Investment Q&A

Q: Hello, why the big drop in CP this morning? Is this a good time to buy? Thanks

Q: I have positions in both CP and CNR and need to lessen my position in one of these railways. Which one would you choose to lighten up on and your reasoning. Thank You.

Q: I have held CN Rail for years and it has averaged around 9% including the dividend. Wildfires and labour issues have hit the company hard over the last few years and the stock price has not done much. On the other hand, CPKC’s stock price has done a bit better. Both just released their latest earnings. CN expects its adjusted diluted EPS to grow in the low single-digit range for 2024 and average in the high single-digit range over the next couple of years. Whereas CPKC expects its adjusted diluted EPS to grow double digits for 2024 and over the next couple of years. What other metrics should I be looking at? Are railways still a good investment and if so, would you suggest a swap to CPKC? Thanks for your help.

Q: Hi, I would love your views on the railroads? Are they a buy at these levels or do you see further downside.? Would you consider one or more to be a good core holding for a retired reasonably conservative investor? How would 5i rank your most preffered North Amercan railroads please? Thanks in advance?

Q: Hello,

IMO the strike/lockout seems to be priced in and news about deadlines seem to be noise rather than anything substantive.

Given the potential impact of this on Canada business, in your opinion what are the critical incidents that would trigger a decline or spike - duration of either strike/lockout, back to work legislation. There really is no other viable alternative to rail so the country is over a barrel.

Thank you

Q: Hello,

Which stocks would benefit the most from a strike/lockout at CP and CNR?
Thank you

Q: I have a TFSA account, and would like to add more for investment. I am very happy the current performance and would like to look for those well sleep Canadian’s stock. Any suggestion?

Q: Hello, this is about your answer to a member about the valuation of CP versus CNR today. In your answer you stated that “CP is now cheaper than CNR on valuation (21X vs 24X).” Do you refer to the P/E ratio here? It appears there might be some discrepancy between the numbers you provided and what I found on TMX Money (P/E ratio 25.99 for CP vs 20.37 for CNR). Then, is CNR cheaper than CP? I am just trying to understand correctly. Thank you very much

Q: Hi, all

Not loving the ride I'm taking with CP these days. I think you prefer CN, which I also own.

I can stay in my seat with CP for diversification sake or switch and stick with CN.

Your general thoughts on the two?

Thanks,
Robert

Q: What is your take on CP’s reporting last week? Any significant alarms going off?

Q: Can you please comment on CP's earnings and whether you would buy for the long term.

Q: Which is a better rail to buy currently, for a 5 year hold? My portfolio is very diverse (25 companies) but I do not have any railroads.

Q: I’m trying to form a kind of hybrid of the Hodson and the Buffet approach to investing. Hodson: balanced portfolio. Buffet: a few excellent companies. So I would form a fairly balanced portfolio but be overweight considerably in a few.

Buffet says you are buying a piece of a business; you are not buying a stock. He and Munger don’t care about the stock market. They both say you don’t need very many stocks, no more than 5 or 6. They also say their approach is not for the average person, who usually doesn’t know how to value a business and should just stick to EFFs. Their approach is for someone who knows how to analyze and value a business. Peter Hodson and 5i do know how to analyze and value a business. (And in answers to questions 5i has also said several times that the way to build wealth is to own a small concentrated portfolio.)

On the other hand, 5i is all about building and rebalancing a diversified portfolio, covering all, or almost all, sectors. This approach is more concentrated than an ETF, but not as concentrated as a Buffet/Munger small set of quality companies. I don’t know anything about Sees Candy, Geiko, or Coke. But they certainly do.

If Buffet/Munger were looking only at Canadian companies, which few would they want to own? Any size, any sector. Just outstanding businesses.

Q: From reading your recent answers, you like these 4 companies (CNR, CP, TFII and TIH). Would you please rank these 4 companies for growth and rank them again for dividend growth. Which two companies would be your favorite for a combination of growth and dividends for a 5+ year hold? If you can give a brief explanation for the reason(s) over the other 2 companies? Thank you.

Q: How would you value above companies for a long term industrial hold.? Are there other companies in the North American industry you would prefer? Thank you.

Q: Can you compare the dividend growth at CN and CP over time? It looks to me that CP hasn’t increased the dividend since Oct. 2020. The longest previous period with no increase in the recent past seems to be July 2012 to July 2016. In contrast, CN seems to increase their dividend every year. But has the rate of increase for both been similar over the long run despite the choppiness at CP? Also, the rate of increase seems to be slowing more recently at CN, it was often double digit increases prior to 2020. Any insights appreciated, thanks.

Q: Please comment on CP's earnings report.
Thank you

Q: I have held CP for some time now. Although it has fluctuated somewhat, it seems to be range bound. Do you see it having much potential to increase? I am starting to consider swapping it for FSV, which seems to just steadily increase. Any comment on that switch?

Many thanks

Q: Hi ,
Can you please identify me with 3 US stocks and 3 canadian who have a monopoly over their business. ?
I already own CN . I hope it’s one of it?
Thanks. Alnoor

Q: If you were to list favourite US and Cdn companies with the added criteria of high cash flow and significant stock buybacks what would they be?