Intertape Polymer Group (ITP.TO)

It is an industrial with seasonal strength from mid-October until the end of the year. It is now below its trading range and is trending down. It is not as clear this year if seasonality is going to work. It will take time to repair the technical damage that has been done. Re-examine it at the end of October. You will probably be okay if you own it now.

It had a lot of structural, cost and debt issues. They changed it all, paying and raising the dividend. Now it is an income stock that is tied to the North American economy. Their last couple of quarters were a little disappointing. He would not worry about it, though.

They came a little ‘unglued’ this quarter. If you have a bad quarter this market takes out and shoots you. He likes their industrial line. He thinks they will benefit from an increase in housing. You might even double down.

A tape manufacturer, so they are going to follow a lot of what is going on with industrial packaging. A pretty well-managed company. In an environment where industrial activity and economies are improving, this company should do well.

This has tapes of all kinds. Industrial uses, home uses. But obviously they also make the tapes that bind boxes that go from Amazon (AMZN-Q), which is a growth area. They’ve done a good job of controlling costs in the last few years and consolidating their operations. Now doing some tuck in acquisitions in India, etc. for testing new markets. There is probably 20% upside over the next 12-18 months. Dividend yield of 3%. (Analysts’ price target is $29.)

There is no problem at this level. The balance sheet is in good shape. Currently it is a neutral for him, partly because Price momentum has been sideways. The value is also sideways. Expensive on a free cash flow basis and on a BV basis. If it had a few more good quarters and started showing more cash flow, it would probably end up on the Buy side for him. Dividend yield of about 3%.

(A Top Pick June 6/16. Up 27.84%.) He still likes this. It is involved in packaging and labelling, more in industrial and commercial tapes. As more people shop online, all those boxes shipped have to be taped. Trading at a cheap valuation and generates gobs of cash. Has a very nice dividend yield, and has plans to double its revenue over the next 5 years.

In 2009, this was pretty near bankruptcy. They’ve done a nice job. Have improved their operations. Return on Capital has improved to almost 6%. Unfortunately though, he can’t support the valuation.

Everything that is shipped has to be professionally taped. They have done a good job of taking their market share and expanding outside of Canada and the US. Great dividend that has grown many years in a row. (Analysts’ target: $27.75).

Doesn’t follow this closely, because it is a smaller cap name. A packaging company. Generally speaking, it is a pretty well-run company. There is a cyclicality to it. Thinks they are ramping up a new plant. You could probably hold this long-term to get industrial exposure. Well-managed.

(A Top Pick Oct 26/16. Up 4%.) This was up in the $27 range, but came back down when they were a little light on earnings. They have a tax issue where they had to refile, but it didn’t cause any changes to the overall structure. He thinks this could go to the $28-$29 range.

Packaging, but in products that are a lot more commoditized than some of the others. Management has done a great job turning the company around. Up against some 800 pound gorillas such as 3M. They are looking for “value added” products to launch in small acquisitions. They are modernizing and expanding some of the plants. Not a cheap stock, but thinks management is going to succeed.

This basically makes tapes. Designs things like Scotch tape, as well as making a lot of tape for industrial use, and for e-commerce. They control costs partially by phasing out older plants and building bigger and more efficient ones. Stock has been a little flat in the last couple of months because of flooding in one of their new plants, but that is fading away now. Dividend yield of 3.3%. (Analysts’ price target is $27.75.)

Just announced a misstatement in earnings in the last few years. The good news is, it doesn’t seem to be material. It didn’t affect their adjusted EBITDA or their cash flow, but made a mistake on their adjusted earnings number. The company is in the right space manufacturing tape and other film products, and benefiting so much from the e-commerce economy. A great dividend and generates a lot of free cash flow. Trades at a discount to some of its peers. They’ve started to expand outside North America. He is very positive on the long-term outlook.

Has owned this in the past, but got stopped out sometime last year. A Canadian name that has a bit of a lower volatility profile, so it’s one you would want to own for a long time. They have a lot of US business.