BCE Inc. (BCE.TO)

(Market Call Minute) Trading at the high end of its range.

(A Top Pick Aug 14/15. Up 21.62%.) Don’t expect another 21% increase over the next 12 months. This is an anchor to a portfolio. It has one of the lowest betas on the TSX. In a time of uncertainty these types of names will hold your portfolio together. Pays a great yield. Still a Buy.

He likes it. It has been in an uptrend for years. It has arched off that trend line and it may be somewhat overbought. There may be a better entry point coming. We are close to the top of the price channel right now.

Excellent dividend of 4.46%. They’ve raised the dividend recently, but he expects they will again. Still in the process of absorbing Manitoba Tel (MBT-T), and that will be accretive. If you want a stock that you can put in your portfolio and sleep quietly at night, this is the kind that you need.

A reasonable place to look for yield, but it is a hyper competitive environment. He would expect that over time margins will begin to compress, solely because of the strong competition and the very high reinvestment requirement in the telco space. Probably not the worst idea in the world for a yield investment.

(A Top Pick July 21/15. Up 19.81%.) A great stock. He added to it on its dip last year. Following that there was a nice long upward trend. His upside target is around $69-$70. A nice healthy dividend. Still a Buy. 4.5% dividend yield. (See Top Picks.)

(Market Call Minute.) He likes this for the dividend and you are getting a nice cash flow, but valuations are getting a bit lofty.

Playing the game of whether this is expensive on a high-quality name like this is a little bit risky. Trading at around 17X PE, and long-term he doesn’t think this as expensive. You might see a correction, but he wouldn’t let that scare you. Their Manitoba Tel (MBT-T) was excellent. Safe dividend yield of about 4.5%.

Trimmed half his position 2 years ago. Considers this to more of a utility rather than a growth stock. The recent Manitoba Tel (MBT-T) will bode well for them and their dividend. Payout ratio is fairly high. The dividend goes up every year. They are going to have to find some avenue to continue the growth of the dividend.

Whatever the trends are in the US, they are coming up here. AT&T (T-N) customers are getting rid of land lines, and this action will impact BCE. However, the company is a great growth story. They have positioned themselves very well in wireless. Have also added content. Good yield. When you want safety and income, this is a better Buy today than Canadian banks, with the risk of housing markets and energy.

You buy this for the dividend of about 5%. There’s not a lot of growth. Valuation is relatively full. $60-$61 is all he can see a year out.

This one fits in with his defensive thesis. All the telco names do. Not a huge amount of growth in these names. This recently acquired Manitoba Tell (MBT-T) which was a good transaction overall. Not a lot of downside.

The deal with Manitoba Telecom (MBT-T) is likely to go through. A really well run business and a good dividend payer.

This scores well on all 3 of his metrics. It is the single best stock from a volatility perspective. Good dividend of 4.5%. This should be one of those stocks that is a core value of a portfolio.

This has had a really good run. He would tend to sit on the sidelines and see how the market does in the next few weeks. Alternatively, you could buy half of what you want. This is a core position for him. The dividend is great and they keep increasing it.