Telus Corp (T.TO)

Doesn’t own any names in the telco space. She got out a few years ago because of regulatory and competition concerns. That has lifted a bit, but this company took another drop when Shaw (SJR.B-T) announced they were buying Wind Mobile a few weeks ago. She is not inclined to re-enter the sector right now. Shaw will be a stronger competitor, and Telus has much more exposure to Western Canada, where there could be much weaker wireless growth.

There are 4 possible players now. T-T was affected more than the others. The numbers look cheap. He purchased just a month or so ago when he thought it bottomed. It will be fine long term. There is insider buying. This is a good entry point.

People are worried about their slowdowns in the west. They are growing their dividend. He is comfortable owning this right now. You closed the door on incoming competition with Shaw.

The sector is okay. You can’t go wrong in the group. The uptrend is intact. He sees no reason to sell. You aren’t going to wake up to a horror story. You might want to look at MBT-T also, as they finally got rid of Allstream.

They are very shareholder friendly and one of the best managed companies. They can defend themselves admirably against Shaw. T-T’s core business is growing all the time. It is a great buying opportunity on weakness.

Over the last 5 years they have raised dividends 10% per year. They will do this for another 3 years. He believes they will come through for at least a year with this promise. He prefers RCI.B-T although it is a little ahead of itself right now.

Telcos have been one of the better sectors this year. Large pools of money have piled into defensive sectors. Unless you have a poor outlook for next year, he does not think it is a time to pile into T-T.

He is warm to the telecoms. This would probably be the least favourite of his after Rogers (RCI.B-T), just because of their exposure out West.

A disappointment in net additions in the last quarter. He thinks there is growth. They have a health division where they have new growth. They also are expanding their data center business. Take advantage of the low prices.

Great company. Probably a little bit growthier than some of the others. On his Safety & Value strategy, it rates very, very well, probably in the top quartile of the names that he is looking at.

After the quarter there was a small miss so he likes it. It generates free cash flow and will generate 5% yield.

This was the golden boy of the telcos. Chart shows a nice up trend of higher highs and higher lows. However, recently it has started moving sideways. There is a lot of rotation going on out there and you have to be aware of it. Not a terrible looking chart, but not something that he would be jumping all over. (See Top Picks.)

This got to the top of the heap of the telco world, and has subsequently seen their numbers soften. Combining this with a weaker economic environment in Western Canada has been kind of a drag. There was also a CEO transition. Good well-run company and good dividend growth. There is no media exposure which might help them going forward. Longer-term this is a good holding.

It has done well, but growth prospects have slowed down as they compete with cable companies. You can continue to hold it, but it is not the bargain it was two to three years ago. It is okay for the dividend.

Telus (T-T) or BCE (BCE-T)? The difficult part about this company is their Western exposure. The dividend is certainly sustainable. A well-run company, but is going to suffer for the next couple of months because of their Western exposure. If you see this down a little more, that would be a good opportunity to buy.