Investment Q&A

Q: Good morning. When assessing a company's stock, how important are metrics such as price to earnings and price to cash flow?

What is the most important metric for a retail investor to be aware of, or is there such a thing? Does it depend on the type of business or sector the company is involved in?

Finally, for P/E, is it more important to pay attention to 'current' P/E or 'forward' P/E? How reliable are the quoted ratios, since the value seems to vary a bit from from site to site for some companies? Also, some sites will often not quote a current and/or forward P/E. Any reason for this?

Thanks as always for your valuable information and advice.

Q: Hi Peter, Gold is hammered again today, all the talk about the Fed reigning in QE etc.What are your thoughts on this matter?

Have a great long weekend.

Thanks,

Q: Hi Peter and team,

I have held CNQ for quite some time, but the stock, with the overall sector, hasn't been doing much. I am down about 20% on the stock. With some patience, I know the stock will rebound once the sector does, but I was thinking about potentially switching into Whitecap Resources or Raging River as they seem to have held up fairly well in the sector and have good growth prospects. In terms of upside potential, would you think staying with CNQ would be better than entering into one of these other names?

Appreciate your thoughts.

Q: I would appreciate your views on Glentel's (GLN) latest earnings report. Thanks.

Q: 5I Team,
Can you give me your opinion on Linamar (LNR) and Martinrea (MRE).
Thank you
Sylvain

Q: Good morning, Peter.
As a holder of First Majestic Silver (SLV.TO) I was not too concerned by the Q1 revenue, cash flow or earnings. However the stock is down 59% from its 12 month high. What am I not seeing? With a 3-5 year holding period do you see this stock as a sell, hold or buy?
With appreciation.
Ed

Q: could you recommend a number one choice for dividend and growth in the NY exchange?
Would like to put some US$ to work.or do you think its getting too risky out there.
Bought Wilan @ 3.94 just recently.Where would I put a sell order in.Or use stop losses and raise them?
Thanks Josh

Q: my question is regarding Altagas (ALA-T). i purchased it for a core position in my son's account at about $25 and needless to say i'm very happy about the results. the way i understand things is that substantial "ebitda" should occur in the next several years.some of their contracts are very lucrative, long term and inflation protected.i guess management performance will be key to ensure these projects are properly executed . another concern i have is "when" interest rates do rise (and i realize that may several years away), would't a stock like ALA would get lambasted in that environment ? so finally, i'm thinking of buying more, what are your likes and dislikes about this stock. thanx norm

Q: western one just reported earnings what do you think of them and what is your opinion of this company going forward. thanks

Q: Peter,

An ideal portfolio will include major sectors and equal weighting as is the case with 5i portfolio. Where do we accommodate value plays and high potential companies in such a portfolio. My question would be specifically with respect to companies like DHX, CLQ, ENT, LGO. CSX, etc.

Q: Hello 5I,

I have recently stumbled across a very small company Ryerson McGraw (MHR). Do you have any thoughts? It seems very thinnly traded. I am looking for places to park some cash until the market gives some direction.

Thanks,
Bob

Q: Hi Peter, with the recent spike in Softchoice (SO) would you recommend to continue to hold the stock or sell and enter into a name with better upside going forward. I was considering ACQ, AVO, DSG, DHX or DCI. Thanks for your insight.

Q: I just read a blog by rick rule saying gold stocks have been so hammered that one can now buy high quality managements for the same prices as low quality managements. my problem is I dont know which ones are high and which ones are low.could you help with a few midcap high quality gold managed stocks. TYVM pat

Q: Direct Cash Payments. Looking at their financials, I see that it appears that they earned .23 cents per share in 2012 Q1 but lost .04 cents per share in 2013 Q1. I want to take a position and capitalize on the confusion you alluded to in previous answer, but I too am confused. Can you clarify? I am also a bit concerned about the drop in "other transactions" because I assume the term refers to prepaid credit card transactions, which likely have more long term potential? Can you help me make sense of their statement below:

"In the prepaid products line of business DirectCash will strive to increase diversification, both in terms of product offerings such as MasterCard prepaid cards, bank accounts and related financial services through DirectCash’s strategic alliance with DirectCash Bank, and in terms of the number of customers DirectCash serves in order to reduce DirectCash’s dependence on a small group of large volume customers in certain market segments."

Sorry for the long question, and I know you plan to report on this company in the future, but I'm hoping to take advantage of this potential opportunity. Cheers. And thanks again for a great service. I sincerely appreciate your objective assessments and comments.

Q: EIT.un Enervest: I read your answers to previous Eit.un questions. You are cautiously supportive with caveats incl. costs. I own some. The NAV to Market discount is now 13.5%. $13.52 to $11.67 The distribution exceeds 10%. Since 2010 when they made strategy changes they have been flat. I worry about the distribution being cut. Your comments would be most appreciated. Thank you: James

Q: steady downward trend on CFN..... Should I sell while I still have a profit?
Have a great long weekend!

Q: Sylogist's (V.SYZ) Q2 results look very nice to me. New high today and market cap now almost $100M. Is a move up to the TSX main board likely in the near future?

Q: SYZ just came out with earnings. They seemed impressive - the gross margins seemed to rise from 70% last year to 80% which seems really impressive. What is your take? Thanks again.

Q: Hi Peter, what do you think of the new debenture issue "Argent Energy Trust - Convertible Debenture (AET.UN)"? The yield is of 6%. I must admit I do not much about debenture as an investment. Thanks, Gervais

Q: Conifex timber cff-x buy sell hold?