Stock price when the opinion was issued
Buy at this level or definitely hold on. He owns Quebecor and this. Like this. Well-managed. They were early investing in their infrastructure, and that capex cycle is coming down. This generate lots of free cash flow to increase their dividend each year (unlike BCE or Rogers). Telus has undervalued assets including in the health space, tech and real estate; can monetize these. Pays a great yield.
He invests in Telus bonds instead of the shares. Credit is very good, still investment-grade. Marketable assets. No issue with default in any of the big 3 telcos.
For the equity side: not a lot of growth, price competition, CRTC always making new rules. Big dividend is enticing, but not for him.
Still believes in it as a long-term investment. Tailwinds include decommissioning their copper infrastructure, selling some of their real estate and they are past the fiber-inflexible point in their investment. Cash flow growth looks good for years to come and should support the dividend.
Payout ratio is almost 100%. Dividend is not at risk; in fact, company said that it would be raised this year. Capex will be coming down, way ahead of peers on the capex spend on fibre to the home. As capex comes off, cashflows will go up, payout ratio will come down.
Trades at premium, but it is the premium telco right now due to better financial condition. Stock will be range bound for now, but could be some growth longer term. Will pick up as macro environment improves.
Tough environment. Trades at 20x PE for 2027, with 13% growth. So PEG isn't bad. Trying to make balance sheet better. Protected market share with Public Mobile brand, making it more price competitive. More resilient than BCE or RCI.B. Very well run. 13 analysts have upgraded in last 30 days, 0 downgrades.
Quiet place to put capital and collect the nice dividend. Not an "if", but a "when" thesis. The bottom probably isn't far off.
He likes this very much. This and Bell Canada (BCE-T) would be his top 2 choices in the telecom sector. If you want to stick a stock away for the next 10 years, his choice would be Telus. He takes his hat off for their buildout of the fibre to the home over a five-year timeframe, versus BCE which is over a ten-year timeframe. Currently they have guidance for a 7%-10% annual increase in dividends. When the buildout is finished in 2020-2021, he thinks they’ll be able to renew that 10% a year dividend growth rate.