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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: My 15 yr old grandaughter has asked me to invest 1k of her hard earned babysiting money for about a 1 to 2yr hold in growth stock (my future as a grandfather may be at stake) I am leaning towards PBH over KXS what would your agree with my choice or would you have a better recomendation?
Read Answer Asked by Marcel on April 11, 2017
Q: For the 2 sectors which stocks would you buy, these are the only 2 sectors I am not invested in

As always thanks for your help
Read Answer Asked by James on April 10, 2017
Q: I am looking at PJC.A as a take over candidate. My thinking is, as with the purchase of Shoppers by Loblaws, Jean Coutu has a sizeable downtown presence and while Montreal downtown is perhaps not quite as attractive as Toronto downtown, its still a quick way for a retailer to expand their urban presence, and as the Shoppers purchase showed, far cheaper and quicker than trying to do this from the ground up. My question is, is this a reasonable thesis and, perhaps more importantly, is PJC.A good enough and especially safe enough for a longer-term, patient hold, irrespective of the above thesis.
Read Answer Asked by Alex on April 10, 2017
Q: I have 2 questions, feel free to deduct 2 points.

1. I would like to add SYZ and CXI to my portfolio. is this a good time to do so or should I wait for a summer pullback? How much more downside do they have. Should I buy them in my TFSA or non-regsistered? The SYZ dividend could be good for the non-registered?

2. For the IT side of my portfolio I own OTC and SHOP, and assume I'll add SYZ. I still need a 4th stock to make my tech holding complete. What do you suggest would go well with these three? Please note I recently sold Enghouse due to the amazon competition and sold CSU after its huge run the last few years, so don't want to add either of these.
Read Answer Asked by Carla on April 10, 2017
Q: Hi 5iResearch team,

I currently have a position on BAM.A which represents about 4% of my portfolio. Given that it has not done much price wise over the last year or so, I was thinking of moving some money from BAM.A and put it in FSZ.

Just wondering if you agree with this move and if you do what %age of my BAM.A current holding should I move.

Cheers,
Harry
Read Answer Asked by Harry on April 09, 2017
Q: Circling back on Leon's Furniture as a stable dividend paying stock with hidden potential...


Furniture business is a tough one but Leon's is likely the best operator:
- there is no shortage of tough competition in this fragmented industry: Ikea, Costco, Wallmart, Sleep Country, Superstores and partially Amazon on-line & US shopping (although only subset of their inventory like electronics as people won't buy entire dining set on-line or load in their trunk across the US border).

- on the positive, landscape is also improving: bought their biggest / most direct competitor The Brick in 2013, Target is out of Canada, Future Shop closed and Sears Home is almost bankrupt.


Checking the financials, I was surprised to find Leon's actually growing despite tough Canadian economy: 2015 SSS: +1.2% and 2106 SSS: +4.1% - but based on above, to build a conservative case, I assume no sales growth going forward.


What struck my eye in the latest company presentation on their website is the likely financial improvement to come from internal synergies left from The Brick acquisition. Two slides caught my attention:

- "1% SG&A reduction = $20M savings": classical Leon's ran at ~32% while post-Brick, it shot up to 37.5%. In 2016, it finally started coming down to 36.5% with IT systems integration late 2015. Assuming it can continue synergies and get 1% down yearly over the next 4 years, it would add $0.24 to EPS yearly ($20M/83M shares).

- "$50M per year for debt repayment": From MD&A, current debt is $240M after $50M was indeed repaid in 2016. interest at ~3% so yearly interest expense savings of $0.03 yearly ($240M/$50M = 4.8 years; $13.3M interest / 4.8 years = $2.77M and $2.77/83M shares = $0.03).

- 2016 EPS was $1.05. Even with no growth, SG&A and Interest reduction could add $0.27 in 2017 (0.24+0.03) - with same savings target over next 4 years bringing to 2020: SG&A to 32.5% (pre-Brick acquisition) and almost all debt paid, with EPS up to $2.13. Even if hit only part of these targets, there is a lot of potential internal clean-up to improve financials.


A couple of other supporting item to thesis:
- Very aligned Management as Leon family owns 67% of the stock;
- Own most of their real estate, some rumors of possible REIT spin-off last year to unlock value;
- 20% dividend increase last quarter after a few years flat;
- Insider buying (Mark Leon bought 52K shares on March 8 for ~$900K)


Now back at ~$17, valuation seems modest compared to its 10-year average. LNF seems a good value stock - flying under the radar. Is above reasonable / realistic thesis? Thanks for your comments!
Read Answer Asked by Jennifer on April 09, 2017
Q: Hi 5i, As one who remembers double digit interest rates, I've been wondering if and when the worm will turn again. It sounds like expectations are becoming pretty entrenched for higher rates in the US, and if that turns out to be true would expect Canada to follow with a year or two lag. Is there a typical pattern or approach that suggests which sectors and investment types benefit in a rising rate environment?

Thx for your excellent service!
Read Answer Asked by Rick on April 09, 2017
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