Investment Q&A

Q: In an earlier answer you quoted the NWC release that stated Q3 EPS at 78 cents and well above consensus of 53 cents. I use Thompson Reuters data and they adjust occasionally for unusual items. In this case the adjusted EPS for NWC is 49 cents. I presume this is due to the insurance claim revenue being removed from the earnings. Do you always take the reported EPS or do you adjust for extraordinary items such as this at times and if so when? Could you comment further on this to clarify as without using consistent data we are not much further ahead than using no data. Thanks.

Q: Not really a question but more of a ‘ feet on the street ‘ observation. The Americans are CRAZY about their sports and like to gamble.
Am going to buy some TSGI with next year’s TFSA contribution.

Q: Would you mind commenting on ALC’s 3rd quarter numbers released in early November?
Thanks,
Jim

Q: A few days ago Canwel has finish acquiring western wood treating company in California. What size of company was this compared to cwx itself before buying up one of its competitor. Would this affect there next earnings report in a negative way or should this be a positive outlook. If you look at the history of this company is it growing at fast pace or would consider it growing at average pace. I guess my question is, has this company double in size in less then five years as an example ?Thanks for great info you provide

Q: Considering the market volatility, I have retained cash to eventually purchase some solid stocks. How would you assess LYB vs EMN for a longer term hold? What cyclicality do these companies have?

Q: Hello Team,
Could you give me your analysis on this company and is it a buy at this time.
Thank You,
Barry

Q:
good Morning 5i,
Jack Bogel has recently noted the troubles in France regarding "taxing the rich" , the Brexit confusion, and an unstable US government as reasons to go more towards bonds in the immediate future. He has always suggested a high level of bond ownership. And he is getting older and possibly more conservative. Was wondering about your take on that pronouncement and possible US bond etf suggestions. I have done fairly well with FLOT over the past while. But, you seem to think that the situation is changing and it may be time to move into somethng else.

Q: Which of the above three stocks would you recommend purchasing for a three year investment? I hold DOO and am down substantially. Thank You.

Q: When I look at TMX and the last 25 trades, the buyers and the sellers go by a number, ex. TD is 007, National bank is 008, I can't understand the number of shares, 100, 10, 50, these are banks and financial companies buying and selling such a small amounts.
What am I missing on this thing??
Thank you, Helen D.

Q: Hi, Thanks for attaching the link to Amazon-Toys media post of Dec 10. Looks like the news did cause some ripples among toy stocks like Hasbro, Mattel and to some extent Spin Master on Dec 10. But as you pointed out, this could be another reason why TOY has been trading down for some time. TOY actually has lost about $15 or over 25-30% since release of last quarterly results. Toys'r us bankruptcy was perceived to be the primary reason for the softness. Holiday season and announcement of some new products has also failed to reverse the precipitous decline of past two months. Now there is this Amazon news to worry about (probably could be more serious one). I know that TOY has somewhat of a distinguished status among toys companies, due to Spin Master's innovation capabilities and high tech and interactive nature of its products. But, in your view, how insulated company will be if Amazon decides to seriously expand in this lucrative market ? TOY has been owned in most of our family accounts, as its been a favourite of yours for a long time and we are happy to see stock has do well over years. But the recent trend with no sign of reversal is concerning, to say the least. Do you see any catalysts and strong reasons to continue to own this co ? Thanks

Q: I am retired and have these preferred etfs making up about 7% of the income part of the portfolio. There is obvious overlap. Vrp has out performed the others and has a better yield. It is held in a rrif so the US dividend is intact. I am assuming that the downturn in preferreds will level out, as this is a long term income hold. Should I eliminate hpr as it is 50% US and just stay with the other two with the currency diversity? Also what portion of fixed income do you feel preferred should make up? Have a great holiday.

Q: Interesting article by Moez Mahrez; re Future Proofing your Portfolio from the special edition of the Money Saver. Wondering if there are any comparable ETF's in Canada, which one has the most upside potential, and why Mr. Mahrez would not have included one or more of these in the new growth ETF model Portfolio written in the most recent ETF update newsletter?
Thanks
Jeff

Q: If i buy EIT.un on Dec. 19th and sell on Dec. 24th will i collect the Dec. dividend?

Q: What is the appropriate payout ratio to look at for Enbridge? They just raised the dividend 10% which signals optimism; however, I'm looking at a Motley Fool article today that argues earnings and free cash flow are both below the amount of cash needed to pay the dividend. I believe it likely the author is looking at the wrong metric and wanted to get your view. How comfortable are you with ENB's payout ratios?

Also, what is the yield assuming current price and the newly raised 2019 dividend payments?

Many thanks.

Q: Hi team,
I was waiting for volatility to subside before I asked this question, but that may never happen. I was reading the transcript of the SQ conference call some time ago and something caught my attention, but this is not a SQ question. It is an EB question. In her comments on the financials, Friar noted It was Square’s 1st Q of GAAP profitability with a net income of $20M. She said the reason for the positive quarter was SQ marking to market their investment in EB after its recent IPO. Otherwise, SQ had a loss of $70M. What are your thoughts on EB? Despite the tech wreck the fall, EB has held up quite well. I have read some positive reports on it and SQ has invested in it. By the way, I am not likely to buy EB at this time, as there are a lot of great stocks on sale lately. Just curious on your thoughts for the future.
Thanks again,
Dave

Q: Can I get your opinion of Co-Operators General Insurance. It is small but pays a nice dividend with a low p/e. Thanks Dave.

Q: Parex has been on a continual decline. The possibility now of a sale of their mature assets before year end does not look good. As their share price is now very cheap I plan on increasing my holding. If there is no sale with their existing assets there would still be a considerable increase in cash flow in 2019 based on $70-75 Brent.
Your opinions please?

Q: Could I get your opinion on RCL? Looking at it as a 'dividend grower' for the long term. Right now the stock is trading close to a P/E close to 5-year low, stock price down close to 15% for last 12 months, and the Yield at a 5 year high. Should I be concerned about any impending economic downturn that may affect discretionary spending? And it has a LOT of debt (those ships aren't cheap).
Thank you!

Q: Lots of uneasiness and questions on TSGI it seems. I believe it has been consistently referenced as a company that you expect good upside from after tax loss selling. Is it still your view that it holds lots of upside potential or is the continued slide enough to shift your advice from possible buy to a hold/sell?

Q: Good Afternoon ,
With all this recession talk lately have you ever thought of building a model portfolio that will do well or at least hold its own during a recession? Personally I think the economy is in pretty good shape and the probability of a recession occurring in the next 12 months is less than 20%, odds certainly pick up past that as we are getting later in the cycle and could certainly see a recession within the next 24-36 months. Is a recession portfolio something you are considering? Or will you tweak the B/E model when the time is right to help mitigate some of the downside? For example a larger weight in staples, telecom, utilities, maybe some gold and cash? I feel the Income model is certainly more defensive in nature, perhaps an investor could move from the B/E model to the Income for a period of time ? I realize the average recession only last around 9 months give or take but I also believe that markets can go down significantly during recessions 20-30%. Any thoughts on a strategy here and how to better position a portfolio for the potential of a recession in 2-3 years time?
Thank-you