Investment Q&A

Q: Hello, according to the company profile of TCL.A, the price-to-cash-flow ratio (P/CF) is 4.70. When one looks at the P/CF ratio of any company, above what ratio would you say that this is a good P/CF? In your opinion, what would be the top 5 utilities company right now? Thanks, Gervais

Q: Charge as many credits as you see fit...at least 4...got lots. Annually, I follow the O'Shaughnessy system and go through the tedious process of ranking over 90 stocks into deciles. I am screening for stocks that are good value, less volatile and have a good + growing dividend. For value, I use P/E, P/B, P/CF, P/S. For volatility, I use Beta. For dividends, this year I have added 5 year growth % into the process. The resultant summary number is the cumulative of the 7 metrics, with roughly 60% value, 15% volatility and 25% dividend weighting. I then marry this up with a technical screening, using charts with a 200 mda, looking for a rising vs rangebound vs declining chart.

Question 1 = your thoughts on my screening system? I thought of adding in other metrics, but I wanted to keep it relatively simple. Factors such as payout % and ROE can always be a looked at in the next phase. Should I drop any of the metrics if they are redundant?

Most of the stocks screened as expected. However, 3 stocks didn't screen well at all and I am trying to figure out why. It may be that my population of stocks is skewed to value stocks, so if any of the other 3 stocks had growth or REIT characteristics, then they might be seen as outliers.

Question 2 = CSH's fundamentals screened horribly = 10th decile. Could it be that REITs may screen out differently, due to their very nature?

Question 3 =Both PBH and WSP screened poorly = 8th decile. Could it be their fundamental metrics exhibit more growth characteristics?

Question 4 = Reading past 5iR questions on these 3 stocks leads me to believe you are still strongly in favor of all 3. Please confirm.

Thanks...Steve

Q: Good morning,
As an income investor, I have the following utility holdings that amount to about 12% of my non-registered holdings: FTS (up 10%), EMA and NPI (breaking even) and ALA (down 50%). I have no need to sell any of these and enjoy the dividends, but as a conservative senior and in a rising interest rate environment do you think it would be prudent to unload/reduce some of them or just hang on? If sell/reduce which should be the first to go?

Q: Good morning Peter, Ryan, and Team,

In an answer to Ulrike on October 2nd, in which he asked: "Which one company would you buy today? Hydro One or Fortis? Or none? And why?", you answered "Fortis has raised its dividend every year for close to 50 years, and we would have more confidence in it. H is OK, but has a lot of political interference still, with a new board as well, and a large acquisition that has yet to close."

It's your last comment that I'm wondering about. Washington state regulators have blocked the sale of Avista to Hydro One, citing "political interference". Does this setback for Hydro One affect your opinion of H going forward?

Thanks for your insight.

Q: "The new annual dividend rate applicable to the Series N Shares for the five-year period commencing on December 1, 2018 to, but excluding, December 1, 2023 will be 5.086 percent, being equal to the five-year Government of Canada bond yield of 2.436 percent determined as of today plus 2.65 percent in accordance with the terms of the Series N Shares.” (Quote from November 1 PRNewswire)

In hindsite I am thinking that I should have just bought 2 good dividend paying stocks, such as T, TRP, PPL, and FTS. ENB would also be high on my list though I do have a full position. The others are about a half position.

1 - Does this make any sense? I am thinking that the dividends are close to the 5% of the Preferred O shares and the chances of recovering some of my loses are probably better. somehow I think the Series O Preferred's don’t stand much chance of getting back to $25.00 in the next 5 years.

2 - Correct me if I am wrong but Enbridge won’t likely call the shares in unless the rates drop quite bit?

3 - If you believe that my thinking makes sense would you rank the suggested stocks including ENB in order of preference. Feel free to add any other Dividend stock over my suggestions

4 - What scenario would make the value of Series N appreciate or go up in value?

Please take as many credits as necessary for my questions.

John

Q: I had an equal weighting , originally, in the above mentioned. companies. I assume ALA will cut its dividend. That said , The other three have no hair on them. Would you think selling ALA , I have lots of gains, and moving into the other three??
Kind regards.

Q: hello! as a retired income investor, I have approx. 17% of my (well-diversified) portfolio in CBO, CLF, CPD, XHY … I also have CRT.UN, CHP.UN, CAR.UN, AW.UN, BIP.UN, BEP.UN (approx. 15%) .. I have $100k in cash that I would like to put to work .. what might you suggest? thanks!

Q: CU has been dropping steadily from over $42 in June 2017 to just over $31 today wiping out over 5 years' worth of dividends. What is happening? CU has raised it's dividend every year for 45 years. Is this the end of the dividend growth ride? It makes me afraid to invest as a senior looking for for the 5% dividend. Your advice? What utilities would you prefer [ie "safer" less volatile] with growing dividends around 5%.
Thanks......... Paul K

Q: Following up on a recent question regarding allocating the appropriate amount of monies to each stock, the amount depending on the size, safety, etc of that security. Would you agree with the current split (full, partial, small):

Full = AD (should be partial), AQN, BCE, BNS, FTS, RY, TRP.
Partial = CGX (could be full?), CSH, NFI, PGH (could be full?), TCL, WSP (could be full?).
Small = WCP.

Thanks...Steve

Q: What would your advice be relative to exceeding a theoretical 5% limit for blue chip Canadian companies which have been beaten down by simply market sentiment in a lot of cases? I'm thinking of increasing my holdings of some of those I have listed. I realize I can buy CDZ but have a slight preference for individual companies.

Thanks

Q: Let me try this question again. I currently own AQN and FTS. I do not want to buy more of either of these companies. I am thinking of buying another (a different) utility company. What would be your preference for a third utility to add to my other two. Thanks.

Q: I am thinking of adding another utility to my portfolio. I currently own only AQN and FTS. Your suggestion please.

Q: Please provide your summary analysis of quarterly results for both FTS and SJ vs street estimates.

Q: Hi 5i
I sold the above for a tax loss. 6 of the 8 are down since with FTS and ECN slightly up.
The 30 day period is almost up. How many of these would you consider buying back in the hopes that their share price will increase. I have a longer time horizon.
Thanks
Jeff

Q: Why are these 2 up on a day that everything is down, I would have thought that with the BoC interest hike they would be effected negatively. Thanks

Q: For an RESP that won't be used for another 13 years, would you recommend AQN or FTS?

Regards

Kathy

Q: Comments. Ray,a upgraded by TD to Buy & $11(previous $10.50)TP.Average price $11.67, FTS increased its dividend. However both stocks dropped today

Q: I am largely an income investor and hold the above stocks for their dividends. I am concerned that some of them may have high levels of debt and will be negatively impacted by higher interest rates. Can you advise which are the most and least indebted companies, and whether higher interest charges could threaten their dividends? Thanks.

Q: Which utilities are a good buy in current market conditions.

Thanks

Q: I want to consolidate my utility sector as I have too many.I currently own the below in my non registered account. Which would you sell and which would you add to? Below are the weightings:
EMA 5.7, BEP 3.4, ENB 5.2, FTS 5.10 , AQN 3.0, BCE 7.5, TRP 3.3
Looking for income
Thanks for your great service,