Stockchase Opinions

Lorne Steinberg Dollarama Inc. DOL-T DON'T BUY May 19, 2016

Another Canadian phenomenal success story. How many more dollar stores can there be? Apparently there can still be a number more. The rate of growth is definitely slowing down. They have to increase margins to increase profits and that will be hard to do.

$88.820

Stock price when the opinion was issued

Consumer Products
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WAIT

 It is Canada's largest dollar store chain and is opening another 70 to 80 stores. Also its international expansion is just getting started. Has been very consistent in earnings growth.  It has a price target form the street of about 2% upside. If buying, wait for a pullback.

WAIT
Beat revenue, earnings up. Is pullback of 3.5% today a buy?

Believes he heard a comment that its forward guidance is uncertain, and that could be the reason it's pulled back. Earnings are one thing, but the street looks for forward guidance because that's what's going to happen next.

Longer-term chart is a good picture. On the 1-year chart you can see consolidation. So long as the neckline (a bit over $180) holds, you're fine to own it. He always buys on a positive test of support. Everyone wants to buy as cheaply as possible, but the problem is that it could get cheaper by far. Don't buy until it proves that level of support by bouncing up.

BUY

Pretty cautious on consumer names, since we're about mid-late cycle economically. Interest rates coming down might help the consumer. In the consumer space, he'd prefer a name like this. Downshift in spending going on now.

WEAK BUY
Investor's done well over 9 years.

If true that economy's slowing, then people trade down and this name will do better than average. Over time, economy will grow. Has been a superb company. Extraordinarily well-managed. Doesn't own because always too expensive.

PARTIAL SELL

He always thinks it's a great place to buy anniversary presents ;)  It's done nothing wrong, and investors have fallen in love with it to some extent. He'd take some $$ off the table, and perhaps buy in again lower, though still likes it long term. Reaching saturation in Canada, so it's having to go abroad. International expansion can be good, but also problematic.

Worried a bit about growth in Canada slowing and not being offset enough by purchases further afield. Be mindful. Valuation of 40x PE is up there.

BUY

A compounder for years to come. Is surprised with the lack of competition in Canada. Is highly defensive. Helps that customer trading-down is happening. Are expanding a lot into Central America.

HOLD

His preferred Canadian retailer. Low cost. Cumulatively, inflation has taken its toll since the pandemic.

WATCH
Recent price drop.

One trigger was valuation, trading at mid-30x PE. Look at its sourcing -- most stuff comes from China. As Canadians are getting pinched, all the discount banners are benefiting massively -- almost every metric has been sensational, but so are the valuations.

He'd love to own it, but can't come to grips with paying that valuation. A great one to add on a large pullback.

WEAK BUY

He came out earlier this year. He's less bullish on the consumer, especially in Canada -- real estate market and consumer spending are weak, and people are using their homes as an ATM. Technically, pulled back to rising 200-day MA. Long-term uptrend. 

Price performance relative to the market has been weakening. You could certainly look at it here, but other areas might be more constructive.

BUY ON WEAKNESS

Will be affected if Trump doesn't do a deal with China, because that's where they get their stuff. That's as far as he's going to go on fundamentals; charts tell us everything we need to know. 

Chart shows the uptrend, and then the arc off trendline is a parabolic move. He'd bet that there's a fair distance between the 200-day MA and the recent peak - when that's 20% or more, he calls a stock overbought. But longer-term trend is good.