CGI Group (A)

GIB.A-T

(A Top Pick Oct 20/17. Up 2%.) He still likes this. This is IT consulting, and in today's technology heavy world, medium size or smaller businesses find it more challenging every day, to manage the IT side of things. The technology is so sophisticated and the costs are so high, they tend to farm it out, and this company is in the sweet spot in a very, very desirable space.

Chart shows this has been in an up channel since August. The key support is at around $66. Fundamentally, the productivity, security and being competitive is what all companies are looking for these days to stay in business and stay profitable. Outsourcing IT is very important for them to get the maximum for their IT bucks. The growth profile is very good. They’ve had some lower margin contracts expiring, and are replacing them with higher margin ones. Also, they are good acquirers of other businesses. (Analysts' price target is $74.)

Period of seasonal strength is from about mid-October until about the end of January. Technically it has a long-term upward trend. It’s just reached an all-time high.

He likes value combined with momentum. It is the strategy that works. This is a leading Canadian IT company and there will be continuing demand for consulting services around the world. Margins have been expanding There are more M&A opportunities as well. (Analysts’ target: $74.00).

About half their revenue comes from outsourcing on long-term contracts, which are reoccurring, and the other half is systems integration consulting contracts. They are well positioned on the technology trends, with everybody having to develop a digital platform and automate processes for artificial intelligence. Companies are having to look at their legacy technology systems, and upgrade to make them more digital, online. When you do that, you are inviting customers and the world onto your website, which means cyber Security is another issue. This company has solutions to address all these metrics. Very global with about 50% from Europe, 30% in the US and the balance in Canada and Asia. (Analysts’ price target is $74.)

They can acquire businesses at attractive valuations then run them well. He likes it a lot and thinks the management team is top notch.

An interesting company that offers solutions to people with problems in the computer area. This is a growth stock. The PE is reasonable. If you want a growth stock, it’s not a bad stock to own. It’s not just in Canada and the US, but also in Europe.

A big IT consulting firm. Has very good contracts. Management is doing very well. The balance sheet is very strong. The chart shows it is steadily going higher. As technology gets more sophisticated, companies are finding it difficult to keep abreast of the changes, so there is more and more outsourcing taking place. (Analysts’ price target is $74.)

There is a new CEO in the last year. It is likely he will put his stamp on the company in some form. It is Canada’s largest IT services company. They could make a transformational acquisition. They have a history of doing this. It is a good play on the US economy where they have their largest customer. (Analysts’ target: $74.00).

The period of seasonal strength is from now until January. The stock has good support and there is a good chance it will move above resistance.

He likes this at these levels. He models an 8% EPS growth. Thinks you will get share buybacks and margin expansion. There is capital employment opportunity and tuck-in acquisitions. It is a pretty fragmented sector. The only bad thing is its price. It is trading at around 17X versus 15X its 5-year average. There are also the rising Cdn$ headwinds.

(A Top Pick Sept 13/16. Up 4%.) Was surprised this has not done better. She still likes the stock. A great growth name. They don’t pay a dividend, so are definitely interested in growing their business and reinvesting in the business, outsourcing and integration. Outsourcing is on long-term contracts which has more stable cash flow streams. Every few years, this tends to do a large acquisition to increase their geographic scope or their vertical they want to increase their presence. They are ready to do another acquisition, but haven’t been able to find anything that fits their financial discipline, so have been making a lot of smaller tuck in acquisitions. They are seeing good pickup in organic growth, particularly with the whole issues of Cyber Security and automating processes to compete with new technologies. Cyber Security is going to be an ongoing trend.

TSX Infotech sector? He would look at this and Open Text (OTEX-T). He doesn’t look at this one too much, because it doesn’t pay a dividend, but it has been a very good performer.

A company that is a little unique in Canada. A computer services company which can do your programs. There was a big fuss because they got some programs screwed up in the US. A little scary in that it is a very volatile, but the multiple is not outrageous. This is something he might consider participating in, in the future. Most of their programming is in Europe, so it is different for a Canadian company.

Canada’s largest provider of outsourcing IT services and solutions. Trades at a modest multiple on earnings of about 16 or 17 times. New management has ambitious plans to double the size of the company over the next 5-7 years. They’ve been doing small tuck in mergers and acquisitions.