Opinions Barry Schwartz
High Liner FoodsHLF.TOCOMMENTAug 29, 2017
Barry SchwartzStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 04, 2026. Market Open.
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HLF hit a multi-year high as the Mrs. Pauls and Van de Kamp acquisition looks solid. It continues HLF's plan to diversify its global supply chain, and it already co-manufactures for the brands. There will be a small 1c negative impact to earnings initially, but the strategic rationale makes sense for the long term. HLF is buying $75M in sales on a base of about $950 currently. The stock is up 18% YTD yet is still only 8X earnings. Debt continues to be high, however. We like the deal and the momentum. We would be OK buying this in a TFSA but for more aggressive investors only.
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#1 supplier to retail channel in Canada, and #1 in US to food services. Sells under own name and private label. Seafood consumption low in NA, huge potential for growth. Revenue growth stalled with consumers cutting back on higher-priced items. In rally mode again. Huge free cashflow, buying back lots of shares, increased divvie by 30%, paying down debt. Dirt cheap at 8x PE. Insiders own 40%. Feels it will be sold down the road.
The company is 120 years old and is the leading brand in North America in frozen value added seafood, number 1 in the Canadian retail segment and number 1 in the U.S. food services segment. Eating fish is considered a healthy alternative to eating meats and although Americans are not big fish eaters, there is good growth potential as attitudes may change. It is paying down debt as well as increasing the dividend by 30% and it recently reported record results. Trades at 7X earnings and insiders own 40%, almost unheard of.
He would not double down on it because we are in tax loss season. There could be some tax loss selling in November/December. It has fairly high debt. It now pays a dividend but did not do so when he owned it. They are a leader in the field and know what they are doing. They could do well in time.
Has been suffering in the last year or so. Got rid of their CEO. Made an acquisition to try to diversify their assets away from battered breaded products. It is going to take some time to work its way through. Valuation is extraordinarily cheap if they get it right. The market has been concerned about declining sales. There have been inefficiencies in their operations. They also had a big product recall. It has not been a good situation. They’ve guided for organic sales growth in the 2nd half of the year, as well as organic earnings growth. Trading at 8X next year’s earnings. If things improve and operations improve, you could easily see it double.