Verizon Communications (VZ)

There is some scent of higher interest rates and telcos are burdened by a lot of debt due in the next 5 or so years so the market is nervous. They are working very hard to build out the wireless side of their business. The numbers look attractive. Buying out VOD-N was accretive from the get go. There is lots of opportunity, but you have to be aware of interest rates.

Stock vs. Stock: BCE-T vs. VZ-N. They are two different stocks. BCE gives you a fantastic dividend close to 5% and decent cash flow. Telcos in general are getting up there in terms of valuations. VZ-N should provide more growth and less dividend than BCE. It depends what you are trying to accomplish.

They bought back a big chunk of VZ-N stock from VOD-N. It has been tough to get into any company with stable, recurring revenue. Valuations skyrocketed because of this, but VZ-N did a very good job of it. Enjoyed very good growth. She has taken current uncertainty as an entry point and now sees some more good upside on the name.

Since the restructuring of their balance sheet, the Book Value really fell away underneath the company, and left it on a Price-to-Book value, up in nosebleed country.. FMV calculations would be $60 and higher, but when he looks at the risks on a Price-to-Book point of view, they are at levels that he doesn’t like to take.

Telecoms. Seasonality is June until about October. We just broke above a trading range. If you have it, stick with it.

Equal weight on AT&T (T-N), Verizon (VZ-N) and Vodafone (VOD-Q) as a dividend play? If looking for dividend income, why not take advantage of the dividend tax credit that is offered on Canadian dividends? Although you get a dividend on these, from a tax standpoint it is treated as interest. As far as the telcos in the US are concerned, is that they distribute a lot of cash which generally run at the 4%-5% rate. AT&T is a slower grower. Of these 3, his favourite would probably be this one.

Likes the strategy, but prefers VOD stock. Buy VOD on weakness and hold what you have already. VZ’s balance sheet is stretched.

Looks good in everything she looks for. Major issue is T-mobile. It is threatening margins. The cash they generate is compelling.

A good dividend payer. Very little net gain in the actual stock. If you are looking for a nice dividend play, consider ZWU-T, 6% yield and low volatility.

Better growth prospects than BCE as well as lower PE.

Now near a 52-week low because of the 45% takeover of Verizon Wireless that Vodafone (VOD-Q) owned. This gives you a very decent yield and is the market leader in wireless and 4G rolling out. It probably makes sense to Buy to get up to a full position. Even if it doesn’t do anything for a while, until things settled down, the dividend yield is pretty safe.

Doesn’t own telecom. The buyout is positive. Decent yield. Longer term if you want a player in this space, this is a good name to have.

They are buying VOD-N. Telecom is more of an interest rate proxy. VOD is interesting because so much revenue comes from wireless. Headwinds in VZ are to be from the sale of stock received for their VOD shares. Money may be moving away from interest rate proxies. You might look for a another home for the capital.

Bought 45% of their wireless division that they didn’t own from Vodafone last summer and this generates a lot of cash flow for them. They had to take on a lot of debt to do that. Feels the dividend is sustainable.

They are the premium provider in the US. Dividend is up. He is more bullish on Verizon than Vodaphone. In Canada he likes Telus the best. Fastest revenue growth and 10% dividend growth. Telus CEO is the largest shareholder. BCE today raised their dividend.