24 Stock Top Picks and 3 ETF (Jan 11-17)

Opinion about ZLU-T: Canada doesn't have a version of this low-vol with a currency hedge. Now is not a good time to invest in the US. ZLU has outperformed the US market long-term with less volatility.  You get less bad when markets are bad and a little more good when it's good--like it for that.

Opinion about ZLB-T: Portfolio of low-beta stocks. Consumer staples, some financials, utilities. MER is 39 bps, not exactly cheap but not overly expensive. For the investor looking for dividends plus a low ride in the equity market. Consumer staples and utilities in Canada aren't cheap right now, as people flock to safety. At some point, investors…

Opinion about IWM-N: Lagged last 2 years, now starting to see some improvement. Positives include Trump being domestic-focused, and tariffs helping the small caps. Earnings growth hasn't been strong in small caps, but could do quite well in a risk-on environment.

Opinion about TD-T: Although it is a great operation, wait for a pullback. There is a potential slowdown and job losses. Also we're getting to the season where banks typically don't do well and many mortgages will be maturing.

Opinion about BNS-T: Trevor Rose’s Insights - Trevor’s most-liked answers from 5i Research EPS of $1.52 missed estimates of $1.56; revenue of $9.08B was marginally better than estimates. Scotiabank's transition is advancing, driving overall adjusted operating leverage and international segment efficiency improvement, aided by progress toward C$800 million in cost savings this year and primacy…

Opinion about MFC-T: Doesn't believe Asian exposure is affected by US-China issues. Would only be affected secondarily if economy started to slow and people had less money in general. Nice recent beat. Still has momentum in Asia. Wealth management earnings were up 8%, even after the $43M charge on California wildfires. At 9.7x PE for 2026,…

Opinion about FIH.U-T: Don't buy. Doesn't like insurance. 

Opinion about SIM-X: Once owned this. But this will be stuck in a highly competitive space.

Opinion about HSM-T: He has been investing in this for almost three years now. They received Health Canada approval for a new brain stimulation medical device last fall. They are awaiting FDA approval in the US. It magnifies the result of physio-therapy for the brain and the technology is safe. It is a billion dollar…

Opinion about BDX-N: They just reported a disappointing quarter, plunging shares 18%. Many are giving up on it, but it's a buying opportunity. For decades, this was a reliable growth stock, but in the past 5 years have been sideways. They reported beats and raises last year. They sold their life sciences division to unlock…

Opinion about DHR-N: Since Covid hit, everything's slowed down. More pressure from the government. Long-term view is that its equipment will still need to be used to develop new drugs. Products needed by universities, governments, hospitals, biotech. Just have to wait for demand to pick up. Lots of opportunity for sales growth, just not at…

Opinion about GCL-T: They own a series of food distribution businesses. It appears they are not making any money from them. It appears to be a scale problem.

Opinion about TJX-N: Loves it. Will do well in a recession. Consumers are loyal.

Opinion about BTO-T: Longtime shareholder and friend of founder/CEO. Behind schedule and over budget on mine in northern Canada. Very remote location, logistically challenged. If that can get resolved, expects stock to be much higher. Stock's extremely cheap from a sum-of-the-parts point of view, but there is completion risk (which, ironically, you can't quantify until…

Opinion about EMN-N: (A Top Pick Jan 24/23, Down 10%) Cyclical business that hasn't performed well.Seasonality affecting share price (May-October).Expecting better performance of shares.Sign that economy is soft.

Opinion about NTR-T: Within the chemicals space, the fertilizer stocks are much more interesting and have a better technical setup. Recently bought this name. Commodity-oriented space is continuing to firm up. Very long-term base going back to 2016 is being tested, with higher lows.

Opinion about MTA-X: To manage risk, he sets up his portfolios starting with the biggest, which is FNV. More diversified than OR. He also owns OSK proper.

Opinion about CHR-T: Owns shares in company. Has done well the past year. Expecting further upside going forward. Dividend is expected sometime soon. Subcontracting business from Air Canada very good for reliable revenues. Price multiple not as high as it should be. 

Opinion about TLPFY-OTC: (A Top Pick Jun 20/23, Down 12%) As a call centre it is an outsourcer of IT services. It has been coming back from October onwards. Regarding AI concerns it has the balance sheet and income to train machine algorithms.

Opinion about NVEE-Q: Trevor Rose’s Insights - Trevor’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. The quarter was a big miss; EPS $1.21 down from $1.61 the prior year and estimates of $1.54. Revenue $189.8M was higher than the prior year $188.6M but missed estimates of $203.4M. For 2023, guidance was $5.28 to $5.64 per share (est $5.44), Revenue…

Opinion about LXE-X: They're in northeast BC where Tourmaline is consolidating land and assets, near LXE. So, LXE will become topical. LXE has reached an inflection point after acquiring a lot of land and pushed the Montney play to the northeast. Now, they need a lot of capital to move to full development. They're talking…

Opinion about TRP-T: Defensive assets are garnering less and less of a bid as people become more comfortable with economic risk. Used this name as a source of cash to add more beta to portfolios. Great company, but relative price performance has started to back off for the pipelines group. Pipelines carry a lot of…

Opinion about VET-T: If you own, sell it and buy names like WCP, which pays a higher dividend.  VET's bases are scattered around the world. VET poorly executes.

Opinion about RCI.B-T: (A Top Pick May 09/24, Down 27%) He still likes it and would buy more. High immigration is a tailwind since there are more customers for telecom. Cost cutting is going on and new technology is being implemented. There is lots of free cash flow and along with lower interest rates this…

Opinion about NPI-T: Power generator with consistent and concrete growth. Currently building 3 projects, on time and on budget, should come online in 2027.

Opinion about EMA-T: (A Top Pick Feb 05/24, Up 34%) Largest distribution utility is in Florida, where population growth has soared since pandemic. Regulator in Florida is easy to deal with. Diversified. Benefits from a risk-off mentality in the market.

Opinion about FTS-T: Great company. Has raised dividend forever, but dividend growth is slow at only 3-4% a year. Fine for the dividend. But for dividend and growth he'd lean toward a large-cap resource producer generating tons of cash, which would give much better inflation protection. Or go with a bank (such as JPM or…