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Today, Gordon Reid commented about whether PJC-N, C-N, AAPL-Q, SLB-N, HAL-N, URI-N, GOOG-Q, CSCO-Q, WMT-N, GILD-Q, FDX-N, GS-N, CVS-N, CAA-N, MCD-N, TXN-Q, MCK-N, BAC-N, GE-N, DIS-N are stocks to buy or sell.

N/A
A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert

Market. The US has had an unbroken run of economic growth since June 2009. The characteristics that it is best known for its length, but also it has been shallow. We haven't had the breakout type of growth that we normally get in a cycle, which has led a lot of people to think it is going to be long gaited. As investors, we have to be prudent and have a plan in place, and make sure it is being acted on. From a planning standpoint, check your asset mix targets and make sure you are coming back to target. With a very strong equity market, the mathematics are that you are likely to be a little overweight in equities. If so, trim them back to your target levels. If we start to see some economic indicators where we might be rolling into a recession, on a company specific basis, you will have to get a little more defensive.

Unknown
BUY
Walt Disney Co.

Had been reluctant on this, because of their model getting lapped by new technology. Their model was distribution of media products through conventional resources, mostly in cable. Most of their profit contribution came from ESPN and ABC. The acquisition of Fox kind of gets them out of the penalty box with a much larger content in order to take Netflix on. They are going to have a streaming sports package, a streaming package for family-friendly media as well as more traditional adult oriented opportunity. He is quite positive on this.

entertainment services
COMMENT
General Electric

Has had a very tough go over the last 15 years. He hasn't been involved for many, many years. They had just been buying and selling properties that made no sense, and are just starting to get out of the hole. It’s been thrown on the value heap. There will be a time of resurrection, but you don't want to spend too much time with dormant or dead money before that Renaissance, which won't happen for a while.

electrical / electronic
HOLD
Bank of America

Money centred banks tend to do well through an economic expansion, but they are cyclical. They won't do well during a recessionary period. Where we are in the cycle still allows you to own this bank. It is still good value. They will be making a lot of money as interest rates rise, because of margin spreads.

banks
DON'T BUY
McKesson Corp

This has been a very successful operation. The 5th largest corporation in the US, and doing extremely well. 60 Minutes recently did a profile on their distribution of opioids to pharmacies/dispensaries where the DVA thought they should have known there were some orders that were not legitimate and were going to cartels and illegal drug distribution networks. He thinks this has some legs, so he would not venture into this company.

wholesale distributors
PARTIAL SELL
Texas Instruments

He would be a little cautious on this. Its valuation is in the low 20s, which is quite high on a PE ratio. There has been an ongoing commoditization of the chip market, so it tends to be very volatile. If you own, consider selling some of your holdings, if not all of it, and move on to something which has a little more stability.

electrical / electronic
COMMENT
McDonalds

This has been a fantastic performer. Without question, it is the best restaurant property in its space. Over the decades, they have reinvented themselves a number of times, from a burger/chip joint to a healthier menu. They’re also becoming much more efficient in their operations, currently franchising a large percentage of their company owned stores. This gives them higher return on invested capital.

food services
N/A

What sector for new money? The one area that will have staying power is technology. Valuations are not extreme now. Many of these companies are growing at a faster rate than they have in the past, and the valuations are at a lower level than they have been in the past. Technology is not as economically sensitive as it once was.

Unknown
PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Dec 19/16. Up 61%.) Homebuilders have done wonderfully in his US small-cap portfolio. This company is in the process of being acquired.

contractors
PAST TOP PICK
CVS Health Corp

(A Top Pick Dec 19/16. Down 7%.) People are afraid Amazon is going to come in and take their space. That is unlikely to happen. They have 10,000 locations in the US along with 1600 in Target stores and 1200 in mini-clinics. A wonderful platform to capture the patient experience, which is exactly what they are trying to do.

specialty stores
PAST TOP PICK
Goldman Sachs

(A Top Pick Dec 19/16. Up 9%.) He likes the US financials, but has moved away from this in favour of Morgan Stanley (MS-N). Didn't feel it was executing as well as it should have been. Trading volumes have been low, and he wanted to move more towards the retail opportunity in addition to capital markets.

investment companies / funds
COMMENT
FedEx

Trades at a relatively good valuation, about 15X operating. Also, this is more of an e-commerce play. Volumes are rising and the cost structure is changing dramatically in their favour. A great hold just from an operating standpoint, but there is also a catalyst for higher growth rates into the future, because of cost containment.

Transportation
DON'T BUY

Has always shied away from this. They had a very successful ramp with their HEP C drug portfolio, a peak, followed by a fairly rapid decline. The decline came on a couple of issues. It was a total cure so there wasn't a recurring customer. Also, a number of other pharmacies came out with products that competed effectively, so there was price competition. The HEP C portfolio is falling about 40% year-over-year.

biotechnology / pharmaceutical
BUY
Walmart Inc

This company has responded very well to the Amazon threat. They acquired jet.com, an online retailer, and they are taking on Amazon. A retailer, but it’s also a grocer in that more than 50% of revenues come from groceries, very, very low margin commodities.

department stores
DON'T BUY
Cisco

He would be a little cautious. It was amongst the 1st wave of technology stocks. They dominated in the hardware of switches and routers. They’re trying to reinvent themselves, but as a big ship, it is going to be very tough to turn. The fundamentals have been relatively flat in terms of revenue growth and earnings growth. The company has gotten on the valuation escalator i.e., as people become more positive about the company, they bid it up to the point where the valuation rises, with a higher P, but with a similar E. That can only go on so long.

electrical / electronic