25 Stock Top Picks and 4 ETF (Jan 4-10)

He thinks AMD has the potential to go to $70. It could reach 25% market share making the stock appear very cheap. He very much likes it.

(A Top Pick Jul 02/19, Up 10%) He continues to own this. It is really a toll booth -- they don't take on any credit risks, just the banks do. They have good organic growth and high teens earnings growth plus good cash flow. They use M&A and fintech to grow the business. The world…

She has owned this for quite a while. At this price level it is a buy. Their business is split between outsourcing and consulting. This includes high recurring revenues. The lock down and pandemic has slowed some of their business. However, she thinks companies will realize the value of the services in security and outsourcing…

It is certainly a high risk/reward play. One thing it has going for it is a very favourable hedge going for it. The question is only going into next year, what will prices look like. They have net debt over $2 Billion. The dividend has been reduced to a level where it is hopefully sustainable.…

(A Top Pick Jan 08/19, Up 13%) We are starting to see a bit of a recovery in the oil price and in the demand. This is an interesting company to watch.

It is regarded as lower risk, despite a slightly higher geopolitical risk. They are sitting on $300 million in cash. They are looking for an acquisition outside of their core, so he is a little uneasy on where they are going. There are better names to own first.

The stock is down 70% this year on fear of their bank line, which is now fully drawn. They have applied for government loans -- one of the first in the patch to do so. At $40 oil they generate free cash flow. When the market is ready for a corporate sale, you could see…

Line 5 issues? They have been in the news a lot lately. An anchor became dislodged on their Eastern portion, but a judge forced an injunction to shut down the western section as well. On Canada Day, the western portion was allowed to reopen. Line 5 is only 2.5% of the companies EBITDA, so it…

ETF recommendation? There are a number of them out there. The ones he uses add diversification and are used primarily as a short term trading vehicle for him. He mostly uses SOXX, IGV and FDN.

Brazil is the one country with a growing PMI. This economy could do very well.

He is not a big fan of ETFs. MPL ETFs get around foreign tax with-holdings. You are investing in an environment of weak energy prices. If you have some riskier money you might look at this one. He would not tend to buy it for his clients. He thinks it will have some resistance here…

The healthcare sector has outperformed the S&P since February. There is a lot of money going into this sector. It tends to do well this time of year also. We also have to be more cautious in election years but it will be harder for this sector to be kicked back and forth like a…

He would stay away. It did not work out for him in 2017. 2018 was a great year for movies but the stock continued to go down. The sentiment was really weak and today they are in a more difficult situation. They still have to service their debt with all their theatres shut down.

(A Top Pick Jul 02/19, Down 22%) He still owns this. A lot of their revenue comes from parks, although they are slowly reopening. On the media side, there has been a delay in new movie releases. Their streaming business has beaten all expectations. A tough story for this year, better next year. They cut…

Luxury hotels. The stock has flatlined due to worries over the coronavirus. They are selling their hotels for management contracts. They are using the cash to buy back stocks. He sees it trading over $100. A well-run business with the family having a lot of stocks. (Analysts’ price target is $86.13)

He kept this one. He felt it fell too much. They will come out of this better and bigger. It is a pretty good sport for social distancing. Long term there is nothing better than this business.

(A Top Pick Feb 26/19, Up 53%) One of his favourite stocks. Most of the stock movement has happened in the last 3 months after they released their report. It's been mostly multiple expansion; you haven't seen earnings move up. 12 months ago it was a cheap stock, and is now appropriately priced. They can…

A rise in home spending to come HD has run back up, because people have discretionary income they're not spending on restaurants and clothes, because they're stuck at home. He's owned this before. 1980-2007, HD was expanding locations, but since 2009 they have added few. Instead, they are selling higher-margin profits to boost revenues, but…

The cruiselines have really roared back. RCL is the biggest and has the best balance sheet among the big three cruiselines. Down the road, we'll be back on cruises and revenues will return. He likes this business and it will survive. But don't buy 30% of travel, but rather 5-15%. RCL is a quality name…

(A Top Pick Jun 18/19, Down 22%) Still well positioned for medium-term growth, although they took a hit in Q1 earnings. It is very cheap on 2021 growth forecasts. One of the first banks he would allocate capital to. A long term quality stock. Stick with it.

7.2% yield? He is not sure there is ever a period that Canadian banks are not a good investment over a 10 year period. The dividends have never been cut by the big chartered banks. You could buy on weakness and the dividends will be quite safe. NOTE: He works for Scotiabank, but the comments…

A quality company that he holds. They buy distressed debt and are a private asset and infrastructure manager. They do not mark to market their assets as much as common stock companies so it reduces their volatility somewhat. The dividend is growing, although it is a little low.

He has been watching the banks. He has a small holding in the banks. He thinks they have a bit of acceleration in them ahead. Helping out people in a negative situation really hurts the banks. If we saw an uptick in interest rates this would be good for the banks. The entire sector is…

The dividend jumps out, currently 7%, which is attractive, though keep in mind this is a US stock, so Canadians will be taxed on part of this. ATT will protect that dividend. ATT is known as a consistent cash generator. He's less thrilled with the business though--the competition from streamers from Netflix et al is…

(A Top Pick Jul 31/18, Up 10%) A core name, still likes it and they own it. Industrial gas company, everything from oxygen for hospital to hydrogen needed to refine oil. Made a major acquisition in the U.S in 2016, heavily weigthed to the U.S. Reports in Euros so it uses U.S dollar strength to…

(A Top Pick Jan 09/19, Down 69%) He exited. They were likely undercapitalized, so couldn't endure any hiccups, probably overoptimistic and did not issue the best guidance. There is new management. The asset remains good, though. Their project is in northern Ontario, probably run on a shoestring budget at first, then ran out of money.…

The company has some projects underway that will increase their cost profile going forward. They will be doubling their throughput. They are moving to also increase their production of copper.

She is putting new client money into this last week. A diversified health care company with four divisions. They have a pharma group that sells into emerging markets. They also have a medical device, diagnostics and a nutritional division. They have developed both screening and antibody tests for COVID-19. Even if a vaccine is found,…

It has really been bankrupt for year, if not for continual government bailouts. Get out of this position. Think of quality US names right now.