Telus Corp (T.TO)

The group has been sideways for a little bit. Looking at the earnings, he thought Rogers (RCI.B-T) was the worst of the 3, and BCE (BCE-T) was the best. This is a better entry point for the stock than it has been for a while. As long as you are getting mostly dividend and a little bit of growth and looking for mid to high single digit returns, then it is fine.

He is favourably disposed to the Canadian telecom scene. Prefers BCE (BCE-T). The whole group had a rough quarter, but are coming back a little now. There were some worries at one point about interest rates going up, and that hurt the stocks. There had also been some regulatory worries. This one has a greater exposure to Western Canada, and therefore a greater exposure to Alberta. That has been a worry to the stock, but to him that is more of a short-term worry.

He owns all the Canadian telcos. The primary reason for that is he doesn’t see a whole lot of competition, especially with foreign players coming in. Good space. In terms of future growth, they have been spending money and investing in broadband networks.

This has a pretty diverse business, so doesn’t expect they will have a huge hit because of the energy market.

The government does want to encourage competition. But new entrants are up against 5 very well entrenched companies. It is especially hard when everything is bundled into one package. He likes BCE-T for income and T-T for growth. You should own both.

Classic utility stock, doing well in the summer time. We are outside of the period of seasonal strength, but right now we are seeing a period of strength anyway, so it is probably okay. The trend is your friend.

Likes the telecom area. Likes the slow, but steady growth and the dividend. This is an exceedingly well run company and he is looking at adding to it, however they have an inordinate Western exposure (energy).

Telus (T-T) or Bell Canada (BCE-T)? He is not in the telecom space. This is an oligopoly and is pretty competitive. This one has outperformed Bell in the last little while. There is nothing wrong with either one of them. Because there is a good yield on both of them, they might have a bit of yield sensitivity if the bonds do start to back up a bit. Wouldn’t chase these, but would buy on pullbacks. They are both quality companies.

Of all the operators, she thinks this is probably one of the better ones. They generate a lot of cash flow. One of their objectives is to increase their dividend every year. Have done quite well, partially because they do provide yield. This is more of a safe, defensive bet.

Performing very nicely this year. Great dividend return of capital back to shareholder story. Not sure there is a tremendous amount more growth. For Canadian telecoms, regulation is a constant headwind. If you own, consider taking some money off the table and look for other good dividend paying opportunities, such as insurance companies.

Doesn't think this is a value stock right now, nor is it a momentum stock. From a purely technical perspective, a key resistance point is $42.50, and if it gets above there you can see the stock having another run. An interesting company. Unlike Rogers (RCI.B-T) or Bell (BCE-T), they are not integrated in the same way. They don’t own sports teams or content, but are more of a pure play in communication. Doesn't think it is a takeover target. Still has upside potential, but it is right up against a resistance point here.

He is starting to Short the stock. This has been a phenomenal name and he has held it for about 6 years. In all of the telecommunications, the growth is in wireless. Wireless growth in Canada last year was 0.3%, no growth. Mobile penetration is 80%, which sounds great, but a lot less than it is in the US. We are not seeing any growth in the wireless side.

There are interesting dynamics in the space. Are the regulators going to let in a 4^th service provider? He owns RCI.B-T. They will all grow about the same amount. Likes the media and broadcasting assets of Rogers. Telus lacks this. He doesn’t see any upside to this one. He would swap out of T-T and into RCI.B-T

You are buying this one for the growth relative to the other telcos. You are probably going to see a rising dividend growth profile on this with a starting point of 4%.

Long Telus Corp 4.40% 4/2043 bonds and Short Gov’t Of Canada 4.00% 6/2041 bonds. (Top Pick May 15/14, Up 1.43%, Down 4.19%) Designed to make money in an interest rate rising environment.