Barrick Gold, Canadian Utilities and More at 52-week Highs and Lows (Feb 19-25)

(A Top Pick Oct 18/19, Up 4%) Investors are appreciating the steady cash flow. Some day they will be an acquisition target. They have a great niche in the market. They have the ability to grow, although it is not a giant market.

(A Top Pick Nov 14/19, Up 4%) This does well during volatility. He owns a lot of it. This needs to hold above $60 or else it falls into the low-$50s. Trades at light volumes, so can be volatile.

He owns this one and likes the management team. There seems to be a consistent buyer of this stock. They have high margins. It is not cheap at these levels. There are not too many ways to play technology from a real estate perspective. They have a strong position on pricing data in the real…

ENGH is a very well-run company. They have more organic growth than Constellation Softwares.

Is among good Canadian tech stocks or else buy XIT ETF. KXS has been volatile, but lately has been improving. Its November move upwards was good. Stick with it, if you already own.

The Uber of real estate transactions. They connect lenders, lawyers and realtors together. The more value you can bring to these groups the more they can charge. Lots of runway for revenues going forward. Yield 0% (Analysts’ price target is $16.00)

He's long owned them. Their business of taking care of all the shipping paperwork (logistics) for a business is spot on. Their long-term return has been fantastic and they have a long way to go still. They benefit from the chaos in trading now (i.e. Trump's tariffs).

Owns 42% of Canadian Utilities. A safe place with good dividends. He bought it at $43 a month ago. A good track record for raising the dividend. Not a well known player in the space, but a safe way to get back into energy. Yield 3.39% (Analysts’ price target is $51.83)

He likes it. They had a fantastic year. They announced the succession plan for the CEO. The stock price has run up. He does not see so much upside over the near term. Going forward he thinks there is not so much in catalysts but over the long term it will have tremendous rate-based growth.

He's owned this for 10 years, on and off. BLX is a big beneficiary in ESG as investors divest in oil and buy renewables. BLX is big in wind and hydro power. They have a yield of 2.09% with a lot of capital reinvested to grow the company. (Analysts’ price target is $27.94)

CU recently sold off a lot of its electricity-generating assets, so still good? He'd rather shift to an Enbridge or Altagas. Electricity generation is low-growth and heavily regulated. Long-term utility rates won't move much and inflation will kick back in.

He buys utilities to generate income. Yes, they are boring, but this sector has had an incredible run in the last 12 months. This is overbought now and would take profits. Also, the yield has dropped to 3.3%, which is a negative.

(A Top Pick Oct 24/19, Up 19%) This is a renewable power company. Since October they had a good Q3 print. They reaffirmed guidance. They are buying back shares.

(A Top Pick Aug 26/19, Down 13%) Green power generator. A great story. Added power projects last year. Stock is dirt cheap. Wildly undervalued, lots of upside. Yield is over 6%.

(A Top Pick Mar 13/19, Up 24%) Great company, core holding. Continues to do well. Yield of 3% plus, growing at 5-6% a year. Hold forever. Valuations are high, so probably won't be acquiring anything soon.

Renewables are the future so he likes it from that perspective.

70% of their cash flow is from take or pay contracts. It does not matter what the economy is doing. A great defensive quality. Yield 3.71% (Analysts’ price target is $72.06)

He likes to buy stocks that are in an uptrend and a good valuation. CPX is a stable business, but at 10 times EBITDA and 22 times earnings it is too expensive. The payout ratio and yield are pretty reasonable, but it carries a fairly high level of debt. Yield 6.22%

It is a great company. They are better positioned now. It is about a 5% yield increasing at high single digits. It is an asset drop down model and he prefers companies that develop assets from the ground up.

Has a $12 price target. Brookfield owns a portion and will buy more. Its ESG score has risen. It's a turnaround story and underowned. Good for renewable exposure. (Analysts’ price target is $10.97)

He is a big fan of this company and likes their management team. Their own risk management tolerance is low. A lot of buildings in Toronto and Vancouver, but they also hold office space in tight markets. They find older buildings and turn into nice new spaces. The balance sheet is healthy.

Great management team in Alberta, who owns 25% of the shares. Their last earnings reported a 10% increase in profitability as they have reduced costs internally. The exposure in Calgary and Edmonton has stabilized. Their cost per door is almost half of its peer group. Yield 2.09% (Analysts’ price target is $52.10)

A large company in commercial real estate. Barely pays a dividend, but offers an 11% free cash flow yield that's and growing 91% YOY. It trades at 8x trailing cash flow and boasts a big 25% return on capital in Q4. Earnings to grow 11% in 2020. (Analysts’ price target is $107.83)

CRT.UN vs. CHP.UN Choice Properties is the largest Canadian REIT. Strong management. Good pipeline, so no shortage of growth. Working to reduce leverage. Nothing wrong with it. Great company. Fairly valued, so better opportunities elsewhere. She prefers Canadian Tire, mainly on the valuation. More short-term upside.

Dream Office vs. Dream Industrial Never a fan of Dream Office, which had a lot of Alberta exposure. He prefers the industrial side, which has performed better and faces little competition; there are only 3-4 industrial REITs in Canada. Hold both, don't buy or sell.

Dividend 15 Split Corp. (DFN-T) or Dividend 15 Split Corp. II (DF-T)? Both are Split shares. The preferred share is the low risk preferred share dividend. He wouldn’t buy both, because you are looking for either growth or income. He would use one or the other and build that in your portfolio.

It is a split share financial corp. It has a big distribution. There was volatility in three periods from 2011. You have to be mindful of the volatility. There is some leverage involved and downside risk in times of market volatility. He would avoid this at the moment.

Doesn't like these split-stocks. Why are these ETFs paying a higher yield than the stocks they hold? That's a red flag. One reason is leverage. Sure, you get a nice return, but no price movement. These are very complicated. Doesn't like them.

The management team has done a fantastic job over time. People were concerned how long they could pay out their dividend and people worried about how diversified their royalty streams were. Now they invested in Oxford Learning for diversification. Their dividend payout is now below 100%. (Analysts’ price target is $4.29)

It's a preferred share ETF. It provides income. It's a hybrid between a stock and a bond. This gives you a good position in a Canadian taxable account.

Has done very well. Quality asset. Urban development mostly in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, with a bit in Alberta. Still has a relationship with Mutual Group, and so has access to more quality assets. Great REIT. Crushed Q2 earnings. Underpromise and overdeliver.

Apartments in Ontario and the US sunbelt. MRT is pretty illiquid, but has performed very well. She'd rather play Ontario and the sunbelt separately (i.e. Minto REIT for Ontario). They have a decent balance sheet so they can continue to pay debt and grow by acquiring. No headwinds here. Expect higher dividends.

Rental apartments are a great space, but NVU suffers from poor governance and low-quality real estate. There are way better names elsewhere--like CAP REIT or Killam.

Fine managers (who is also a major shareholder), but PLZ is in a challenge sector. Solid dividend, though, and reasonably valued. He likes it.

RY vs TD vs SLF? He owns both of the banks and he prefers this space over the insurance sector. RY has a stronger approach on the wealth management side, whereas TD focuses on retail customers and has a larger presence in the US. Right now he would favour TD. Canadian banks of been held…

(A Top Pick Feb 12/19, Up 32%) Scotiabank just announced a $13.75 target. Managers own about 10% of shares. There's good industrial rent growth in Toronto and Montreal. Vacancy rates are rock-bottom low.

Bond-like, they're very good at mezzanine and commercial lending. They distribute what they get and are conservatively balanced (balance sheet). They know their markets. It's like a mortgage-lending situation. They earn 7% rates of return, no more or less. A very stable investment, acting like a bond proxy. (Analysts’ price target is $9.96)

A hold. A tiny REIT with a yield that is too high to sustain. They did a portfolio acquisition of retail mall space in Quebec -- the wrong asset at the wrong time.

If you've held it for the last couple of years, maybe it's not a bad time to take some profits. For him, cashflow is what is important for him. It is one of the core holdings for his portfolio at 5%. Infrastructure and REITs are well-hedged for any interest rate disruptions.

They have been doing quite well with a nice yield. It's not too expensive. It could raise its payout quite a bit, and they are largely in Quebec. The province looks in good shape with a clean balance sheet.

He does not like this kind of company. Their 19.9% interest rates are wrong and repugnant. Their recent quarterly results are strong and it is a sign of consumer debt being high. They have a huge debt load. He would like to see the regulators cause them to lower rates. He would not buy this.

Likes it a lot and recommended it a few weeks ago as yields have been bottoming and flattening out. Yields will rise long-term, he predict, which will benefit lifecos like this. GWO broke its downtrend at end-2018, rose, hit a second bottom (a double-bottom) and is now accelerating higher.

The multi-dwelling residential REIT space has been shooting up in markets like Halifax, Quebec and Toronto. KMP is making new developments. He likes this, but it's too expensive. Tailwinds (geographies) are working for KMP.

Debt? The did a secondary issue, which was to go towards debt reduction. This has reduced debt to 55%. They focus on medical facilities and parking and it is very stable. They have expanded into Germany. The structure is clean and easy to understand. He does not own it at this valuation. He wants to…

(A Top Pick Mar 29/19, Up 1%) News of their CEO leaving has hurt the stock recently. It does not expect any skeletons are in the closet. This aggregator of funeral homes and cemeteries will see slow and steady growth with a decent dividend.

You could sit and wait to do the share swop from Power Financial into Power Corp. The two companies have been performing the same. The WestJet acquisition fits into their other subsidiaries. WestJet will be a private company and it won't be posting numbers going forwards.

Doesn't like the merger with POW. Sell PWF and buy Aecon? Don't because Aecon has its own issues, and the merger makes sense. PWF/POW was an old-1980s structure and needed to consolidate to raise the overall value. Problem is, there's is little growth in the company's existing businesses. Mutual funds are getting crushed by ETFs,…

A hot business in the US and Canada for fulfillment centres. Good partners. Stick with it. Smaller and cheaper than comparable US companies.

He likes this higher yielding royalty trust. They have made new investments that are improving the payout ratio. The valuation is good value. It is like a private equity company that collects royalties. There is some concentration risk, so it is not risk free. Yield 8% (Analysts’ price target is $23.26)

Car dealerships across Canada. It is a high yielding stock because they have longer leases with the dealerships. You have to think about the space (car industry) and credit. Two thirds of the company is leased to one auto group so there is a lot of credit risk. That company is a private company so…

(A Top Pick Nov 28/18, Up 16%) Genworth and Westinghouse have been great investments for them. They're great capital allocators. Still likes it at current prices.

(A Top Pick Oct 02/19, Up 32%) A Winnipeg success story in auto body shops. It branched out across Canada, then into the U.S., yet there's still room to grow.

This has done so well as the majority are rental properties mostly in Toronto, where the market is so tight. They have been able to increase rents. The valuation is high now, trading at 28 times free cash flow. They also have exposure in the Netherlands. The asset class is so desirable right now. Maybe…

Not on his target list. It trades at 14 times earnings -- pretty cheap. The balance sheet is a little more levered than he would like. Earnings growth is not great. If you think interest rates will not change and remain low, he would prefer others. A quality name though.

It's cheap and a pretty well run business, but the mutual fund business is not as good as it was 10-15 years ago. Fees in the financial services sector are under pressure. The long term challenges in the industry would keep him away from the stock.

As an Industrial property REIT, it is in a really good space. He tends to avoid companies with external management contracts. This may not make management be in alignment with shareholders -- "two for me; one for you". He has others he favours in the industrial space.

Blackstone took over Dream Global, and DRM got a large cheque out of it in their holdings and asset management contract. They've since done a large issuer bid that that the biggest shareholder, the CEO, tendered into below NAV. So, the NAV has grown. DRM will benefit from lower interest rates. (Analysts’ price target is…

Missed last quarter's earnings and down 15-20%. This quarter was great, and now it's making new highs. Great Canadian company, lots of free cash flow, asset light. Tuck in acquisitions and grow organically. Good growth coming along. They'll do well over the next little while.

They buy conventional e-commerce centres in Europe and the States. They carry only 25% debt-to-cap, which is low vs. peers. They find value in Europe and get great returns.

The family of companies are well run. There are headwinds investing in a mutual fund business. It rallied back recently and pays a decent dividend. The dividend is safe.

Loves this. They're in Ottawa, Montreal, and the GTA, benefiting from strong population growth. They buy undermanaged apartments, invest capital and fix them up. So, they can increase rents. They've done this for a long time. A darling that he's long owned. They're developing land with Brookfield around Burlington.

What's the breakout point and how do you know where and when it is? It's been range-bound for three years, bottoming about $9.50 and topping at $12. Now, we're at the top. Look for the chart to move higher (with good volume) to confirm this move up. This is significant, because four times before it…

Don't get scared of parabolic moves. The chart looks very good. It has shot up in the last 6 weeks. Its next move could be just under $6 pretty quickly. Relative strength vs. the S&P looks very good. However, expect volatility. Own a small holding.

It's illiquid. They've good managers, though, and the stock has moved up, maybe overextended. He likes the story, but it's too illiquid for him. Recent quarters have not been strong. This space had to become good operators when lumber prices went down, and is starting to find momentum with more housing starts.

(A Top Pick Oct 24/19, Up 21%) They are a mid-stream company that touches about 1 in 4 barrels in western Canada.

Very speculative. It's a long-term lithium play. We will still buy e-cars, even though today's data showed a one-month drop in sales. LAC is another way to green your portfolio, like NFI-T. E-cars will be normal in 20 years. (Analysts’ price target is $12.68)

When looking at numbers, it's historical. This company has been in turnaround since they had to sell part of their water business acquisition in the UK. The stock went up last quarter due to the turnover. They have 9% return on capital which is starting to show growth. Dividend growth is starting to come up…

The long term price chart is amazing. Management has been very disciplined. It comes down to how you feel about the economy as this is a cyclical company. His view is that fiscal stimulus will be forthcoming, so his view would be positive. A good name to hold over the long term.

Concept stock. Provides equipment for big energy users to be able to use the waste energy and cut energy costs. Somewhat risky. Opportunities are huge. Just signed a $20 million contract a month or two ago.

An interesting company that fits with the green theme. They are growing revenues sharply. They manufacture renewal gas equipment for sale to other companies. They are expecting 80% revenue growth this year, but that drops to 30% the following year. This makes the valuation difficult to access. He would be a hold for now.

They bought all the other publicly trading trucking companies. It is a low organic growth business but they did 80 acquisitions since 2008. It trades at a 40% discount to the large US trucking companies. (Analysts’ price target is $54.44)

(A Top Pick Apr 01/19, Up 19%) A commodity space but it is well managed. The management team has been there since 20 years. They have owned it since the acquisition of Progressive Waste Connections. They are great at acquisitions and they convert cashflow to free cashflows. It has had 17 years of positive shareholder…

Core holding. Trades at 18x earnings. 5-6% in both earnings and dividend growth. 30B worth of projects being built, and another 20B to come. Yield is 4.26%. (Analysts’ price target is $73.85)

He likes the price momentum and the fact they bought back a large number of shares. With strong employment and wage growth, they will do well in the consumer discretionary spending space. There are few competitors in the space. Yield 0.67% (Analysts’ price target is $63.04)

A hard one to call. Based on valuation it is at nose bleed levels; however, they are still growing the business and are one of the biggest employers of tech in Canada. It is hard to see a huge plunge for them. They should be able to continue the momentum.

It pulled back. Now we are seeing a re-acceleration in their earnings, and multiple growth. (Analysts’ price target is $100.29)

This was a great performer in 2017-18, but with housing starts--and the economy--slowing in the U.S., it's under pressure. Tariffs to lumber didn't help. The yield pays over 5%, but in this late part of the cycle, OCB is likley not covering the dividend every quarter. They should trim the dividend. He prefers WEF for…

The company uses cement and air to create an insulator used under roadway. Instead of using piles, you can put down a base much quicker. The company expects sales to grow by 50% and there is a sales backlog of $40 million. Overall, the company should almost be recession resistant as their product is used…

Gold Gold has had a nice run, but is now toppy. It tends to meet resistance at the current level. If it does rise further, it won't go far. Take profits or sell outright.

Gold Gold is a natural hedge to bad news. It's possible for gold to make new highs. He owns FNV-T, but they are a royalty firm, not a producer. His clients own 3-5% actual gold in their portfolios which is a reasonable hedge. Higher than that, he does not advise.

He believes it is fully price, but going higher. The recent acquisition is the first part of an amalgamation strategy. He has confidence it will be successful.

$45 million market cap. It has a gold project in western Quebec and hitting some high-grade at less than a meter, 600+grams/tonne. Their issue is continuity: will this grade continue? Now, it is an interesting play. Brent Cook: It's a narrow, high-grade vein but could be diluted which is a concern.

The performance of the stock amazes him. They have a big discovery project right now. The numbers from their drilling program is good. There is geopolitical risk since it is in Papua New Guinea. The stock is doing well and he is unsure if he wants to chase it. (Analysts’ price target is $5.00)

He's bullish gold which had a massive breakout in the summer. Gold based from 2013-early-2019. Gold has risen to $1,500 and has held that level. He targets $1,700. Dec. 5-Feb.26 is seasonality. TGZ is going higher. It would help gold if the US dollar rolled over.

If you buy just YRI you have jurisidictional risk (i.e. a country can change the royalty suddenly). Also YRI has had a pretty good move. Buy GDX instead, an ETF.

Fiji is an interesting place. They have raised $85 Million last year when it was tough. If they get this thing going it will build up confidence. They are putting a relatively small scale gold mine into production while doing exploration. They should eventually get bought out.

Hard to recommend this stock. Metals are like the oils now. Hold if you own it, but he wouldn’t put new money in.

A graphite deposit in Northern Ontario. Preliminary Economic Assessment has been overdue but came out today and, if good, it would lead to a bankable feasibility study. They should start presenting now and telling people what is going to happen, as it looks like now there may be some good value there.

Discovery in Ecuador. If anyone can put things together in Latin America, it's them. Massively high grade mine. Really good long-term hold.

He likes their story and has been difficult to but as he is waiting for an equity issue, but it never comes. He does not think they will raise money until they need it. The stock has had nice move and the liquidity is a challenge. Their are tailwinds behind it.

A hold at current prices. Purchase of Washington Electric is working out pretty well. A more defensive company now. There are better names out there. He owns ENB and TRP. (Analysts’ price target is $23.14)

He saw the bubble coming in cannabis. Take a look at the financial balance sheets and see how much money they owe. He owns one company in the space that also owns liquor stores. You will see more companies go under in this space. He only buys companies that have been around for 10 years.

He has been looking at this as it has become more attractive now. A mid-tier producer that has stagnated when a partnership did not materialize. They are involved in the specialty pharmacy business which could grow into the mainstream in the future. They could be bought out in the future.

They have a number of CBD products for controlling epileptic seizures. This is one of the leaders in the field. This is one way to be in the sector. He has a lot of respect for the management team.

Technicals would have been helpful for the cannabis space in general. The low near $1.09 is key support, if it breaks below this watch out.

This company has a lot of scientific research to support the health care aspects of cannabis. They also have extensive experience in low cost farming economics as part of their partnership with Village Farms (VFF-T).

Likes it, though it's been hit hard from weather, trade wars and now the coronavirus. A triple whammy. NTR generates a lot of free cash flow, though, at a 12x multiple and also pays a good dividend. They also buyback shares. The agricultural cycle is shorter than others. Buy this on a dip.

He likes the company still. Out of Latin America, they will probably take the lead. The sector is going through consolidation and it is a time to go shopping. He would look more at Charlotte's Web who has solid earnings. However, below $1.00 there is still value for it. Latin America doesn't have the same…

Shale gas in the US. A spin out from Bankers Petroleum (BNK-T). There is a lot of potential excitement but it just doesn't have the same management quality team. Just too risky in the market at this point.

Very volatile because it has fresh production in their numbers. Likes their exploration focus. They have the expertise. Good one to own but it is lumpy. It’s a move on news stock. Actively drilling now so there should be news every 6 weeks. Last on the 16’th.

A challenged energy company. Really cheap on a price to book basis. The problem is that most energy companies have no positive price momentum and earnings are not yet growing. Cash flow is beginning to improve, but it is too early to get back into yet.

Some of the people behind Gold Standard Ventures, are behind this one as well. If you follow success in this industry, you will do relatively well. They raised a lot of money for Gold Standard Ventures and it has done well. It is probably in the 8th-9th inning before it gets bought out. This one…

They sell energy contracts. They have under gone several management changes over the years. He is not a great fan of this business model.

(A Top Pick Oct 4/06. Down 26%.) Surinam. Very good geology. Initial results had half the holes with hits. Mineralization lower than expected with their focus of higher grade on the lower great deposit. The bigger story will be the lower grade bulk tonn

Their project near the coast of Nunavut has run into issues with the metallurgy. The process they've used hasn't worked. Until they turn this around, the deposit is in trouble.

Good company. In some interesting spaces in terms of hormonal stuff. They are on the search for a Viagra for women. The numbers into 2016 are looking pretty good. He wants to see one or 2 more quarters, but if they keep doing things the way they are, it is a name he would be…

Cannabis Nutritional supplements. If they get it right there is huge potential. In the medical uses, there is a lot of long term potential. He has no idea who will be the eventual winners in this space. He thinks there is a bit of frenzy in this space. Buy on rumor and sell on news.

In the military services type industry. He used to own this. They just signed a contract and the stock price jumped. If that contract pans out, then the stock is going higher for sure. You want to make sure that it is real. Sometimes companies announce agreements and they are not as great as they…