, so spending this cycle may be less than in other periods. Still, the fund is up 38% in the past year, and its 35 holdings look solid. We would be OK owning this for sector exposure, with the understanding that it is always going to be cyclical.
Read Answer Asked by Kevin on March 02, 2023
Q: Hi, Could you please comment on the quarterly/annual results released today., which appears to be strong. Company also seems to be committing to regular and special dividends through 2024, and returning 50-90% of FCF to shareholders !! Sweat !!! There has been so much pessimism about TOU and NG producers, recently. Do you expect the stock to recover and see better price action, over next 12-18 months ? Thanks
Read Answer Asked by rajeev on March 01, 2023
Q: In a response to Cal yesterday regarding ENB you stated that the loss of Line 5 "would certainly be a materially negative event for the company". I am trying to determine if this should result in my cutting back on my full position of ENB (5%). So I would appreciate it if you could expand on what a "materially negative impact" means. Also, do you have an opinion on the likelihood that Line 5 will be shut down?
Thank you.
Note I thought I had sent this question yesterday but a tech glitch may have prevented it being sent.
Read Answer Asked by Dennis on March 01, 2023
Q: I am optomistic that Peter and Eric Nuttall are bullish on the gas sector, as in the 5i reply to Kevin's query (Feb 27). What are your views on XES? Technically, it looks like it has a huge runway to the upside ...Thanks....Lionel
Read Answer Asked by Lionel on February 28, 2023
Q: Hi 5i,
I have a meaningful stake in WCP and am nicely in the green. I also have what I worry may be an irrational faith in its future prospects and its management, regardless of predictions that the energy sector will begin (or should I say continue?) to underperform in the not-too-distant future.
So, I'm looking for a reality check.
I have recently read elsewhere that WCP's debt, both short and long term, while presently manageable, is of a magnitude to potentially cause WCP significant problems that may well negatively impact both its share price and dividend if its revenues decrease by the amounts some are predicting over the next year and beyond.
Although I understand that there is 'good' debt and 'bad' debt and can both tell the difference in my personal life, and recognize how it is affecting me, analyzing the debt of a specific company in relation to its current and anticipated future revenues, CAPEX, FCF, EPS, P/E, etc. etc. is beyond me.
I would greatly appreciate your thoughts on the future prospects of WCP in this context.
Thanks.
Peter
Read Answer Asked by Peter on February 28, 2023
Q: I'm thinking to sell FRU for a tax loss and add to WCP. Eric Nuttal mentioned WCP is increasing their dividend? Where would one find this info?
I'm seeing conflicting info on dividend yields, on this platform as well, where is the most up to date place to search for yield info?

Do you have any other picks than WCP to consider for an income investor for a long term bullish oil play?
Read Answer Asked by Robert on February 28, 2023