Open Text (OTEX.TO)

A well-run company that has made good acquisitions, he thinks. It has consolidated in price since 2017 and there does not seem to be any urgency in the market to buy it. He would wait until it breaks above the 2018 high.

Ranks in the top 15% of his database. Its recent report was disappointing, but he expects 9% earnings growth this year. ROE is 20%. This is a long-term hold. Disciplined with a team focussed on acquisitions. A good time to buy.

He likes this company Solid from a balance sheet perspective. The ROI looks very attractive. They continue to grow and acquire good companies and integrating them very well.

He likes the name. One quarter shouldn’t shy you off. It’s been cruising along but they really missed the last quarter on many levels. He would wait and see.

Provider of Information Technology to the legal industry and other record keeping players. Very well-run company. Stable company. The growth coming from acquisitions. Good management team. (Analysts’ price target is $56.00)

(A Past Top Pick on Oct. 6, 2017, Up 12%) A great acquisition model, because they create revenue and cost synergies among their companies, and create cash flow to pay for those acquisitions. And so on. This strategy has served them well for years. Strong managers.

He likes it. It is a semblance of value in the tech space. The market was underwhelmed but it but now we are seeing some of the benefits of it. They keep tucking in acquisitions. It is a winner. It gives you some non-Canadian exposure. It could hit $60 in a couple of years.

He does not own this one. This company has been a great creator of shareholder value along its long history. People tend to criticize them for manufacturing earnings growth. He would be comfortable holding an existing position.

(A Top Pick Oct. 6/17, Up 6%) Acquisitions continue to do well. They've always slowly grow Biggest growth area is the Cloud, which they do very well. Good last quarter. It won't be exciting in the short term, but it's a fine long-term story. Only 13x forward earnings.

A software company. Largest holding at the moment for his client’s portfolios. The stock has been underperforming because large acquisition that made last year that made investors worry that they wouldn’t be able to consolidate them well. But the latest quarter showed that sales and margins are better than expected. Yield of 1.4% (Analysts’ price target is $54.59)

Technology fades away a little at this time of year. Last year at this time of year it was fairly flat overall. It has been in a trading range and he would wait for it to pull back down before entering. There are other companies that represent better opportunities.

Sales, earnings and margins are all up and expected to rise further. They expect half of their growth to be organic, the other half through acquisitions. They have a 24-person team looking for acquisitions, applying a very disciplined approach. (Analysts’ price target is 54.42$)

(A Top Pick April 10/17 - Down 1%.) Nice little base. Technology is a sector that is part of the pro-growth theme. They might be bought. Well-run company. He would buy at these levels.

Enterprise content management. Grew a little bit organically and then by acquisition, paying down the acquisition before moving on. They are getting more organic growth. They are trading at 12 times forward earnings. Margins are coming higher. It is growing with a good business model and in the right space. (Analysts’ target: $54.09).

It had not been doing anything when all the tech names were flying. Their recent acquisition is working and margins are going to go up.