Manitoba Telecom Services (MBT.TO)

Always seems to give a lot more promise that it doesn’t quite deliver. Had a downtrend from mid-2013, and he would like to see it get above $30 with a little bit of conviction. 5.9% dividend yield.

It is a potential takeover target, but he does not buy a stock just because of that. They have been trying to sell Allstream for years. BCE-T or even T-T would be preferred.

Telecoms can do quite well during this time of year. However, the chart on this one is not showing the favourable tendencies of some of the others. It is breaking down. The period of seasonal strength ends around December.

Not interested in this. Doesn’t see any growth so she doesn’t know why anybody would want to buy it. If you want yield, then buy a pipeline, Canadian bank or an insurance company.

Punished by the federal government by being prevented from selling their Internet division and then got blocked from bidding on the Spectrum auction. Core operations are okay, but not a lot of dividend growth. He would prefer Telus (T-T) or Bell Canada (BCE-T).

A well-run company, but isn’t going anywhere fast. 5.5% dividend yield.

He owns it on the premise that BCE or others would take them over. But it is hard to know now if the acquisition would be approved. The CEO is retiring and he knows how to read it. The dividend yield is safe. From a value point of view he would own it.

This is not very exciting, but the dividend is quite secure.

(A Top Pick Aug 29/13. Down 2.96%.) When he did this pick, they had announced the sale of Allstream, which would have materially changed the setup for them, probably making them a takeout candidate. When the government rejected that, he sold his position.

Possibility of Bell (BCE-T) taking over this company? His gut instinct says No in that the CRTC might not allow it. Looking at this company on its own merits, his Fair Market Value calculation is about $37-$38, about a 15% upside. When he buys a stock, he likes to see a lot of potential and 15% is not very much. There is a lot of overhead technical resistance at about $33.

Sell and move into another telco? Because the yield is quite a bit higher than the other names, you should hang on to this. Some sort of consolidation in the space, could be there.

Stock vs. Stock: MBT-T vs. BA-T. Very good dominant player in their market. Good wireless exposure, but pension issues. Prefers BA-T.

Not much growth behind this. Has an attractive yield so if you just want to collect the dividend, you could do that. When she looks at dividend paying stocks, not only does she want to see an attractive yield in excess of 3%, but also good visibility that the dividend can grow over the next 3-4 years. She does not see that with this one.

Had owned it on expectation that they sold Allstream assets to release a lot of cash, but deal was blocked. Not his favourite telecom play. They have an attractive yield. Allstream is distracting to management and to the market. Prefers VOD-Q.

Had thought it would divest itself of its Allstream and then become a takeover candidate. However, things have changed over the last few years. Allstream deal did not go through, blocked by the Canadian government. Still thinks it might be sold one day. Certainly doing a good job of turning it around. You really have to look at this on a standalone basis now. Management is doing a good job of turning around Allstream. They’ve recapitalized the company and paid down some of that pension debt as well. Thinks the dividend is totally safe now.