Investment Q&A

Q: I just sold my final energy stock last week for tax-loss, VET, so I'm out of the sector right now and wonder if it's a good time to reenter. I sold these two stocks in the summer, and see they are way down from where I sold. Are they still considered good companies, and do you think there is some growth in the stocks in 2019? Are the dividends considered secure? Thanks!

Q: Hi, most of my portfolio is trying to hang in with such a volatile market, but these two companies are killing me.
I see vet is now over 9% dividend which I like, but also know nothing good comes from it.
Is it time to raise the white flag to fossil fuels and go totally renewable, or would I probably be selling at the low?
I have to hand it to the environmentalist and protesters they are doing a great job against the oil companies.
Could you give me two of your favourites for renewables.
Thanks

Q: Charge as many credits as you see fit...at least 4...got lots. Annually, I follow the O'Shaughnessy system and go through the tedious process of ranking over 90 stocks into deciles. I am screening for stocks that are good value, less volatile and have a good + growing dividend. For value, I use P/E, P/B, P/CF, P/S. For volatility, I use Beta. For dividends, this year I have added 5 year growth % into the process. The resultant summary number is the cumulative of the 7 metrics, with roughly 60% value, 15% volatility and 25% dividend weighting. I then marry this up with a technical screening, using charts with a 200 mda, looking for a rising vs rangebound vs declining chart.

Question 1 = your thoughts on my screening system? I thought of adding in other metrics, but I wanted to keep it relatively simple. Factors such as payout % and ROE can always be a looked at in the next phase. Should I drop any of the metrics if they are redundant?

Most of the stocks screened as expected. However, 3 stocks didn't screen well at all and I am trying to figure out why. It may be that my population of stocks is skewed to value stocks, so if any of the other 3 stocks had growth or REIT characteristics, then they might be seen as outliers.

Question 2 = CSH's fundamentals screened horribly = 10th decile. Could it be that REITs may screen out differently, due to their very nature?

Question 3 =Both PBH and WSP screened poorly = 8th decile. Could it be their fundamental metrics exhibit more growth characteristics?

Question 4 = Reading past 5iR questions on these 3 stocks leads me to believe you are still strongly in favor of all 3. Please confirm.

Thanks...Steve

Q: I have held sgy ,wcp and xeo for several years and am down substantaily. I recently added more sgy and wcp on the hope of benefiting from tax loss selling. Both wti and wcs prices are rising this past week but these oil stocks are continuing to go down. If oil prices continue to rise slowly where do you think these stocks will be in the new year. Andy

Q: Good morning,
I currently do not own the above listed equities from the BE Portfolio which I follow pretty closely. Are there any you would not recommend purchasing right now? Thanks for your counsel. I am watching sector allocations.
Ted

Q: I am planning to realize losses on the above companies to offset capital gains with a plan to repurchase after 30 days. In order to maintain sector exposure in the intervening period I would like identify proxies for each holding. My thinking is as follows:

TECK.B == XMA
BNS == TD
TFII == ZIN
NFI == ZIN
WEF == CFP
VET == XEG
WCP == XEG

Please review my suggested proxies and add / amend as needed. Alternatively, if you think I would simply be better off holding cash until repurchasing please say so. Thank-you very much for your help.

Q: one year forecast

Q: I have significant losses on above names in my TFSA (Loss, Allocation, My Avg Price):
TSGI -49.20% , 7.10% , $49.48
WCP -47.83% , 1.70%, $. 8.70
WEF - 30.85% , 2.3 % , $. 2.62
NFI. -30.30% , 2.8 % , $. 51.81
PBH. -28.23% , 5.0% , $11.46
Other names in TFSA well diversified based on 5i Balanced portfolio with losses under 10% and some with gains.
Would you recommend buy to average down or any other changes.

Thanks in advance for your valuable advice

Q: I'm looking to reduce exposure to the energy sector and harvest some tax losses. My holdings cover a range of energy companies with different strengths and weaknesses (gassy, oily, big cap, small cap) so equivalence is difficult to calculate. From the list of CVE, HSE, PGF, SGY, TOU and WCP in what order would you reduce these holdings?

As always, thanks for the excellent service.

Q: WR Jacques Q. Andrew McCreath today on BNN had what I assume to be credible reason for WCP budget delay. If you inputted what WCS oil is selling for presently ($15) no business plan in the Alberta field would look reasonable.

Q: Why would Whitecap delay there guidance for 2019? Is there a possibility that they are planning to cut the dividend? If so, what would that do to the stock price?

Q: Hi Guys,

I sold WCP for the tax loss in October. Since then it has declined from $8 to $5. Any suggestions as to when to buy back, or would you suggest any other replacement, say VET?

Still hanging on to Teck at a big decline. Was concerned that they would bring on a partner for their copper mine in Peru. Any point in waiting longer or will a deal not be of any impact?

Thanks,

KC

Q: Hi Guys,
I submitted this question last week so not sure if it didn't go through or just got lost in the shuffle. The question is as follows: I am concerned about the oil and gas industry going into a prolonged down pricing environment. Can you rank these companies in terms of balance sheet strength and their ability to withstand a prolonged downturn? Can you also speak on if any of these would be in significant financial trouble (e.g. - bankruptcy) over a prolonged downturn?
Thanks,
Dean

Q: I would like to top up these positions and trim them back in the future (12-24months?)

Are there any names on the list I should avoid or expect a longer recovery for?

Always appreciate your wisdom.

Q: Hello,
which crude oil benchmark does WCP & SGY products fall into?
Do you see any cash flow risk at both these companies due to recent oil downturn?
Thanks,

Q: Following up on a recent question regarding allocating the appropriate amount of monies to each stock, the amount depending on the size, safety, etc of that security. Would you agree with the current split (full, partial, small):

Full = AD (should be partial), AQN, BCE, BNS, FTS, RY, TRP.
Partial = CGX (could be full?), CSH, NFI, PGH (could be full?), TCL, WSP (could be full?).
Small = WCP.

Thanks...Steve

Q: I am looking to initiate a position in an oil and gas company.
Can you recommend a couple of companies that would benefit the most from a rebound in the sector, also your reasons for recommending the companies. I have a fairly high risk tolerance and I am looking at a longer term hold.
Thanks!

Q: Good Morning: I hold positions in the above cdn. energy companies and not surprisingly am under water in all of them. Would like to reap the capital losses without being totally out of the sector. I'm looking at one of two possible options: 1, sell these and buy Vermillion; or 2. buy a cdn. etf that focuses on cdn. junior and mid cap oil and gas names. So, first, which of these strategies would you prefer, and second, if an etf, do you have some recommendations. I continue to consider my subscription to your advice and service good value. Thanks for your efforts. Don

Q: At the risk of sounding foolish, the last sentence in your response to Tim re WCP started wit "But", suggesting you would not expect a cut in dividend. Could you verify your answer.
Thanks

Q: Is the dividend safe?