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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: Hi Peter
I currently own both railways. CP does not produce much in the way of a dividend while CN does.
I depend on Dividends for my retirement, and am looking for for cash flow. I notice ALTA Gas pays 9% and has done so for some time. Would it be advisable to sell my CP and buy into ALTA. I currently hold 400 shares of CP and 800 of CN
Thank you
John
Read Answer Asked by John on April 09, 2018
Q: Good day,
Should I be concerned by the decline in AW ? Its been going down $10 last year. While I am still in positive territory, I used to have a really great return on this one and I don't recall any particular bad news. What has changed and what the future looks like in your opinion. Please recommend 2-3 safe income stocks with upside potential and tell me if you recommend to swap. Its in a RESP. Thanks!!
Read Answer Asked by Etienne on April 09, 2018
Q: I’m worried about ECI. The price trend has been down for three months, but my bigger worry is about criticism of its core business model in the media recently. It seems some of ECI’s clients are complaining they were locked into high-priced long-term (14+ year) water heater rental contracts unknowingly, and without the ability to opt out, when they bought their new homes. Apparently if they want to get out of these contracts now they must pay huge sums of money that make doing so very uneconomic. There are demands for government action to regulate such predatory contracts. Some water heater rental companies are doing this for sure, though I am unsure about the specific terms of ECI’s contracts compared to other companies. Can you shed any light on this? In your view, how much is this raising the risk profile of ECI?
Read Answer Asked by Philip on April 06, 2018
Q: I understand that the key criterion for evaluating a company’s ability to continue to pay a dividend is “ free cash flow”.

1. What is ENB’s free cash flow?
2. What is the dividend payout ratio?
3. Is free cash flow projected to grow over the next 3 years?
4. I looked for this information on your “profile “ page for ENB.
I did find 5 yr dividend growth 17.48 ... is that a percentage number for that time period?
I did find price to cash flow but not the information I was looking for.

Can you help me both with the information requested and provide some guidance in how best to interpret and use the profile information.

Thanks for all your help here.
Read Answer Asked by Donald on April 06, 2018
Q: I took a loss on KWH.UN in 2017 ( one of very few losses on 5i recommendations!) . Is the Return of Capital reported on the Crius T3 added or deducted from the Cost Basis? Thanks!





Read Answer Asked by Aileen on April 05, 2018
Q: Hello 5i, Can I get your assessment of this company. It seems to be building a base in the 50 to 55 range since Mar 2017. Can you confirm these parameters that were taken from BMO Investorline.
Revenue: 4,444 (million)
Estimated EPS Growth: 24.1%
Estimated P/E Ratio: 238.60
DPS: 2.429000 (4.5%)
Price/Book Ratio: 0.85
If this range of of 50-55 is in fact a base building what do you see as a breakout for it.
Thanks for your service.
Read Answer Asked by pietro on April 05, 2018
Q: Hi Peter, Ryan,and Team,

The Motley Fool had an article called "3 Canadian Dividend Aristocrats With Dangerously High Payout Ratios".

They cite current and 2018 payout ratios for these three stocks:
CGX: 150% and 144%
ECI: 182% and 124%
PKI: 340% and 329%. (yikes!)

They end the article with this statement:
"It’s important for investors to understand the sustainability of a company’s dividend. These aristocrats all have a history of raising dividends, but their high payout ratios are reason for concern. This does not necessarily mean they are bad investments, but investors looking for sustainable dividends may be better off looking elsewhere."

Should this article be taken with a 'grain of salt'? Are their payout ratio numbers valid? What about the Motley Fool in general? Is it worth reading their articles?

Thanks as always for your level-headed and pertinent advice.
Read Answer Asked by Jerry on April 04, 2018
Q: Please provide me with a list of solid Canadian stocks (such as the Brookfield group) in which I may receive dividends/distribution in US dollars.
Is the income converted to CDN for income tax purposes (by me, the co. or RevCan) ?
I assume there will not be any withholding tax as they would be CDN companies?
Would I be charged a commission by anyone, i.e. the company or Scotia iTrade?
Anything else I need to know?
Thanks
Derek
Read Answer Asked by Derek on April 04, 2018