Investment Q&A

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

Q: I follow your balanced equity portfolio. Should I sell SJ and buy TFI. Also do you see wcp bouncing back if oil goes up and there are more pipelines?

Q: Do you have an accurate count on insider ownership of SJ now? Thanks.

Q: Given substantially less insider ownership at SJ would you still maintain your rating of "-A".

Q: Cuple of companies that came up in Steopen Tackazy on market call
Stella Jones I owned this before was good. appears owners sold out and the management is sound . the stock close to year low.
the other is Andrew peller the positives is that wine is gaining more market share and the othere is Ontario is on track to provide more sales outlets .
Would you recommend eiher one or bothand if yes which one is more reliable

Q: what is up with WEF 2 5% drop in a row. I dont own it yet....good time to buy or hold off a bit for the bottom? I own SJ haven't sold it yet....time to sell SJ and buy wef?

Tom

Q: I have owned these names for a few years. I did ok with them and was planning to add simply because I have some liquidity to invest. Do you expect decent return going forward (5 years time horizon), they have been going sideways in the last year or so. Do you consider these names as ''high quality'' ?

Q: What are thoughts and expectations on these two for next 3-5 years.are they going to be alright with Trump tariffs or should I look at something else like MTY or Dollarama

Q: Hi, I'm looking to add another stock in the "Materials and Energy" category in which I already hold Methanex, Parkland and Chemtrade all at about 1%. I'm not keen on a pure energy (i.e no oil, Nat Gas or pipeline) play but have been watching the three mentioned stocks. Of these three, which would you prefer today and would you add any? Long term holder.

Thx.

Q: I want to make sure that I am not overrating SJ. I try to buy quality companies and I have owned this one for several years because of the many positives you and other analysts have given it. One of those positives was management and with a new CEO and the selling out by Stella Jones International I am wondering if management may have regressed.

The latest results seemed solid in that guidance was maintained while sales and margins increased. I am thinking that it is the decrease in profit is what is weighing on the stock. Management says that the decrease is due to the transitioning of a Class 1 railroad company from a treating services only contract to a full service "black-tie" program and they go on further to say that they bought untreated ties from the Class 1 company and once they treated these ties they didn't make as much money due to higher costs. If I remember correctly, this is the same problem they said they had last quarter.

First, do you know what this program is all about? It seems to me that the Class 1 company is moving to a full-service on-going type of contract rather than a bare-bones contract to contract scenario. Ongoing regular revenues are usually better for a supplier so why is this one costing them money? Short-term pain for long-term gain? Or a management snafu?

The second drag is operating costs in the US southeast. Again, did management make a mistake or is this just one of the integration hiccups that come with takeovers? So I am back to my earlier comment about whether management is not what it once was or are these just growing pains. SJ has always been a lumpy stock mover and should I just view it as being out of the limelight for the time being with better things to come?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: Hi,
Please provide your opinion on SJ latest results.

Q: Is it time to start a position on SJ at the offering price of $40.63? Txs for u usual great advices & services

Q: How will the sale of shares by Stella Jones International in a private placement impact SJ going forward if at all?

Q: This offering looks like a great buying opportunity to me. Why would Stella International sell their shares at such a large discount? The sneak peek at earnings looks good to me... do you agree?

Q: The secondary offering today is at a large discount. Do you know why? Will the share price move all the way to $40.63 in the short-term?

How do the preliminary numbers for Q2 issued today looks for SJ?

Thanks.

Q: Hi, I am trying to reduce/consolidate number of stocks in my portfolio and also raise some cash. Except SJ (1.5%), all others mentioned here currently have < 1% position. I am holding YGR and BDI for Energy exposure, as my only other holdings in the sector are ENB (3.5%) and PKI (1.7%). I also like the momentum and prospects, based recent developments and your comments on COV and waiting for an opportunity to add on a pullback. RHT, VB and DOL were purchased in small quantities, at the time of addition to 5i potfolios. I also like SJ, and think, market is not assigning it proper valuation at this time. So, I am considering selling RHT, VB and DOL and use some cash to add to SJ. What is your opinion ? Do you believe, there are any near term catalysts for these 3 companies to hold on for now or it should be fine to liquidate. Thanks

Q: SJ stock continues to go sideways despite what appears to be positive news. CN has been announcing a series of planned capital improvements over the past month or two. Yesterday, they outlined plans for Ontario, including the installation of 380,000 new railway ties. New housing starts are up and I believe SJ has operations in both the US and Canada so tariff fears shouldn't be that strong.

I am wondering why this and other such announcements would not be reflected in the share price of SJ as it is a major supplier of ties (I am assuming that 380k is a lot of ties, maybe it isn't). When CN released the last results they mentioned increased spending and the new CEO seems to have ramped things up as well, so it this old news and already reflected in SJs price?

Appreciate your insight.

Paul F.

Q: I try to keep my portfolio close to your balanced portfolio. In this mix what would you replace SJ with?
ATD.B - BCE - BNS - BYD.UN - CCL.B - CNR - CSU - DOL - GC - GSY - KXS - MG - MX - NFI - PBH - PHO - PPL - SHOP - SIS - SJ - TD - TSGI - TOY - WSP

Q: I note that in June you sold your entire position in SJ from the Balanced Portfolio. I hold SJ. Was your rationale for selling due to a problem with SJ or because you required cash to add TSGI?

Thank you

Michael

Q: I know you folks remain generally positive regarding the markets but assuming NAFTA does get killed, what stocks in the Income and Balanced Portfolios are at the greatest risk. Thanks as always.