Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO)

(A Top Pick June 27/17 Up 20%). Last summer the Home Capital fears made this a great buy. Earnings remain strong and the fundamentals are supportive. This is a great hold until the next recession hits. He would continue buying here.

Should an investor reduce a large concentrated holding of bank stocks? This is a great business, but thinks it could go down to historical P/E multiples when markets turn lower. He would favor reducing a large exposure in the sector. You could get a similar yield from REITs and utilities.

(Past Top Pick, July 4, 2017, Up 21%) It's his largest bank holding. It's 50% U.S. retail, so it is exposed to the U.S. economy. The market is worried about the debt of Canadian consumers, so TD's U.S. exposure has made it the darling of Canadian investors.

He would buy it at these levels. Q2 earnings were up 21%. Expenses unchanged for the last two quarters. 17.6% ROE. Strong capital position. Not a bad growth rate.

(A Top Pick September 21 / 2017, Up 13%) Now own BMO instead. TD has gone nowhere for a while. Breakouts don’t always come through as you expect. Has really lightened up on the banks. If market thinks rates going marching up, but banks have stalled, does the market think the economy’s not going be able to handle higher rates for longer? On technicals first, and then fundamental drivers, and also valuation, BMO seemed bit better risk profile. Banks won’t do better until the fall.

Solid stock for grandkids aged 7 and 2. Bell or a Canadian bank or a Power Financial bond? They just bought TD Bank for a client in a similar situation. For a time horizon of 10-12 years. Canadian banks are relatively stable oligopolies. Dividend yield of 3.5% Buy this instead of a bond, because you can lose money in a rising interest rate environment.

He's long owned this. It's a good company and well-run. Has one of the best retail franchises in Canada while in American they continue to grow. Good dividend yield. Great earnings this quarter and likely this year. Expect better earnings from their U.S. operations. Looking ahead for 5-10 years, technology will drive down costs for them and will at some point reduce the number of branches.

He thinks the financial sector may again strengthen around October seasonally. The chart is likely to move sideways through the summer. He would view it as neutral – likely put his capital into something more exciting.

(A Top Pick Sep. 1/17, Up 14%) He likes the banks and this one in particular, except that this one has reached an upper valuation range where its progress normally stops. They could be capped out for a while. If you are a long term holder then the growth of the company has been 11-13% for a long time. Don’t sell and go away. If it drops then he would be back in like a shot.

He has always owned this and it is one of his favourite Canadian banks. Likes its U.S. exposure. The share has moved sideways YTD. It operates at 10-11x earnings. Own this for the long term. There are concerns about mortgage growth, but TD's U.S. operations offset those worries. He'd buy it today.

It just came out with fantastic numbers. It's performing very well in the U.S., especially in capital markets. It's one of his core holdings. His company has held TD from day one.

Their U.S. retail side is humming now as that economy picks up. Yesterday, they reported an excellent quarter. Expects a dividend increase this fall, and an overall 7-8% move in the stock price for a low-double-digit return this year, outperforming the market. TD is less exposed to Canadian mortgages than its peers. (Analysts' price target: $83.04)

(A Top Pick Jan 27/18, Up 16%) It was really buying o a valuation basis but it is a long term hold. He has a lighter hold on Canadian banks generally. Their US banking was up 19% so their expansion in the US was doing well and their dividend was up 12%. He sees less growth next year, however.

(Past Top Pick on July 12, 2017, Up 19%) There's a misconeption that banks will suffer from rising interest rates. He's confident about TD.

This is a core holding. It's Canada's second-largest bank, highly profitable with a 16% ROE and 11.7X earnings. 40% of those earnings come from the U.S., so TD will benefit from corporate tax cuts there. It will also benefit from rising interest rates. (Analysts' price target $81.25)