Fortis Inc., Power Corp and More at 52-week Highs (Apr 07-13)

Is there any growth in the investment business? AGF's balance sheet is too big for what they earn. Potential write-offs must happen to bring that down. Asset management businesses are being killed. $10.84 is his target price--lots of upside and they can cover their dividend.

Killam vs. Crombie REITs Killam holds apartments, an asset class he really likes among REITs. Rent-collection rates are really high for Killam, so no worries about that. All these REITs trade at a 10-15% discount to NAV. Funding costs will drop 1%, because they get funding from CMHC. A hiccup comes from mobile homes which…

Ultimately, when yields rise, income goes up. How much will yields go up? The global economy cannot handle higher interest rates. Insurance companies are doing better, but he does not expect it to last beyond the next 6 months.

Likes it. They operate in cities, multifamily units in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. The REIT is no longer a bargain, but he expects immigration and students returning to school later this year to raise demand, so there's upside to this REIT. You can buy this now.

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. Earnings rose 120% at $0.35 per share. It beat estimates by 8 cents. Revenue also rose 35%, beating estimates of 7%. A record quarter for them. Acquisitions are being well integrated. The stock has done well and good growth is expected for the next two…

They own the dealership buildings and property and lease them. Attractive proposition. Yield is about 8%.

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. In the current environment, industrial or residential REITs are preferable. It is fairly cheap and the distribution is safe. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free

Pays an 11% dividend yield. How are they paying that? They probably hold a lot of Canadian infrastructure but those stocks pay only 3-4%. The US component is also dragging down that yield. There's a mismatch here in holdings vs. the 11% yield. The total return will probably be 5-7%, but the high yield will…

This stock can respond well to small improvements. This has turnaround potential. The low multiple can expand and earnings can grow. Long-term, it's a play on urbanization. They can build subway stations, and then land contracts to build condos and malls which always spring up around stations. (Analysts’ price target is $7.25)

Very well run. Fundamentals in the P&C insurance industry are very positive. It's a "hard market", so they're enjoying significant price increases and more volume across different lines of business. Currently making a pretty significant acquisition.

Very focused. Have positions in 4 life insurers and they are running a covered call program against the existing long positions. Going to have volatility given its exposure.

This is going to be the high-tech story in Canada. They developed a platform for real estate agents and have over 300,000 users now. The only problem with it was that it was not trading in the US, but it has now started trading there. Now a global operation. It’s illiquid.

The banks are all benefitting from market sensitive fees like investment banking and yield curve. They are trading at 10.3x 2022. A good risk-reward play. Balance sheet looks good. They will buy back their shares or increase their dividends in the coming months. (Analysts’ price target is $118.89)

Income stock. Hit hard by Covid. Vaccines should help occupancy rates rebound. Need has not disappeared. Stock price has rebounded, but still room to move. Less supply moving in, from Covid overhang, will also be positive for occupancy.

You're looking at 2.5% to 3% yield. Some of the best value is in small cap dividend payers.

They operate multi-family apartments in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and more so in Vancouver. They've been hurt by lack of foreign students, though, but resists lowering rents (which would be locked in) and is instead letting vacancy drop, a strategy he likes. IIP will benefit for the rebound when foreign students return. The next few quarters…

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. It has gone through a corporate reorganization. The new focus on US single family houses has not shown results yet but its assets are solid and increasing in value. The stock is cheap at 12x earnings with shareholder support. Good growth potential. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free

Looking at US banks, their read through is very good. Loan loss reversals, investment banking is doing well. TD will benefit from this as well. All Canadian banks look good here. It is trading at a premium right now. Likes BMO more.

They have too much debt for their business model. Before at least they were more diversified but getting rid of their metro car division makes it operate in a narrow space. It is a risky bet. The C-Series put them in a massive hold.

(A Top Pick Apr 09/20, Up 26%) It is not as racy as a SHOP-T. It is a large outsourcing firm. They have a great client base and are a great consolidator. They are always undervalued, caused by the organic growth being mid-single digits. The total growth is good. He is comfortable buying it here.

There was lots of volatility with issued shares, but the management team is great. There is inflation protection and growing cashflow. They are having issues with commercial real-estate but the infrastructure fund has no exposure to it. It has a nice growing dividend.

The utilities have come off recently on the prospects of higher interest rates. They keep growing their dividend, now over 4%. Power demanding will grow in the next five years, and utilities will benefit. They are paid on a regulated basis at set rates. Utilities look very good and are set up to ride this…

It is on his watch list. It has been there for a number of years. It has not done very much but once in a while it perks his interest. He is going to do a review in the next couple of weeks and it may move it up then.

Being acquired at $7 but because of the lower stock price, market indicates the deal is not going to close. Doesn't see this as a good way of making a quick buck. You are trying to beat the pros at a game that they are very, very good at.

It seems the hole went right down the throat of what looked like a structural intersection. Also, it was reverse circulation, and the recovery wasn’t that good. An interesting deposit and in the part of Peru that is very dry, which is part of the issue of getting diamond drilling there.

Has had problems getting equipment and drillers along with weather issues. Optimistic that this is behind them. A lot of shorting, but wouldn't be too concerned.

Forestry space He owns no names. The stocks are okay but face trade disputes and an economic slowdown that will hit housing stocks. The stocks have been beaten up.

(A Top Pick May 08/18, Down 36%) They were doing things to turn things around. They made net income last year and then Trump tariffs killed them. But they said they are going to turn around the tariffs. He is going to look and see if it is time to buy back in.

Located in Venezuela, which is a problem. If they have a major discovery there is a chance they could be expropriated.

A recovery opening trade. They reported some hedging losses that initially caused a sell off. The next few quarters will be very, very strong. They are a low cost producer. The do not have a peak multiple so there is upside there. (Analysts’ price target is $28.50)

Allan Tong’s Discover Picks Dollarama sells cheap stuff and has enjoyed a near-monopoly on selling household goods during these lockdowns. No argument that DOL has done very well. It peaked December 9 at $54.58 November 1, just shy of its all-time high. DOL stock has since peeled back 10%. It continues to enjoy a strong…

It is the consumer spending money into the economy. This is a good stock to be in and even though they have a good backlog, you will find that investors will start to lose interest starting late April. Put a trailing stop on it later on in April.

Billy Kawasaki’s Insights - Billy’s most-liked answers from 5i Research. They beat EPS estimates by 4 cents, at 70 cents. EBITDA beat estimates by 20% at $83.6M. Same store sales rose. They continue to benefit from the pandemic and have controlled costs well. Unlock Premium - Try 5i Free

He got stopped out of this. It's well-run, but the casinos are closed so there's no revenue coming in. GC carries a reasonable amount of debt. Also, casinos have high operating expenses, even during this lockdown. He wants to see stability in their debt, though. In recessions, gambling performs well, though.

(A Top Pick Feb 07/20, Up 7%) The acquisition of Clearwater was well received by investors. It adds to their distribution of sandwich meats and prepackaged foods. Everybody is trying to eat more healthfully, which should be a tailwind. Still holds it and the outlook is reasonable.

He knows it very well, back to when they were private. They continue to build out. If they can allocate capital well, resulting in animated programs that are well-syndicated, then they should do well. If not, then this will be a lumpy stock. He needs to research them more.

Pays a 2.5% dividend, but generates a lot of cash flow at 17.1% cash flow yield. Earnings to grow 14% in 2022 or 11.7x PE. Analysts have bumped up earnings estimates by 2% in the past 90 days. An analyst today said this is trading at historic oversold levels in the past decade. (Analysts’ price…

Customized, prefabricated environmental office interior solutions. High net cash position. Significant upside because of their flexible business model. Surge in office reconfiguration taking place across North America. Top management. No dividend. (Analysts’ price target is $3.46)

MRU-T vs. EMP.A-T. Metro has been his favourite grocery stock for 15 years. Grocery are the stay-at-home stocks but as we exit the pandemic this is not where you want to be. Don’t buy until the rotation is completed.

A great one to buy at the height of Covid. This has come back with a vengeance. Amazing Q4 report and the housing market is on fire. Factors lined up for ZZZ. They've managed debt well. It's a one-product business, though, so keep that in mind and don't pay a big PE. Their growth will…

It's grown only by buying companies and carries a lot of debt. There's more pricing power now after consolidation in this space. But GFL trades at too high a multiple.

They made wood pellets which are used in biomass generation facilities. He has owned this, but it's volatile due to management and operational issues. Wood pellets are vulnerable to fire, which is what happened last year. Their backlog in Japan and Korea is robust is good, but he doesn't like their concentration risk in a…

Benefiting from shift in consumer spending to the home. Doorknobs, cabinet hardware. Undergoing a positive rerating by the market. Strong consumer tailwinds as people forced to stay home. Good business model. Lots of growth runway. Half of revenue growth comes from accretive acquisitions. Margins have upside. Yield is 0.73%. (Analysts’ price target is $35.00)

It has not done anything special except to be in the right place at the right time. There was a huge demand pick up for lumber. Lumber has a strong seasonal period. Lumber companies and home builders tend to under-perform starting now. Given the run in this one he would put a trailing stop on…

(A Top Pick Mar 27/19, Down 19%) They're part of a duopoly. It enjoys highly recurring revenues. SJ shouldn't be impacted by the virus, just in their lumber segment. Strong balance sheet. More acquisitions to come for them in the pole side. The stock hasn't been this cheap in a decade. Trades at 13x earnings…

TIH vs. CAT Instead of Caterpillar, he prefers Toromont, which has higher dividend growth and better price performance.

It's the biggest operating of self-storage in Canada, a business which was very resilient during Covid. Death, divorce and disasters drives this business, which we saw during Covid. They had 5% NOI growth in 2020 and 17% bottom line growth. A great story. If this were American, the stock would top $5. (Analysts’ price target…

CP rail still moves a fair bit of thermal coal, which is decreasing. CNR gets more of its revenue from metallurgical coal, which is increasing. Both provide only a small portion of revenues. They also move chemicals, lumber, autos. If you're betting on worldwide economic recovery for many years, as he is, you have to…

(A Top Pick Oct 28/19, Up 3%) MTL.DB-T Convertible Bonds Maturing 2026, 5.75%. He sold them out of his equity portfolio but still owns them in his bond portfolio. He is very familiar with the company and they have a very consistent track record. There is an imbedded call option in the share that triggers…

Debt levels are coming up. Still lots of runway. More of a sense of urgency about getting infrastructure projects done. Positive tailwind on infrastructure. You want to own consulting and engineers. Good upside on valuation multiple.

(A Top Pick Dec 20/18, Down 14%) He sold at just around $13. The largest auto parts distributor in Canada. The company fired their CEO and announced a strategic review and nothing has happened since. They have done nothing to reorganize. He would not touch it.

Forestry space He owns no names. The stocks are okay but face trade disputes and an economic slowdown that will hit housing stocks. The stocks have been beaten up.

CP rail still moves a fair bit of thermal coal, which is decreasing. CNR gets more of its revenue from metallurgical coal, which is increasing. Both provide only a small portion of revenues. They also move chemicals, lumber, autos. If you're betting on worldwide economic recovery for many years, as he is, you have to…

(A Top Pick Dec 13/19, Up 6%) A steady business. It's a volume business. It's ridden through Covid with confidence and is set up very well to supply steel to the US in the coming 6 months. There'll be a surge in steel demand.

(A Top Pick Dec 13/19, Up 10%) It hasn't stumbled during this pandemic. Incredibly consistent business, distributing propane across North America, such as Quebec. The stock had plunged from $12 to $6 during the pandemic, but they will get through this pandemic without lasting issues. (SPB was fine, but the market was irrational. SPB is…

A little more expensive than WFG and less ROE. Has had quite a good run but would stick to WFG or Interfor. Would sell this for other larger players.

(A Top Pick Apr 28/20, Up 16%) They own 80 LTCs in BC and Ontario. SIA got hit by negative headlines during Covid (seniors died) and higher vacancy rates. This is transitory. Long-term, the number of seniors will double in 15 years in Canada and vacancies should decline. SIA has a solid balance sheet and…

There's always something that stops him from entering the seniors space in REITs: labour, regulator issues, though again demographics are a positive. That isn't a good enough, though. How will governments with huge debts supplement the entire seniors home space? However, EXE is cheap. This space is too volatile.

Gas vs oil? As there is less oil production, associated natural gas production is falling. He owns BIR and was buying yesterday. AAV has performed well relative to other gas producers. He took profits on AAV recently and moved it into oil producers. BIR is trading at 2 times EV, but cuts its dividend by…

Pengrowth (PGF-T) and Perpetual (PMT-T)? Had some challenges with their balance sheet over the last couple of years with the collapse in oil prices. This one would be a little riskier. If you really see a big jump in commodity prices, this probably has a lot more upside than Pengrowth (PGF-T).

If central banks continue to print money, bodes well for hard assets. Gold is trending higher again, a hedge against inflation. Jury is still out, as we don't have runaway inflation. He isn't saying there will be, but there is a risk. Fed is willing to let inflation run hot. Don't have all your money…