
TSE:BCE
There are a lot of good qualities about on safety, dividend growth, etc. Its valuation is okay. His concern with telecoms right now is that they are at historic high levels. We are coming off a lot of volatility in the early part of the year, and a lot of flows went from materials, energy and cyclicals to telecoms and utilities. Trading at pretty close to its 52 week high.
He models that they can grow earnings by 6% over the next couple of years. Right now, like the other big 3, it is pricey relative to its 5 year. Also, the payout ratio is creeping up. In order to increase the dividend, they are going to need to execute very well, and not get impacted by the skinnier bundle. He would look to get into this $5 cheaper.
This is okay, but prefers Rogers (RCI.B-T) and Telus (T-T). This is a good core holding. It will probably keep raising its dividend over time. Telecommunications are not going to go away just yet. The only concern he would have would be on the media side of the business. If you look at what has happened to the media companies in the US, they have all come down in valuation.
Not a huge fan of telcos, because growth in telcos is wireless, and wireless is not growing in a meaningful way. You now have a 4th entrant coming in, so there are a lot of headwinds. However, given it is a lousy market out there, it is not a bad place to park some cash. Now is not a bad time to look at this for bottom fishing.
They are executing the best in terms of customer metrics that are tracked. The average revenue per phone bill has been the best. T-T has fears about Western Canada. RCI.B-T has had sports and media being a bit of a drag. BCE-T are executing the best.