There has recently been a rally in uranium stocks. The general impression is that uranium prices have probably troughed at the $20 spot level. There is no near term catalyst to get the prices going up. It is unprofitable at this level for mines to be producing, and mines have been shutting down. Nuclear reactors have been very slow to start up with very weak demand for uranium.

This has been repositioning its portfolios businesses over the last 5-6 years since the financial crisis. They were decreasing their exposure in GE Capital, retrenching in those businesses and selling off some. In October they announced a joint venture with Baker Hughes where GE is going to own 60%. They still have 8 different reporting segments, with none accounting for 20% of their earnings. Still very diversified. Trading at about 20X forward earnings, so it is not really that attractive. With divesting of assets, they have to replace the earnings those assets were generating. They’ve been putting some of that money into share buybacks, but that can only go on so long. She prefers others.

She is more constructive on crude oil than she was last year, but at $51-$52 it is probably range bound. She hadn’t increased her exposure in the energy sector last year, but is starting to add a bit more now. This particular company is not on her list.

Competition is fierce, but in terms of square footage growth, it has moderated from prior years. Loblaw owns Shopper Drugs as well, and she likes the drug retail. Also they both have the best locations. The company has gone through a period where they introduced new IT systems, refurbished larger stores, and are seeing the benefit of that flow through now.

A generic manufacturer, but do have some branded drugs. The company has been experiencing quite a bit of competition on one of their key branded drugs, so the profit growth is very uncertain, and the share price responded accordingly. There is just not enough clarity going forward.

This has done well since going public. There is a lot of momentum behind it. They are in the right space in terms of providing all the back-office systems for online retail, a sector that is growing very strongly. As a value manager, it is difficult for her to buy names like this, because there is so much momentum and the valuation is very high.

This pulled back because it had to reduce its earnings guidance for this upcoming year. They had been guiding for 10%-14% growth for the next few years, and have had to reduce that to 10% going forward. This is because their drug retail side has been excluded in certain pharmacy networks. The valuation is very attractive at about 13 or 14 times forward earnings. A well-managed company.