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: The question asked the guest to compare the two with a view to buying one of them. She prefers Royal Bank right now. It just delivered record results and is growing at 10% year over year. TD has gone through a rough patch and is re-structuring which is eating into profits. She…

Opinion about BNS-T: Least reliable among its peers. Struggling with business model. Architect of its woes was previous management. Now a show-me story. Dividend growth and total return don't match banks he already owns.

Opinion about MFC-T: Stock's been flat and stuck at these levels for the last little while. There may have been a downgrade yesterday. Thinks it's undervalued. Great dividend yield, dividend should remain steady and increase. Steady growth company; sees ~8% going into the next few years. Price-to-book is 1.6x, fairly cheap relative to some peers.Wait…

Opinion about FIH.U-T: One of his highest-conviction investment ideas. Trades at a discount to NAV. A stock to buy for the next decade. India is the largest democracy on the planet, very young demographic, fast-growing economy. Lots of pro-growth and pro-business reforms happening. Portfolio of $3.5B worth of different investments, both public and private. Crown jewel…

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: Waters Corp is buying part of their diagnostics business. Waters wants to be vertically integrated to compete with TMO and Danaher. Most of BDX's business lies with hospitals, which gives him pause because of the macro headwinds. He hasn't owned this in a few years. Let's get through the Waters deal, then…

Opinion about DHR-N: Loves it. Within tools diagnostics, they boast high growth among its peers. They make the equipment that produces biological drugs. Are exposed to the R&D space, which is seeing less funding due to Washington. The stock took a hit after the Waters-Becton deal, fearing more competition. 80% of revenue is recurring. Medium/long-term…

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: Off-price retail is in the sweet spot now, and TJX is the best at it. They reported beats and raised full-year outlook. They can avoid tariffs. Are seeing margin expansion.

Opinion about BTO-T: Gold should at least maintain these levels due to central bank buying. Underappreciated by the market, as everyone was worried about geopolitical risk. Growth is coming on in less risky areas, including in Canada. Discount to NAV. Good operators. Yield is 2.28%. (Analysts’ price target is $6.61)

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: Lots of geopolitical things happening. When stock shot up from Russian invasion, sold some but still retains a 1/2-2/3 position. Likes it long term. BHP is bringing on Jansen, but it's behind (and second phase may be mothballed). Good diversifier. Nice yield.For new clients, buying a half position. Ideally, want to buy…

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: He owned it for a while. Had a big run-up last year but thinks it is pretty much done now with a lot of insider selling. Tends to have big swings.

Opinion about VET-T: It is trading where it should. There are headwinds with European gas prices. It has struggled quite a lot but the last quarter was reasonable. You should probably sell it for something with more growth.

Opinion about RCI.B-T: Has had a strong move after languishing along with other telcos. Telcos are boring and defensive, lower beta. So they'll weather the upcoming corrective storm of 1-3 months. 

Opinion about NPI-T: Lack of wind does seem to be an ongoing issue. Bigger picture attracts him. Finished Oneida battery storage project in Ontario ahead of time and under budget (they are really good builders of projects). Two other projects ongoing -- Taiwan is on time and on budget, Poland is also seeing turbines installed.…

Opinion about EMA-T: Likes the regulated utilities. 

Opinion about FTS-T: Likes the regulated utilities.