BCE Inc. (BCE.TO)

Weakness in May/June from interest rate fears. Then there was the threat of Verizon and we will see if that happens. He went to a near zero weight in favour of other sectors.

Feels the valuation on this company is still quite attractive and he is buying for his clients. Thinks there are some options for a number of these companies. Now that it has acquired Astral there is potential for them to unlock shareholder value by spinning out the media division.

The “potential” arrival of Verizon (VZ-N) is disruptive. If they actually do come, which could be in a variety of different ways, it will definitely be disruptive in the short run. History has shown in other countries that a 4^th player is generally not successful in the long run. Because of this company’s extensive broadcasting assets and because it has the smallest percentage of its assets in wireless, it will be the least affected.

There are very few sectors that are not overbought. Telecom is one of them. This is a dominant player. Verizon is just forcing them to be more competitive. He is not worried about it. Seasonality begins in October. Buy it now and ride it through. Seasonality is only one input.

Likes the Astral deal they did. Payout ratio falls to 68% but is probably not enough to raise their dividend again this year. Will probably have pretty good earnings this year but continued erosion in wireline. You buy this one if you feel that Verizon (VZ-N) sites on Canada are going to be rather modest which he feels they are going to be.

Telecom industry just got a lot more complicated in the near-term because if Verizon (VZ-N) decides they are not going to come into Canada this stock could be right back up where it was before. If they do come in, there could be more downside in the stock. This company has less wireless exposure then Rogers (RCI.B-T) or Telus (T-T) but it is still going to suffer.

(Market Call Minute.) This one now represents better value, especially as they are going to be able to complete the Astro acquisition. He would prefer it at $40.

(Market Call Minute.) Getting to a level where he is thinking about buying. Under $42 is a place where you could buy some.

Doesn’t have a lot of exposure to Telcos. He is tempted to step in. Our market could look attractive to Verizon. But he thinks we will see some evolution in the industry. Prefers T-T today.

(A Top Pick June 8/12. Up 10.09%.) Has taken a little bit off because this is one of his major holdings. Expects another dividend increase within the next 12 months.

He sold a little bit early when the teachers take-over didn’t work. There is a bit of an issue with Verizon coming up here. BCE is a little bit troubled because they have wire line which is not growing. Dividend is safe. He is out of the Telco sector. Would own T-T if he owned anything in this sector, but recommends staying on the sidelines for now.

This company does not live and die on wireless. If Verizon comes to Canada, no doubt some of the margins on wireless will be affected but this company has so many other arrows in its quiver that they are not going to get killed if Verizon comes. The selloff was overdone. Yield is north of 5%.

With Verizon (VZ-N) talking about coming into Canada, which telco would be the safest bet, Bell Canada (BCE-T) Telus (T-T) or Rogers (RCI.B-T)? Interestingly enough, Sprint in the US just announced that they are offering “guaranteed for life” unlimited data so there is a bit of competition in the US. BCE is probably the safest with Rogers having the most exposure. It is difficult to say what is going to happen with Verizon. The chart on this one shows the stock has dropped back but he wouldn’t be too concerned about that. There is a level of support at around the $40-$41 range.

She doesn’t own anything in the telecom space. They have all pulled back on the potential threat of Verizon entering into the Canadian market. If that does happen, she expects there will be a lot of instability in the market. If you own and have profits, she would take some profits at this time. Nothing wrong with the company. Dividend is definitely safe.

Took a big hit over the last couple of weeks because of Verizon looking at Wynd and Mobilicity. Feels that a good part of this is reflected in the price. This will pressure the wireless business for all 3 Cdn telcos. The least impact will be on Bell (BCE-T), so if you are really concerned about that and happy with the 5% dividend, consider buying a half position now and by your other half when you know Verizon has come.