Transalta Corp (TA.TO)

Have some very valuable assets. The biggest renewable energy company in Canada. Thinks power prices in Alberta will come back. Very compelling value down here. Doesn’t think dividend will be cut because of the drip program. Perhaps a bigger company will take them over if they stay down much longer.

Doesn’t look too good. In a downward trend, underperforming TSX and below its 20 day moving average so there is no reason to be a buyer. Seasonally these stocks do well from end of June until end of October.

Not so sure that the dividend is entirely safe here, so wouldn’t buy this for the dividend. The setback in the stock is indicative of some of the problems that this company has had.

You have to have a long term perspective with this one. He doesn`t evaluate the cash flow so can`t comment on the dividend sustainability. Technically the charts look terrible. It keeps inching lower. 8.3%

Likes this because it is so cheap but that hasn’t stopped it from slipping lower. There is obviously a lot of concern that they are going to have to cut the dividend and yet the cash flows are more than enough to keep it. CEO seems loath to cut.

Has moved a lot of his holdings out in favour of AltaGas (ALA-T). Problem with this company is that their legacy assets are in various states of condition, which has caused them some problems over the last few years. Dividend is barely sustainable but they need a pickup in some of their pricing in north-western US to save the company but he doesn’t see power prices moving significantly higher.

Never owned this because the dividend was always too high and there were concerns about its sustainability. Have a bunch of coal fired power plants, which need re-engineering.

Close to 8% on the dividend yield. Coal/gas fire utility. Doesn't think they need to cut the dividend anytime soon, but there's not a lot in the way of growth prospects for the company. They have some assets coming on later on this year, which will help maintain the dividend, but everything has to go right. Not a name that's attractive to him.

Utilities can do quite well this time of year. Pursue this stock. Moving averages are trending positive. July into September is the period of seasonal strength.

(A Top Pick Aug 2/12. Up 10.59%.) 6.4% bond, maturing Nov 18/19.

Keeps looking at this as it has a very attractive dividend yield but feels the business is quite challenged, particularly for the next couple of years in that it is not going to show a lot of growth. Also, its fleet of plants, particularly in Alberta, is quite old and there are questions as to how well maintained it is. Dividend is likely sustainable.

Owns a note which is due in 2029 and the face value is up 17%. What would you do with this? If you have other bonds with shorter maturities, he would have no trouble with this as part of a bond portfolio. If this 16 year maturity represents most of your bond portfolio, then that is far too long. Professional money manager, like himself, would sell it. If rates go up you are going to lose that gain.

Not sure that the dividend is safe but doesn’t see any reason for an imminent cut. Have a lot of coal plants and a lot of them are going to have to be shut, over the next decade. This is a high risk business model and they have to really execute well to maintain the dividend.

There are better dividend paying stocks around. Doesn’t know of any analyst that is looking for dividend growth in this company. There are some fears of a dividend cut but he doesn’t think it’s likely. They need power prices to recover in Alberta and the Centralia operation to be more profitable.

Has been a little disappointing operationally. Very exposed to Alberta and there is a lot going on there in the power space. There is a big plant coming on again which is going to have a negative affect on power prices which negatively affects this one. On the side, they have a lot of plants where operational issues pop up. These things hurt earnings. A lot of debt on the balance sheet.