Stella-Jones Inc. (SJ.TO)

She likes this company. A growth by acquisition story. The last few little quarters have been good, but there have been a few little issues. Earnings were respectable, but not fantastic. She is looking for them to make more acquisitions either in the pole business or rail ties. Execution has been stellar. The majority of their earnings are from the US.

She loves this company. Great management. It fits into the infrastructure theme where a lot of the rail ties have to be replaced. Rail traffic has been increasing. Last quarter was a little weaker, because the cost of treated wood rose. The stock market did not react to it. Next quarter also might not be fantastic. Growth for the next couple of years is fantastic. They also grow by tuck in acquisitions.

Has owned from time to time. It seems to get away on him to the upside. Has come off a bit. He fundamentally really likes it. In the utility pole business. They do a lot of acquisitions, but they do the outsourcing from the utilities of managing inventories. At these prices, he is going to have another look at this. Dividend yield of 1%.

Hard to make rail way ties and telephone poles sexy. But they consolidated the space, made acquisitions. Will be there selling railway ties and telephone poles as infrastructure is built. Numbers are there to support the evaluation.

Sold his holdings in the last few years. There are not that many more acquisitions they can do in North America, because they have consolidated the bulk of the utility pole and rail tie industry. Quite expensive at these levels and he doesn’t see the stock appreciating tremendously from here. They should be able to increase the dividend over time.

Looking at this one again. Have done a very good job but has had a good run and is expensive.

A good hold for the next couple of years. This is sort of like the flip side of what our construction industry did over the past 10 years. Feels the US is going through a rejuvenation in their industrial sector and this company is in an excellent position to benefit from that. Expects their margins will continue to climb.

Ranks well in his growth model. You continue to get exposure to the US. Likes it. Will continue to do well. Beta half that of the TSX.

A very steady business. Very steady contracts. Working their way through an acquisition that gave them good revenue growth this year. In the last couple of days people took profits. This one traded sideways all summer and then broke out, pullback and it is a good entry point. A growth story.

Became 36% of his portfolio. Should this be trimmed or is it a company that he should continue to hold. 36% of a portfolio is way too high. He generally doesn’t sell in November/December because he wants to defer taxes to the next year, allowing him to earn money on the money.

Very, very well managed in a business that is starting to hit the sweet spot in terms of spending. Railway ties and telecommunication poles basically. They are the “go to” player. Bought a lot of companies to consolidate the space and now sector spending is starting to increase. If you own, he would not Sell as it is one of the better managed companies in Canada. Space looks good, the dividend is okay, balance sheet is okay. There is a lot to like about this company.

Very well run company and it’s in the right place at the right time. Suddenly railways are such a hot item and this company does repairs and sells railway ties. ROE is not as high as he would like but, this is a great Buy and Hold for a long-term investment.

Makes telephone poles and rail ties. There is a full infrastructure build out by rails and telecommunication companies and this company was in the right space at the right time. Have been pumping up their dividends. Earnings have been accelerating. This is a classic investor dilemma. When you have a company that has done so well, paid lots of money out in dividends and raised their dividends rapidly, when do you get out? Doesn’t think it’s over but wouldn’t expect the same kind of gains that there has been over the last couple of years.

Wood treated utility poles. Not a lot of volume. Doesn’t hear much about this company. Reasonable good infrastructure play with good dividend. Not a bad little company.