skip to content
  1. Home
  2. >
  3. Investment Q&A
You can view 3 more answers this month. Sign up for a free trial for unlimited access.

Investment Q&A

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

Q: Hello 5i,

I bought VSN before Xmas on a analyst report from RBC. I have a good return so far, but I know you are not very fond of this company. Therefore I would like to replace it with something more attune to your thinking and values.

My question is what do I replace it with. Possibly ALA.r?

I do thank you all for your good work and valued opinion.

Rick
Read Answer Asked by Rick on February 15, 2017
Q: Good afternoon!
In looking at your comments on Veresen (VSN), I can’t quite pin down reasoning for what seems to be a change in viewpoint here.
On Dec 12th you state: “Because JC was already rejected once, we would not view this as overly significant, and is likely already embedded in the price (after Friday's drop). The company can still grow, and there will be other projects in the future.“
On Jan 5th you state: “We remain quite comfortable with VSN for income, primarily, with some growth. Good earnings growth is expected in 2017.”
On Feb 6th the perspective differs, and you state that you are “... not very big fans of VSN”
On Feb 6th and on the 14th you also now imply that the Jordan Cove rejection is NOT built in to the price, and that the valuation is high. You also stated that revenues are expected to decline, but my brief research into the company, suggests otherwise, particularly their February guidance presentation indicating $1.4 billion of projects in the works, accretive on a per-share basis, quite a bit of growth for a company of less than $4.5 billion in market cap. In a recent Globe and Mail article (published on Stockhouse, also) the following spoke to valuation based on EBITDA: “According to Bloomberg, the stock is trading at an enterprise value-to-earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) multiple of 10.5 times the 2017 consensus estimate. This is below the five-year historical average of 13.2 times and below its 10-year historical average of 11.1 times.”

Could you elaborate on what gave you this apparent change of heart, especially in conjunction with your comments about the ‘pro-pipeline’ Trump viewpoint?
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Thanks
Paul
Read Answer Asked by Paul on February 15, 2017
Q: Hello, Thanks for your wonderful note about the Altagas subscription recipts. This seems to be case of heads, I win a decent amount (10+%) tails i still win some (2.8%+). I called my broker he says Ala.r is trading in the open market..not in ipo any longer. I wanted to clarify if Ala.r is the correct symbol if i were to go through with this..actually i already did make small purchase. Now thinking about half position.Thanks again.
Read Answer Asked by Shyam on February 14, 2017
Q: Thoughts on Alta gas valuation and stability of dividend. I only have a half position of Raging River. I am going to pull the trigger and take a full position. Would you add AlA at this time or recommend another. I'm open to risk and have a time frame of 5 years plus.
Read Answer Asked by Richard on February 14, 2017
Q: Hello 5i. I really enjoy reading the questions on a daily basis and consider your replies VALUABLE information. So much so I recently renewed my membership.
I have held RDM corp for the past 3 years and it has been a steady, low volatility stock. After todays buyout news, I am considering selling and putting the cash into another company in the same space. Do you think TNC is a good replacement? It seems expensive compared to RC.
Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by Phillip on February 14, 2017
Q: Hi guys,

I have held a position in AW.UN for a long time and it represents about 3% of my portfolio. CIBC's Investors Edge shows 2015 eps at $1.56. If I estimate 2017 eps to be $1.76, that gives A&W a 2017 p/e of 23.4

It seems like Pizza Pizza (PZA), Boston Pizza (BPF.UN) and Cara Operations (CARA) all trade significantly cheaper than A&W on a 2017 p/e basis.

Against this backdrop, would you sell AW.UN for any of PZA, BPF.UN, or CARA?

Lastly, does A&W's corporate structure make itself less likely to be taken over?

Thanks for your time and expertise.

John
Read Answer Asked by john on February 14, 2017
Q: My Question is on the Transalta preferred shares. I have the series C preferred shares that are paying me 6.8% and with reset this June expect the yield will be about 6.7%. I see that the company decided NOT to go ahead with the proposed exchange of the preferred shares last Friday. Is this a good or bad sign?

How risky do you view the Transalta preferred shares in terms of ability to pay dividends and viability long term of the company?

Please feel free to publish.

Tony
Read Answer Asked by Antoine on February 13, 2017