Investment Q&A

Q: As we approach year-end, I wonder if you have given some thought yet to tax loss selling opportunities. Almost anything in oil and gas and lots in materials would fit the bill. Will you be publishing a list of candidates as you have in previous years and when might you do so?

Q: At $50ish WTI, if all I cared about was the DIV. sustainability and no bankruptcy, which of the above would you list as best.
thanks
Yossi

Q: Good Morning 5i,

So on this fine Friday long weekend morning, I'd like to pick the brains of people who've "been there and done that" much longer and more successfully than I, and have seen some things in the financial world first hand that I have not.

I want your opinion on oil and gas. Are we not watching one of these classic "blood in the streets" scenarios you always read about as investors and wish you'd had the fortitude to plug your nose and dive in? The shares of almost every publicly traded company in the space are being thrown away for nothing. The good ones, the bad ones, the ones making money, the ones losing money, good balance sheets, bad balance sheets - it's almost irrelevant. If they're in the space they're being slaughtered.

So if the thesis is:

a) it will take a lot longer to power the world with worm casings, pixie dust, and unicorn farts than some would have us believe (i.e. hydrocarbons are not going anywhere in the foreseeable future)

b) a surprising number of these companies have solid balance sheets

c) a surprising number of these companies are earning profits hand over fist, doom and gloom aside

If a, b, and c are indeed true, you'd have to believe a lot of these companies trading at historic lows will eventually make investors a lot of money. Like buying Florida real estate in 2009.

What am I missing? What holes can be shot in this thesis, looking at it objectively?

I take the point that there is no catalyst to change things or excite investors in this space (although I do get surprised from time to time that the fact that a company can throw off ridiculous amounts of profit and return it to shareholders via dividends and buybacks doesn't itself become a catalyst, but I digress...)

I also take the point that these scenarios can persist for a lot longer than people think they can before things change.

Single-company risk is always there, I understand that, but I reject the idea that all of these companies are headed for bankruptcy.

Aside from patience and the stomach to watch your investment get hammered in the short term - where exactly are the risks?? This seems like such a great buying opportunity that I feel I have to be missing something.

Thank you for whatever insight you can share, and happy long weekend to you and your families!

Ryan

Q: Hi,

I am thinking of swapping my VET position for a position in WCP, mainly from a dividend sustainability perspective and also a future growth potential perspective.

Does this sound like a constructive move or am I misguided or missing something? Are there any other energy opportunities that you would point out instead of WCP for income and growth potential?

Thanks,
Derek

Q: everyone seems to agree that the energy stocks have never been so cheap, ignored by investors etc.
can you see a way for those stocks to start getting recognized, should i start picking away.
i do not own any energy, but these is getting ridiculous.
i think jim cramer or one of those pundits said its because of millenials who hate oil, they are into electric. dave

Q: If you were to be buying one of these today, which one and why?
Thx

Q: With the world feeling a little uneasy about a pending recession, I want to keep only holdings that will weather a downturn. I'm not trying to time the market, and want to hold stocks, that while they may dip, have good balance sheets, good management, and will likely see a recovery. Others I will sell and hold the cash. Above are my current holdings. Do you see any that may be susceptible to excessive weakness in a recession and would therefore meet my sell criterion? Thanks,
Kim

Q: are these stocks a buy at the present price?
Thank you

Q: Do you think a dividend cut would help or hurt Vet considering its dividend is getting lofty ?

Q: In an answer to a previous question you stated that the value of vet was five times its cash flow so I did some due diligence on its cash flow but with little success.What is its current cash flow & its fair value? It closed today at $20.39. Is that above or below its fair value. Thanks , as always, for your help.

Q: Could you please rate the below as to capital preservation and dividend safety. comment on you choices if possible.
ENB,SU,VET,CHR,AD,SPB,BPY.
Thanks
Yossi

Q: VET's yield indicates the market clearly thinks a dividend cut is coming.
IF they did cut the dividend, how do you think the market would react?

Also, how low can it go? At what price(or PE) does it "look cheap"?

Thanks

Q: I read with great concern in this weekend's National Post, David Rosenberg's article entitled "10 Reasons to take risk off the table right now". He makes ten legitimate reasons to do so. I would appreciate 5I's opinion of the article and his supporting logic. My high risk equities are WEF, NFI, TSGI, MX, COV and VET.
Carl.

Q: In reference to my last question you made a couple of suggestions. I parted ways with CHR and NFI. You also suggested that I lacked diversification in some areas. I have accumulated cash since my last question to be deployed at an appropriate time. I have listed again the stocks in which I am currently invested in. Percentage allocation in each was listed in my last question. I have wonder if you maintain an investment profile of your clients. Doing so would enable you to provide more appropriate advice and/or suggestions. It would negate the need for clients to keep repeating investment objectives. Thanks

Q: Hello Team,

Is WCP safe? is the dividend safe? Do you have a better oil name pays dividend?

Thanks,
Issak

Q: Is their dividend safe? I would think the stock should be fairing better considering that they get world prices for much of their oil & gas?

Q: I hold VET and PXT as my exposure to energy in a non registered account. (I also hold ENB and PPL but consider them more utility). I am thinking of replacing VET with WCP for the following reasons: 1) I get a big tax loss but keep my energy exposure the same. 2) I do not lose much on the dividend and, although I think it unlikely for both, VET is more likely to cut than WCP nad 3) if oil finally recovers, WCP has more torque. Does this make sense?

Q: Good morning. I sold these company for tax-loss selling purposes and are wondering if I should buy them back or is there better options? they are all small positions in my well diversified portfolio . wcp and vet are my only oil and gas holdings. i'm a long term investor and can wait but not if any are loss causes. you can deduct as many question as u like .

Thx

Q: I was listening to the CEO on BNN a couple of days ago and he seemed quite surprised where the price of the stock was given the state of the company. He also reiterated the priority on the distribution. VET is considered, by many, as a well run company in a really bad sector. You would have to go back to 2005 to see the stock below its current value. Given their "rep" as a good company, their current low stock price and their diversification of assets, could one of the big guys (Exxon, etc) take a run them? Would you be comfortable taking a position here?

Q: Was looking for an opportunity and jumped in to collect the divy and then got spooked so was in and out it would appear to soon.
Would appreciate your short and medium term outlook on this company.