Senior Vice President & Portfolio Manager at Donville Kent Asset Management
Member since: Jan '25 · 30 Opinions
Canadian stocks are trading at a major discount to American ones, according to PE. A lot of Canadian businesses mostly operate in the US, listed or headquartered here, but earn most of their revenue in the US. Potential US tariff impact on Canadian stocks is a case-by-case basis. He looks for in Canadian stocks those in the knowledge industries. Canada has a fine educational system and we have technology hubs, such as Kitchener-Waterloo. We have a lot of innovation and high-end knowledge in Canada that gets us away from tariffs and inflation. He owns larger- and smaller-cap names, including new disruptors. We're in the early innings of small caps.
He was in on the IPO a few years ago. Wood-burning stoves is a large business for them, plus agriculture and some industrial. They acquire and integrate small businesses in order to lead the market. It pays a high dividend. During Covid, business in some parts spiked, but after Covid, their YOY comparables looked like an overall fall-off. The stock hasn't done well since. He sold most of his shares before that downturn. The CEO plans to aggressively buy more companies, but it hasn't happened yet. The dividend is safe, but look elsewhere.
A large position for him. They bring tech to the healthcare industry, like software. They had a previous business that they grew, then sold to private equity and finished their non-competes, and now they're doing that again with a new product that is starting to produce cash. Margins have risen to 24%, and they target 40%. It's becoming a cash engine that they're using to reinvest in products. They have a ton of cash as they grow 10-15% organically.
They bring validation software to biopharma, and they do it well. The chart is strong. He's been adding shares. Before, they were losing as they invested in R&D, but now they're becoming profitable. He expects margins to expand quickly in coming years. When they win a client, it takes time to roll out that client. Growth is safe.
The chart shows a massive spike up, massive drop, and now recovery in the past year. They likely paid too much for a company in 2022 and were trading at a high PE. He had added shares in 2023-4 after a new CEO started bundling products, focus on margins and integrated companies. Has been doing a good job. He expects them to return to growth this year at 10% organically and 18% EBITDA margins. Looks cheap, half the PE of peers.