Investment Q&A

Q: Hi there, Happy New Year to the 5i gang.

I noticed a fair amount of insider buying on SPB , almost all of which being bought by Marquard and Bahls AG, do you know (or think) this company is merely making a large investment here or are they possibly making a creeping takeover of SPB, similar to what Brookfield does in some cases? It seems their buying is what is mostly triggering recent price gains recently.
thanks and cheers Tom

Q: Will I get the dividend if I sell my position on Dec 30, the ex dividend date?
Thanks

Q: Seems there is a trend or investment opportunity to buy shares in small Canadian companies that are then acquired by US companies. What comes to mind are JPMorgan acquiring Solium Capital and Goldman Sachs putting in an offer for all of People. What other such small Canadian companies are liking to "suffer" this acquisition fate?.....Tom

Q: Please rank these stocks in terms of safety of dividends and please provide payout ratio for each. Thank you!

Q: Hi 5i,

I would appreciate your opinion on both recent earnings release and purchase of Petro Home Services.

Thx
Chris M

Q: I havent had much luck with this stock over time. I sold it for a loss earlier this year just before Brookfield stepped in(sigh). Re-bought in 30 days thinking there might be opportunity for SPB rolling up small biz in the states. How big is this area in the US and does SPB have credibility as a divvy growth for doing this?

Q: Good morning, Portfolio Analytics suggests we (as elderly seniors) lower our Utility holdings by 6.32%. Currently, we have:
AQN 3.9 %, BEPC 3.5%, BIP.UN 4.6%, H 2.2%, SPB 1.8%. Firstly is there a holding I could eliminate? If not should I just lower the larger percentages? All are in RRIFs.
Second suggestion from Analytics is to lower telecom by 3.54%. Currently have BCE 4.2%, T 3.5% and GOOG 4.2%. T and BCE are in RRIFs. GOOG is in an unregistered account. I have always looked at GOOG as technology sector. Any comments. Thanks for your expertise.
Ted

Q: I have held this company for many years at a loss, with a nice divi, now i am up. IS there any reason that you can see that I should not take a profit? Or with Brookfield coming in does this make it a safe bet? Thx

Q: SPB vs PKI. Several months back in the Q&As you were more positive on PKI than SPB. Is that still true or would you prefere ATD.B over both. I hold SPB and thinking about adding/switching SPB for PKI. How would you rank?

Q: Analysts (TD) are predicting that SPB will go to positive earnings (0.33/sh) on Q3 , would you agree ?, and if the prediction becomes true , would the share price go up ?, or this earnings prediction is already baked in the actual price ? You said ( on June 24) that SPB is good mostly for income, does it mean that the dividend can be considered secured ?.

Q: Looks like it has potential for some near term gains. Propane. What are your thoughts?

Q: My income portfolio consisting of the above equities has taken quite a beating in the recent market downturn. Except for LB, there has been some recovery in prices, and so far dividends have been maintained. I have some excess cash to deploy, and would like your advice on whether to double down on some on my current investments, or your suggestions for other beaten down income investments. Thank you.

Q: What is the story on Brookfield investment in Spb?

Q: Have held 1000 units of NWH.UN in non-RSP account since 2015 and the ROC is now about 1/3 of what I paid for it. Confused about ROC and how it helps me but I do understand the lowering of the cost base when units are disposed of. Faithfully track all ROC’s for all units held including SPB. I don’t depend on the income from the portfolio but I am in a 43 % marginal tax bracket as a retiree. So when do I dispose of NWH.UN?
Your Q&A database says that NWH.UN is small, has wide geo distribution and not much growth, the distribution is safe but amount is only so so. However, there is a lot of ROC. In this down market, my 2 other similar amount of REs are down also (CSH.UN and SIA, 35 and 44% respectively). Also, have similar amount of AD that is down 52%. I am about “even” on my gains and tax loss sales so far for 2020 taken early in January but could use some carry-back for last year’s gains. Thinking of a trade of selling NWH and AD and perhaps CSH and SIA, waiting the 30 days before buying AD back unless you could suggest a suitable alternative proxy for the interim (or just buy CAR.UN instead all in non-RSP). Or would best option be to let it simmer and revisit during tax loss season to see if any of these have sufficiently rebounded? Have I missed something? Maybe the best decisions taken are those decisions that did not have to be taken.

Q: I hold OGI (-67%), SPB (-18%), TCL.A (-20%), and RCI.B (-10%) all at the losses indicated. Which would you buy more of, hold, or sell? Would you switch RCI.B for more BCE or T, both of which I already hold? I'm looking for capital gains with a dividend, when possible. Thanks for your insight.

Q: Hello and thank you for the great recommendations. I just wanted your opinion and analysis on Superior Plus Corp. The dividend is high and seems safe. They seem to also have some kind of a monopoly in the space and I’m interested in the upside potential. I am interested in getting in at the 9$ level and average down if possible. Thank you!

Q: I am currently down about 25% on both Superior Plus and Russel Metals (held in a RSP account).
However, both have had a nice run off the bottom over the past couple of weeks and I am now thinking of raising some cash in anticipation of another significant market decline, at which time I would take advantage of the opportunity to move in to names such as Fortis, Nutrien and Royal Bank.
Do you think this is a reasonable strategy or are SPB and RUS the type of names that could be "safely" held on to for the longer term?
Thanks, Rick

Q: Hi Guys, any comments on the Investor update from SPB released this morning. Market responded well today. Would you consider this a buy, sell or hold?
Thanks
Rob

Q: Hello 5i team
Thanks for working through this mess.
I have BCE, ENB, EIF, FSZ, MG, PBH, SPB in a non registered. I can sell these for a tax loss presently but should I, and if I do should I replace them with similar dividend players or risk 30 days to buy them back? This might fall into the personal decision category but if there is any comments or advice that you could provide please.
Thanks
Jeremy

Q: Hi team
the stock SPB takes a beating for the last 7 days
were there any more bad news or just the market trend?
is it a value trap

for new money to buy for dividend and income
would one be better off in FTS or EMA as less risks?
thanks
Michael