HOLD

Industry, overall, is fairly mature. Challenging to get drugs approved. Pharma companies are struggling to grow, dealing with patent cliffs. Flipside is generating good cashflows. Very attractive for income, but don't own it for share price performance, since growth is challenged. Yield is 6.5%, safe.

WEAK BUY
QSR vs. YUMC

Uncertainty is that previous changes were difficult because it's a multi-brand platform. Valuation is very reasonable. Very good growth profile and management. Balance sheet is not investment grade, and some don't care. He cares, as it's difficult to grow if you're not investment grade. Investment grade gives you much larger pool of people who can supply capital.

Likes it, but owns YUMC instead. YUMC wins from a valuation and growth perspective, but also has more geopolitical risk.

BUY
YUMC vs. QSR

Uncertainty with QSR is that previous changes were difficult because it's a multi-brand platform. Valuation is very reasonable. Very good growth profile and management. Balance sheet is not investment grade, and some don't care. He cares, as it's difficult to grow if you're not investment grade. Investment grade gives you much larger pool of people who can supply capital.

Likes QSR, but owns YUMC instead. YUMC wins from a valuation and growth perspective, but also has more geopolitical risk.

DON'T BUY

Valuations for REIT sector in general are exceptionally low. Part is interest rates, but the biggest overhang is the office space. That will take longer to play out, and remote work is becoming more acceptable by companies. Toronto estimates vacancy in the core is around 25-30%, gives him pause. Steer clear. Yield is 10.5%.

He's become more negative on the REIT model. With such a high payout, difficult to consolidate value in a down market, unless they have a sponsor behind them willing to supply capital. This plays into the hands of private equity.

COMMENT
Move from individual Canadian bank stocks to an ETF?

Don't do it. Someone might want to do it for diversification, avoiding single-name risk. But you can get this by holding a few of the bank stocks and being mindful of your weight. This way, you avoid the extra fees.

BUY
Favourite Canadian banks.

TD and BNS are the main ones in client portfolios. Both are more on the value side. Looking to the next 3-5 years, both have reasonable earnings growth and potential for multiple expansion.

BUY
Favourite Canadian banks.

TD and BNS are the main ones in client portfolios. Both are more on the value side. Looking to the next 3-5 years, both have reasonable earnings growth and potential for multiple expansion.

HOLD
Ticked all boxes, but it's been a dog.

It's the interest-rate sensitivity of it all. Utility names have all gone down aggressively, even his go-to names of BIP.UN and FTS. He prefers the growth profile of those 2, but nothing wrong with CPX. All are very undervalued, but strong dividend yields, so attractive for people looking for income.

BUY

Utility names have all gone down aggressively, it's the interest-rate sensitivity of it all. One of his go-to names. All are very undervalued, but strong dividend yields, so attractive for people looking for income. 

Likes the global growth profile of BIP.UN and the NA one of FTS.

BUY

Utility names have all gone down aggressively, it's the interest-rate sensitivity of it all. One of his go-to names. All are very undervalued, but strong dividend yields, so attractive for people looking for income. 

Likes the global growth profile of BIP.UN and the NA one of FTS.

TOP PICK

The name companies turn to for offsetting cost pressures and digitizing a business. Wonderful demand drivers, lovely business economics. Generates lots of cash. Valuation around 17x earnings, very robust FCF yield of 6%. Global growth platform. No dividend.

Recent pressure likely due to Fed comments about interest rates. A lot of the higher-growth names pulled sharply back. That's what an investor waits for to enter a name.

(Analysts’ price target is $161.93)
TOP PICK

Wins big on valuation. Massive amount of cash on balance sheet, no debt. Trades around 14x earnings. Valuation due to negative sentiment on Chinese economy. Very robust FCF yield. Massive opportunity for growth over the next 10 years at a very discounted valuation. Yield is 1.7%.

Hurt by Covid, but has come out flying. Took advantage of low interest rates to accelerate store rollouts. A lower-risk way to play a Chinese recovery.

(Analysts’ price target is $54.81)
TOP PICK

His pick for income-oriented investors. Wonderful dividend yield. Great company with Brookfield as its sponsor. Diversified platform instead of pure play. Probably best growth profile in its space. Global. Valuation 8x FFO, very low end of the range. Massive opportunity for growth. Yield is 6.2%.

(Analysts’ price target is $51.35)
COMMENT
Can a utility like BIP.UN be a growth name, in terms of all the data needed to run AI models?

Yes, but those names are few and far between. BIP.UN would probably have the best growth profile, as it has access to capital across multiple platforms globally. Its counter-cyclicality is attractive. Data exposure is through towers and warehouses. So BIP.UN can win on many fronts, growing in a variety of areas that some of the more localized firms can't.

COMMENT
Can a utility like BIP.UN be a growth name, in terms of all the data needed to run AI models?

Yes, but those names are few and far between. BIP.UN would probably have the best growth profile, as it has access to capital across multiple platforms globally. Its counter-cyclicality is attractive. Data exposure is through towers and warehouses. So BIP.UN can win on many fronts, growing in a variety of areas that some of the more localized firms can't.