Investment Q&A

Q: Hey guys,
You answered a question regarding LNF about hidden real estate of about 100M. Bill Harris' estimate is closer to 800M to 900M in today's market. They have 369M in cash , as of 2020. Market cap of 1.6B - real estate 800M-cash leaves 369 M = ~500M for the business. 160M earnings last year gives me a P/E ratio of 4-5. Which seems like a dream.
Is this a flawed way of thinking about valuation? Leon's has a boring name with little analyst coverage, A Peter Lynch special. What will it take for the market to figure it out?

Q: In your expert opinion are there any super mispriced stocks that need time and patience and should eventually produce solid returns?

Q: Looks like LNF beat estimates and the stock really took of..(sigh). Can you please comment on results. Did I read correctly they currently have $400 m FCF and how this compares to the industry?

Q: For New money to initiate positions which 5 stocks in each of the portfolios would you recommend investing. On a related note, is there a reason you don’t put buy or hold or buy up to prices in any of the portfolios, or is your stance if it is in there it is a buy regardless of how much a stock may have run up since it was originally recommended.

Q: I currently own BYD and DOL and would like to add 2 more stocks to this sector, which one of DOO, GOOS,MG and LNF would you add today?

I am also need to increase my US holding so can recommend a ETF in this sector as well on the US and Cdn $ ?

Thanks

Q: hello 5i:
I understand you look favorably upon LNF, looking back at questions asked and the weighting in the Income portfolio. But, looking at Operating Cash Flows: I see $2.51 for 2019, estimates of 3.93 for 2020 and a deceleration to $1.96 for 2021. That is a big drop, and should mean that the stock is currently, at best fairly valued and at worst, going to see a large reduction. Can you comment please, as I am interested in adding the company.
thanks
Paul L

Q: How would you rank Wayfair, Leon’s Furniture, Canada Goose, and Aritzia? How would you rank their balance sheets, management, and potential in the next 5-10 years?

Q: 5i has stated in the past that the above companies have no debt (LNF "very little debt") - is that still the case? If possible, can you please name 5 additional good CAN and 5 US companies that have no debt or very little?
Thanks!

Q: In the past, 5i mentioned that LNF has hidden real estate value. Can you elaborate a bit more on this? I assume not enough real estate to spin out a REIT in the distant future.
Thanks!

Q: I am looking at putting together a portfolio of set-&-forget Canadian dividend-paying stocks, in what will be my only unregistered account, making up about 30% of our overall portfolio. The registered accounts (70% of portfolio) are now all in mixes of VGRO, VBAL and XAW.
My emphasis is on stable large cap companies, with a sprinkling of smaller cap, low beta, decent and growing dividends. I expect to draw down the capital at 6 - 7% per year (in addition to the dividends). Beyond the drawdown, capital preservation is secondary to the income.
What are your thoughts on the following mix? Additions/deletions?
Communication: BCE, T
Consumer Discretionary: CTC.A, LNF
Consumer Staples: NWC, PBH
Financials: BNS, TD, SLF
Industrials: SIS
Materials: SJ
Real Estate: CRT.UN
Energy & Utilities: ENB, AQN, FTS, ACO.X, BEP.UN (or BEPC)
My other thought is 100% CDZ but I'm not very impressed with the historical returns and the (relatively) high MER.
Thanks. Lotar.

Q: trying to decide between these two companies strictly for upside in the next few years. can you give me your views between the two.

thanks Dave

Q: Hola Peter et al.

My daughter’s TFSA is a mix of growth and stable names. A year or so go I bought TCL.A, expecting a stable company with some growth...but it went the wrong way. Would it make sense to sell TCL and buy LNF or would that be switching one good but slow moving company for a second good but slow moving Co.?

The difference in sector is not relevant and obviously taxes are not a factor.
Many thanks. Robert

Q: In one of my previous questions about Leon's, I referenced the company's profile page where it shows, like it has for months, that there is one analyst covering LNF. In your answer, you indicated there were, in fact, two analysts covering LNF.

Q1 = I have waited quite a while for the 5iR company profile page to be updated by your data provider to reflect the above # analysts (two). Is there a way to reach out to your data provider and request him to update this? Or...is it that the "missing analyst" is from a firm that they do not consider significant enough?

Q2 = While we are on the topic, how many analysts does 5iR currently have in their system that cover LNF now and what is there current target?

Q3 = What is YOUR internal target for Leon's one year out? How much upside to you see?

Thanks for your help...Steve

Q: Retired, dividend-income, "buy-and-hold" investor. I am light in Consumer Cyclical. Do you still like Leon's? What other choices would you recommend that pay at least a 2.5% dividend. Please rank them for total return best to worst.
Thanks....Steve

Q: I hold CTC.A and have been considering switching to LNF taxes not an issue. Could you compare the companies and offer which company you perfer. Thanks

Q: Part 2 of my question about year end adjustments to my portfolio. I have fairly small positions in 10 of these stocks (0.6% to 1.1%), and no position in DOO. I would like to add to several of these using the cash generated from reducing larger positions in some holdings. Looking for best long term total return, 5+ years. Sector, and size of company not a major consideration, in a well diversified portfolio. I like growth, I like dividends. Looking at ATD.B, BAM.A, CAR.UN, DIR.UN, DOO, GRT.UN, ITP, LNF, TCN, TECK.B, SLF. Thank you.

Q: Retired, dividend-income investor, who normally employs a buy-and-hold strategy. I have long term core positions of mostly conservative equities (ETFs = CDZ, XIT, ZLB, ZWC, ZRE, LIFE; Stocks = AD, AQN, BCE, CSH, FTS, MFC, NTR, NWC, PBH, PLC, RY, TRP, WSP) and fixed income of annuities, Fisgard and Gov't-Private pensions. I believe my portfolio is set up fairly conservatively.

I have cash for another position in my Cash Account. I have been reading several 5iR questions lately about various themes for 2021 (Recovery Trade, Swap from Growth to Value, Emerging Market improvements, Take-Over Candidates, etc.). While I'm not even sure if this is possible, I'd like to ask you to screen for as many of them as possible (all thrown into one big ball) to create a half dozen candidates for me to do more research on. I'm looking for a starting point. I'm not even sure where to start, hence the request.

I'm looking for a Canadian (preferably) or USA company, potentially a take-out target, benefitting from the recovery of the economy. I lean towards the Value spectrum, as I inherently find it difficult to buy a stock that has already had a good run. If a dividend could be thrown in, that would be a bonus. Market cap and sector do not matter.

This is sort of a "kitchen sink" kind of question. If that results in zero candidates, then please use your discretion and drop various filters. As you can tell by my current holdings, they are for the most part, blue-chip companies. If we could identify something like an Enercare (that was taken out by Brookfield), that would be a homerun.....happy to hold it but ecstatic to have it taken out. But Enercare is just an example.

Please rank them from best candidate to least...maybe 3 Canadian and 3 USA companies or all 6 from Canada if possible.

If you can run this exercise, then I'll do some further research on your list. I know this is a crazy request...thanks in advance. Take as many credits as you need to throw some brain power at this....I'll never use all of the credits I currently have.

Much appreciated...Steve

Q: How can Leon's get $ from CEBA and increase their dividend, pay a special dividend and still buy back lots of shares on a regular basis.
This does not smell right for me. Do they have to pay back any of the CEBA handout? Bad move by somebody here.

Q: I'm helping my 27 yr old daughter with her TFSA investments. The TFSA currently holds GSY, KXS, LSPD, PBH and SHOP, which have all done very well. I got SHOP for her at $67/share, so it's done particularly well!!
I'm looking to add one more growth stock to the mix, and have been considering LNF, WELL, GOOS, DOO or ATZ, but am completely open to another suggestion to complement her existing holdings. Please rank these from best to worst for growth (with moderate risk) if you were add today for a 1-3 year hold. If you have another suggestion for a stock that may perform better over that time frame, please provide it.
Thanks 5i for such wise and timely advice, always!

Q: A follow up to Steve's question. All the positives which you have noted regarding LNF are impressive. I am wondering about the government funds they received from the CEBA program. Not having that in the coming quarters will make quarter over quarter comparisons less attractive... how much of an impact will this have?