Investment Q&A

Q: Within the context of tax loss harvesting, what would be good proxies for the following stocks: NFI, SIS, and VET. And can you assign an estimated "beta score" for the proxies. i.e. 1.0 should have very similar performance.
Also, with a year like this, should we expect heavy tax loss selling towards the end of the year?

Q: Hello team,

Shares of VET in the US fell hard (by about 18%) on Thursday and another 2% after hours. I know oil is not doing well but isn't this a bit of an overreaction? Unless, something else is going on with the company. Anything material?

I have a full size position and wonder what the best course of action is: add, hold, or lighten up at a loss? I have a very long investment horizon and this is my only investment in oil.

Thanks a lot for your guidance especially in these crazy times.

Q: What are your views of the management changes at Vermillion. I do not thinks running a company by committee is a very good idea. Your thoughts please.

Q: I own the following and thought: WCP ( good assets good balance sheet),
CJ ( slow decline rates), VET ( Brent prices) And they were all paying great dividends ! What could go wrong eh?
The model of great dividends in this sector is broken and not to return.
These stocks represent a small part of my portfolio.
Believing that the market will do its work eventually , I am looking at selling these and replacing with PXT which is one of your favourites in this sector. Would you expect it to bounce back to the same degree as the others or more / less?
Emotionally it is very difficult to sell your losers, always hoping they will come back, but have found once I sell them, they are not daily reminders of the money I have lost.
PXT has a strong balance sheet, good assets and management. Is their oil sold and refined within the region? Would you buy in RRSP,TFSA or CASH account.? Thanks. Derek

Q: I am a "buy and hold" long term investor. I have held these stocks for over five years on the assumption that at least one of the pipelines would be built and the stocks would regain at least some of their losses. Of course that hasn't happened. With the Covid-19 situation I am concerned about a serious downturn in the economy during the next 18 months. As these stocks are already extrememly low, I am wondering if they will survive, let alone improve, during the next year or so. Based on income, debt levels, and future prospects, please rank each company according the possibility of failure.

Q: What do you think is the best way to play potential return to reasonable pricing for oil? USO - merged with HUC or a company like SU? No one can make money at these current prices even though they have gone up nicely recently.

Q: I have multiple questions. Please charge accordingly:
What is Freehold's revised dividend? Time to buy now?
Please comment on Vermillion results. Time to buy at $6?
What is Knight's revised shareholder account after 12M share buyback?
Is Lightspeed rebounding too fast or would you step in now?
Thank you.

Q: how do you evaluate VET after the reported
thanks

Q: I put in a bid this morning for VET at $5.15 & at that time it appeared the bid would be filled because about 4200 shares or people were bidding at that price while 5600 were asking.The stock opened much higher & the bid was not filled. Why does this happen? When someone puts in a limit order to sell for example, does the market give them the best price or the price they entered for a sell?Appreciate your help, as always
Dave

Q: I have had CHE and EXE in my RIF for quite awhile.
Cost $74,526 total and currently worth $35,010 for a loss of $39,516 (Ouch!!)
Being in my RIF, there is no tax write off but selling either or both will free up $35,010 of cash for other more (hopefully) rewarding items.
The same with VET in my TFSA but even with VET's dividend cut its still paying me about 10%+ dividend on my cost of VET.
Given all the issues with Long Term Care Facilities and Corona-19, is EXE still a good long term bet?
I'm inclined to sell CHE and stay the course with the other two.
Your thoughts?
Brian

Q: Compelling argument in the financial post recently on oils rebound - ‘how the corona virus is setting the stage for the next oil boom’. Do you buy into this thesis? If so what companies would you look at with most upside and safety (Eg will be around to see it through)

Q: hi
I own the above oil stocks. WCP is small and in TFSA, so I will keep it.
I have oversized position in Parex, but Vet and Fru are small. Looking to sell at least one, today, would you sell Vet or FRU or both ? I am comfortable with my position in Parex but wondering if better opportunities are available in other sectors. Which are your favorites sectors when coming out of this?

Q: I have what I call a mini portfolio of higher risk stocks in addition to my portfolio of diversified quality portfolio.
I presently hold ATE, AKU, PNG. I want to add 3 oil stocks to this portfolio. Thinking maybe, VET, MEG and NVA. Opinion. Any other likely candidates in the smal/mid cap. Candidates should be less than $5 and a good hedge position to protect them over the next 6 months.

Q: Hi 5i Team,

I own both stocks and both are heavily under the water. Would you recommend to average down at this price level? How long these two names will last if Oil price keeps at current level.

Thank you,

Q: I am deciding on whether to buy Vermillion Inc or BEP.UN. What are your thoughts on these two companies. Thanks

Q: I have the above 3 holdings with losses ranging from -60% to -85%. They each now represent less than 0.5% of my overall holdings so whatever happens they will barely move the needle. I am at a point where I feel I need to do some type of clean-up and would appreciate your advice. I see 3 possible choices:
1. Dump them right away regardless of price in the name of cleaning up my portfolio
2. Given that we might be close to a bottom wait (say between 1 month to a year) to hopefully sell at a better price
3. Top them up to at least a quarter or half position and hang on to them long term
They are all in registered accounts so there are no tax benefits in selling. Furthermore I went into this downturn with 30% cash and have since bought into the drop (other positions) bringing my cash down to 15%, with plans to do additional purchases if the market drops further. So at the moment, I have no immediate need for the little cash that selling these right now would bring. What would you suggest?

Q: Boy these companies' stock prices took a hit. I appreciate many mid-size PNG companies will likely go bankrupt with the drop in oil prices. But I always liked these companies as I understood they had lower costs of production than many of their competitors.
1. Is that assumption correct?
2. How would you assess the strength of their balance sheet?
3. Do you see these 2 companies as ones that are at high risk of going bankrupt in the near future?

Q: If you were to pick one stock that would react the most positively to an increase in oil price what would be your pick?

Q: Given the abysmal condition of the oil & gas sector and the apparent attempts of Russia and the Saudi's to further roil negative market activity, some long-term opportunities must be in the offing. Which oil & gas producers have the strongest balance sheet, lowest cost of production and are, generally, the most likely to survive these current circumstances?

Q: What is the outlook for above noted companies in terms of :
1. Balance sheet. Which companies can survive this down turn in the oil patch? ie not go bankrupt. Please add comments and list companies in order.
2. Which companies are hedged and how long do their hedges go and at what prices are they hedged at?
3. Would you currently take a position on any of these companies?
4. Any other helpful comments are appreciated.