Telus Corp (T.TO)

Chart looks good. Telecoms can do well right here. It is a volatility hedge. Perfect trend. Seasonal buffer from the yield is certainly there, so pursue it.

Earnings reported today and they raised the dividend again. Has been talking about it for 4 years. If the reasons to own it don’t change then it is ok to continue to buy it despite the fact that it is doing well. 22% compound annual growth over last 5 years. Payout ratio is still low. They will continue to raise dividend at least 10% for 3 years and will buy back shares. No reason to exit this story. Lots of people looking for a pullback to buy it. He owns BCE as well, but prefers T-T.

Very well run telco. She doesn’t hold any telecoms at this time. Have all done quite well. Buying at this price you are not going to see much capital upside, maybe 5% along with the yield of about 3.5%. Will be reporting in the next week or so. She would wait for it to pull back by a couple of dollars.

Within the telco group, she feels it is probably one of the stronger holdings, given that its growth trajectory is quite strong. Reporting first-quarter next week and expect they will reaffirm what their growth and dividends will be over the next number of years, which she expects to be around the 10% level. Rollout of IP TV has been very successful and expect they will be able to reap some higher margins. 3.5% dividend yield and have a great track record of increasing their dividends.

Thinks there will be a re-affirmation of the 10% dividend growth target over the next 3 years and believes they will have the free cash flow to justify it. Outlook for the 3 major telcos is very good for the next 3 years.

Supposed to split their stock today. This would be because their stock has done so well.

Had a really good run but is in a sector that he feels that continues to grow their dividends and revenues. Wireless is still very popular and growing and has not fully penetrated yet. Seeing more and more data usage on smart phones, which is going to drive revenue growth for this company.

He likes that they have the IP-TV which they are doing a great job with and having great growth. Great franchise in wireless. Most important is that they are probably the most important poster child for understanding investor appetite. 3 years ago they said they would raise their dividend twice a year for the next 3 years, which they did. Have had a 5-year compound growth rate of just over 22% in their shares. About a month ago, they committed to a dividend increase over the next 3 years of 10% or greater.

Will the 2-for-1 split in mid April have a positive impact on the stock price? Stock splits don’t really matter that much. Like all the telcos, this has had a great run. Expects they will continue to do well but expects it will move more sideways than anything else. Reasonable yield and good balance sheet.

Prefers BCE (BCE-T), which is more of a pure play because it doesn’t have the broadcasting assets. He is warm towards this company but doesn’t own it. 2-for-1 stock split is coming in April, but it doesn’t mean anything so it doesn’t matter whether you buy it before or after.

Owns both Bell Canada (BCE-T) as well as this. Bell would be mainly for the larger dividend and this one for a little more growth in both the stock and the dividend. 2 for1 Stock split is coming in April and this will help as well.

Industry Canada came out today with some new rules which clearly favours new entrants and the stock took a drop. His outlook on the telecom space is not very optimistic because of this. Wouldn’t put new money into this sector. Income investors should continue to hold some of their holdings but if you own, consider taking some profits.

Valuation getting a little stretched. 3.7% yield. BCE is not a bad idea either and has their stated dividend policy.

(A Top Pick May 15/12. Up 17.31%.) Class A shares.

Hit an all-time high today. There is a lot of chasing of yields going on. Telcos are generous with dividends and they keep raising them so people keep buying these stocks. Yield of 3.7%. He questions what happens a year from now if we start to see the five-year bond going up towards 3%. This is the big risk you face with some of these stocks. He is a believer in the telecom sector simply because of data usage but a little nervous of telcos right now. Owns them but has his fingers crossed.