PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick April 30/09. Up 67.01%.)
TOP PICK
Drilling services to oil/gas industry. Leader in ultra deep-water space. Likes demand/supply fundamentals. $31 billion backlog on a revenue base of $11 billion. Backlog gives very strong earnings visibility. Generating more free cash flow than it can use so recently announced a dividend policy giving a 3.5% yield that should be sustainable.
TOP PICK
Has the highest emerging market exposure of all consumer products companies. New management team to refocus on its core brand and management is now focusing on top line volume growth. Dividend yield of about 3.5%.
TOP PICK
40% of revenues are from North America. Have exposure to Asia and developing markets as well as exposure to the cyclical recovery in the developed markets. Looking for huge operating leverage when the top line picks up and looking for a big bump in earnings. 2.5% dividend yield.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick July 21/09. Up 31.3%.) Likes their positioning in PCs, printers and computer services. Recently acquired 3Com, which expands their position in the networking space. Still a Buy.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick July 21/09. Up 11% not including dividends.) Likes wireless and this is the largest provider in Canada. Lowest ARPU and highest margins. Very strong balance sheet. Still a Buy.
PAST TOP PICK
(A Top Pick July 21/09. Up 35.8%.) Acquired by Kraft. Sold her holdings around $49.
COMMENT
Have been very successful in cutting costs. Very nice, safe dividend yield, which they have been raising. She prefers cable to telecom because they have their subscriber base behind them along with growth in wireless.
BUY
Global consumer products company. Likes their exposure to emerging markets. (See Top Picks.)
DON'T BUY
Oil leveraged oil/gas producer. You need a positive opinion on crude. (She has.) Lagged its peers because of difficulty in meeting production targets in oil sands and the UK. Prefers others such as Cdn Nat Res (CNQ-T) or Crescent Point (CPG-T).
COMMENT
With a very long-term focus this may work out at these levels. Her preference in the financial sector is to stay in Canada, which has a better footing and faster recovery.
BUY
Western cable operator. Stock has lagged overall market. Very well run and has the highest margins. Have decided to focus on their digital cable penetration and doing a good job. Increased their dividend in January by 5%. Haven't announced their wireless strategy yet and this may be an overhang on the stock.
DON'T BUY
Doesn't own any US telecom stocks. Has had the monopoly on iPhones but looks like Apple (AAPL-Q) will be developing a phone for the Verizon (VZ-N) network, which could have a negative impact on this company. Prefers Canadian wireless plays.
BUY
Oil producer in the oil sands. If you are bullish on crude, this is a stock that you want to own. Acquired PetroCanada and have been selling off some of their assets and taking advantage of the stronger balance sheet to fund the oil sands projects. Likes this one longer term.
COMMENT
Banks. Had a very nice move and are up 70%-80% on a one-year basis. Currently up about 10% year-to-date. Values are about at the midpoint of historical ranges. Expects earnings growth this year will be mid-single digits but double digit next year. Her preferences are Toronto Dominion (TD-T), Bank of Montreal (BMO-T) and Royal (RY-T).