BUY

This is pretty attractive. Telephone poles and railway ties. The stock hasn’t done a whole lot this year, but it is one of the best run Canadian companies he has seen. They have done many, many things right for a long period of time. Have done very nice acquisitions, and are positioning themselves for growth.

COMMENT

This is a decent company for the long-term. Has a nice little income coming out of it, half income and half interest. Have done some very nice acquisitions. Highly economically sensitive on chemical pricing. He wouldn’t expect a whole lot from this, other than the income.

COMMENT

This has been a very, very strong stock for the past couple of months. Their last quarter, which is typically their weakest quarter, had absolute stunning blow away numbers. Raised their dividend by about 5%, and the payout ratio went down dramatically in the quarter. Their divisions are firing on all cylinders. Very heavily tied to aviation and aeronautics, and he would like to see them do another deal to dilute that exposure a bit. A very cheap stock with a very nice dividend yield of 5.6%.

COMMENT

Primarily electronic distribution. This was growing very, very rapidly, and the stock was doing very well. People were extrapolating their quarterly growth going forward. Nothing really bad happened with this company, it’s just that they stopped growing at the same rate. A nice, little, solid growth company with a low valuation and good management. Starting to look a little bit better these days.

COMMENT

Asset management. National Bank (NA-T) owns a big chunk. They’ve started to make acquisitions in the US, which is where the growth opportunity really is. Unfortunately asset management is changing. Margins are going down, sales are dropping and everyone really doesn’t like the business right now. This is one of the better ones in the business. Has a decent dividend which is still growing. Own it for the dividend and the long-term story and asset accumulation, but just don’t expect a whole lot in the next year.

COMMENT

Probably a little too early to get excited about the drilling services sector. You need to see better sustained oil prices before a company starts spending more money. This company kept its balance sheet clean right through the cycle. They pay a nice dividend. They are survivors, and are using their strong balance sheet to pick away at acquisitions. They are getting iron at very, very discounted prices. Adding rigs very, very cheaply.

COMMENT

A couple of years ago, the whole plan was to utilize their Brookfield relationship to expand and make acquisitions and make this a much bigger player. That has been slow to come to fruition, but is still very much possible in terms of what they could and could not do. Has some Eastern Canadian and US exposure. It depends largely on housing and construction, but with their Brookfield relationship, there is still plenty they can do. A patient, waiting game, but a nice little company while waiting.

DON'T BUY

You just have to shake your head at this one. For many, many months they were defending their dividend, saying that they were going to keep paying it. They ran into some problems so they cut the dividend, so management lost a lot of credibility. They’ve now turned it around and added 2 new partners, and are saying that for the next relationship they are going to share the risk. Think they need 3 or 4 quarters to prove their strategy is going to work and that they are going to grow again. He wouldn’t get involved right now.

SELL

A microcap that has decided to split into 2 companies, so you are going to have 2 smaller microcaps. Investors are really fed up with the company. As the stock price declined, their ability to make acquisitions has dramatically changed. It is just too small and people just don’t care. The best advice would be to move on.

COMMENT

A very expensive stock, but their drug technology has some very, very good potential. They’ve had a series of announcements on clinical results. It’s early stage, but everything looks pretty good. The market opportunity they are looking for is really quite big. A few years ago they decided that rather than partnering, they wanted to keep some of the upside to themselves. It is riskier and they have to spend more money, but it is a very, very interesting technology. Very early stage and very risky. A name that you would have to own for 5 years.

COMMENT

The diamond business is tough. It pays a dividend of 1.6%. Changed their production method to go after some giant stones. The valuation, cash, potential all looks good. Very cheap at 9X earnings and has a ton of cash.

COMMENT

Organic-based coffee. Their real advantage is the relationship with customers. They are in McDonald’s and Tim Hortons, but haven’t penetrated those customers to the full extent. There was an investigation into one of their competitors, which is always good. Had a big run, but has not checked back and looks very attractive.

TOP PICK

This company really has a good sense of the market. They have a three-year rolling plan, and basically are planning right now for 3 Christmases out. Growth rate is very high at 40%. He really likes what they are doing on the acquisition side. They are starting to take their leadership in toys and expand, and just bought a pool company that makes pool toys. A great, great company.

TOP PICK

Couche Tard bought CFP for multibillion dollars, and Parkland is buying their Canadian operations, so they are expanding their presence in Eastern Canada to match Western Canada. They are driving down costs and margins are going up. Not a cheap stock, but it consistently performs with a consistent cash flow. Dividend yield of 3.66%.

TOP PICK

Their casinos are mostly out West, but he likes it because they have expanded. Bought Casino New Brunswick which has 2 sites, and are building 2 sites in Ontario which will be up and running early next year. He likes it because of the share buyback. Their share count has gone down by about 22 million over the past 10 years. That just creates great earnings leverage. They don’t pay a dividend. It is gambling, so almost recession proof.