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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: In a recent answer to a question on an oil company, you mentioned that it is hard to be optimistic on a company if you don't like the management team. So my question is, which of the management teams in the oil sector would you want to align yourself with, and why? Alternatively, which of the management teams would you not align yourself with? Please deduct as many credits as necessary to fully answer my question. Thank You.
Read Answer Asked by dean on November 22, 2019
Q: Hello there,
Seems like investors are not rewarding growth in production in the oil patch. I own PXT which has done well over the last year but has been stuck in the mud around the same price since February but has bounced around a lot. Because the market is currently not rewarding for production growth , PXT is focusing on share buybacks and a very strong balance sheet which is great. Any thoughts on them initiating their first dividend and becoming more of a growth plus yield story? Return even more cash to shareholders?
thanks
Read Answer Asked by Chris on September 13, 2019
Q: Good Morning 5i,

So on this fine Friday long weekend morning, I'd like to pick the brains of people who've "been there and done that" much longer and more successfully than I, and have seen some things in the financial world first hand that I have not.

I want your opinion on oil and gas. Are we not watching one of these classic "blood in the streets" scenarios you always read about as investors and wish you'd had the fortitude to plug your nose and dive in? The shares of almost every publicly traded company in the space are being thrown away for nothing. The good ones, the bad ones, the ones making money, the ones losing money, good balance sheets, bad balance sheets - it's almost irrelevant. If they're in the space they're being slaughtered.

So if the thesis is:

a) it will take a lot longer to power the world with worm casings, pixie dust, and unicorn farts than some would have us believe (i.e. hydrocarbons are not going anywhere in the foreseeable future)

b) a surprising number of these companies have solid balance sheets

c) a surprising number of these companies are earning profits hand over fist, doom and gloom aside

If a, b, and c are indeed true, you'd have to believe a lot of these companies trading at historic lows will eventually make investors a lot of money. Like buying Florida real estate in 2009.

What am I missing? What holes can be shot in this thesis, looking at it objectively?

I take the point that there is no catalyst to change things or excite investors in this space (although I do get surprised from time to time that the fact that a company can throw off ridiculous amounts of profit and return it to shareholders via dividends and buybacks doesn't itself become a catalyst, but I digress...)

I also take the point that these scenarios can persist for a lot longer than people think they can before things change.

Single-company risk is always there, I understand that, but I reject the idea that all of these companies are headed for bankruptcy.

Aside from patience and the stomach to watch your investment get hammered in the short term - where exactly are the risks?? This seems like such a great buying opportunity that I feel I have to be missing something.

Thank you for whatever insight you can share, and happy long weekend to you and your families!

Ryan






Read Answer Asked by Ryan on September 02, 2019
Q: everyone seems to agree that the energy stocks have never been so cheap, ignored by investors etc.
can you see a way for those stocks to start getting recognized, should i start picking away.
i do not own any energy, but these is getting ridiculous.
i think jim cramer or one of those pundits said its because of millenials who hate oil, they are into electric. dave
Read Answer Asked by david on August 29, 2019
Q: I am wanting to buy some mid cap Canadian energy companies, preferably with a good dividend. I am looking for ones with strong balance sheets that could ride out the poor prices, decent reserves, etc. What would you recommend? I am thinking about VET (but will the dividend get cut?), ARX, WCP, and on the smaller side, CJ. Also, for non-dividend, I am considering MEG, ATH, BTE, and CPG (very small dividend). I would appreciate your thoughts.
Read Answer Asked by Donald on August 20, 2019
Q: Hi 5i

Can't help notice the Q's on Canadian energy companies, and how the common theme leads me to think capitulation is close.

My questions is: Given the current political distaste for Canadian oil and gas, what would be your recommendation for an alternative investment in the energy sector? I already own BEP.UN, AQN, and ENB for disclosure, hopefully this won't instigate more sector Q's ;)

Please note my views on Canadian companies are severely restricted due to the duality of the current government.

Thanks,
Chris
Read Answer Asked by Christopher on July 26, 2019
Q: Your Analytics program has provided a convenient tool to see the weightings in my overall portfolio. From this I have learned that while there are some with larger percentages I have many positions between 1 - 2% weighting. Sometimes this resulted from my having initiated small purchases and sometimes from falling share values. In any event, I wonder if I am spread too thin? I guess one part of this is that the small positions will not move the dial. On the other hand, quite often your members ask what you might recommend when looking at choosing between 2 stocks and the answer suggests having both, for better diversification.
1. So my first question is whether positions of 1 - 2 % are too small or is this good diversification?
2. In this context, my next questions are about positions of 1.57% and 1.42% in Enghouse and Kinaxis; are these positions too small and if so, which would you sell and which to keep / add to? And similarly, positions of 1.39% and 1.18% in Parex and Suncor. If these positions are too small, which to sell and which to keep / add to?
3. In a similar vein, I have one or two positions that have suffered from considerable declines in share value and there is .36 and .56 of a position. What should I do if I do not want to sell, either because I still believe in the prospects or because it is too painful to sell just now. I often see your answers suggesting you do not believe in averaging down but holding such a small position seems not effective.
4. My last question is about Constellation Software. It is of course one of the better performers and partly as a result presently I have a weight of just under 3.5%. Given its success, would you recommend adding to have a larger position, and if so, how much?

Thanks for your excellent service.
Read Answer Asked by Leonard on July 18, 2019
Q: Hi there,

I currently own PXT and was looking at YGR. It looks like it has sold off over the last year and may be coming back. Would you endorse a half/full position in this name today? If one owned a full position in PXT already, how would you play YGR (assuming you'd be okay endorsing it as a buy today).

Thanks!
Read Answer Asked by Michael on April 11, 2019
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