Hudson Bay Co. (HBC.TO)

The traditional retailers have been under pressure. They did a deep dive into evaluating this company about a year ago and concluded some of the US investments were not performing as well as expected. They have mortgages a lot of their real estate the base business is not growing. It is fair valued, but he does not like this name right now.

He thinks they have a lot of valuable real estate and have attempted to monetize it, but even as they have done this, the stock has not made any headway. The negative secular trend in retail is just too tough. If they can't get the retail business going then investors may start to question if the real estate is really worth all that much.

(A Top Pick November 6/17 - Down 3%) He likes the fac that you have 30 plus dollars’ worth of real estate there. Rising interest rates has effectively taken up the capitalization rate for the real estate. The retail is doing far worse than expected. Don’t own it anymore. He thinks there is more upside then downside but not without a share of risk.

He owned it years ago before it went private. He did very well. They did poorly over the last few years and then approved a huge pay package for the CEO. He does not like buying into companies where management is going to be paid too much. Retail is having difficulties. He prefers RET.A-T for retail exposure.

It's modestly undervalued now. Restructuring has borne some fruit, though the market hasn't responded to HBC in kind. Them getting out of luxury lines makes sense at this stage in the economy with limited discetionary spending. He prefers placing this in the retail, and not real estate, space. This is a consumer discretionary stock late in the cycle.

This is a real estate restructuring play. Technically there has been some consolidation and if there is a break above $14, that would suggest some good strength. It still feels like a high risk stock here, he thinks.

(A Top Pick February 12/18 - Down 11.4%.) He is done with it. He likes the store, but he doesn’t get it.

This is a tricky one, because the retail Bay outlets never seem crowded. The real play is the real estate value. There was a strong topping formation on the chart back in 2015. The recent selling looks like it will continue. He would not add to a position and would unload the position above $12.

Not for the faint of heart. Retail operations have been losing money in the past three years and same-store sales are down, but HBC has amazing real estate assets. They got a lot of debt while interest rates are rising. They need to make more real estate deals, but can they close them in time?

Pros of the stock is the real estate assets. Retail has been very challenging. HSB has been buying more. Not an area where he wants to be. They are fighting a losing battle. Not a good area to be exposed to.

(A Top Pick Jan. 2/18, Down 15%) A rare long-term call for him. It's a no-brainer below $10. Would not exit. It will have its day. Their real estate is valuable. Trying to rebrand and they're in a tough space

Can't see this below $10 for much longer. Has a lot to offer. It needs some good news, but in the U.S. Macy's has regrouped. (Analysts' price target $11.12)

Would you buy HBC at all? He wouldn’t buy it now. One of Canada’s oldest retailer controlled now by Americans. Begun this global expansion. There are massive changes in the retail space and he thinks we are not done yet. Retail is only one part of the company the other is the real estate.

He would avoid this. As a value investor, there is a tendency to see a lot of underlying asset value. However, we’ve recently seen trends in online retailing accelerating and department stores becoming more and more challenged. Even though there is this theoretical asset value in the real estate, if the underlying retail valuations are not strong enough to pay the rent and support it over time, it is going to be hard for the company to surface that.