Stock price when the opinion was issued
Their transportation business in the far north is largely a monopoly. They've bought some fine companies and pay a good dividend, but leaves little cash. So when they buy a company, they do an equity issue. Some of their businesses are highly protected with a moat, good. But their industrial business carries economic/tariff risk. Dividend, valuation and management are all good. An income, not a growth stock.
Business is 80% aviation, 20% manufacturing. Recent acquisition looks accretive. Trades ~12x, growing ~16%. Money's flowing into safer areas like this one. Good balance sheet. Payout ratio is 68%, will probably boost dividend in the next year or two. Real growth engine is from being in the north and having really good pricing power.
Only thing is, if we're in for rocky markets, you'll probably get a chance to buy cheaper.
Really likes the name, good business. Making all-time highs, expensive here. Doing all the right things, growing its dividend. Often the only airline in a Northern Canada region, so it's a monopoly. Owner/CEO is the real driving force, and she wants more clarity on the continuity plan. Yield is 4.2%.
Likes the underlying businesses. Wait for a better entry point. Aviation segment might not do well in a weak economy. Many segments operate in the North as monopolies. CEO is fantastic, but what happens when he retires? Dividend still growing. She'd want to see it at least in $60s before looking at it.
Quite the compounder, albeit a sleepy one. Diversified businesses, though they don't all work in sync. Management has a private-equity mindset -- buy undervalued companies, deploy free cashflow within the business or make acquisitions. Firing on all cylinders. Bright outlook.