Investment Q&A

Q: As a contrarian investor, I can’t help but think the forestry sector is closer to a bottom rather than a top. If you wanted to play the sector what would be your top 2-3 ideas?

Q: ADN value is dropping, you still include it in your income fund at a B rating. In the last question asked abut ADN last month, you raised concerns about performance and a dividend cut, is there a chance you will be lowering the ratings or removing from your portfolio

Q: Good Afternoon;

Since late July Acadian has been in a steady downtrend that seems inconsistent with both the price trend for lumber and the latest Trump tariffs. I am trying to understand what is driving this downtrend, as some of their production (Maine) would not be subject to a tariff and lumber prices seem not to have "added" the tariff but absorbed it.

I own it as an income stock in a LIF. Aside from the drivers of the stock in the short term I am interested in dividend risk; is it or should it be a concern? Lastly, given the decline in price is there a trigger price you would be comfortable with to buy? I am considering adding at current yields.

Thanks as always,

Dave

Q: Is lumber in the basic materials group?
Could you recommend one or two lumber stocks (Canadian or US) that might have the best growth potential going forward?
Thank you.

Q: Hello 5i,
There have been many negative questions regarding Tariffs and other non-Canadian officials. Wondering if it makes sense to look to those Canadian companies that would benefit from the upcoming April 28, 2025 event results.
Following is my list of questions for you – please feel free to take as many credits as you require since I typically don’t use many.
• The clear winner looks to be BAM/BN/BIP/BEP with the massive housing & project build plans. Some housing build plans look to be well beyond anything the private sector has ever seen. Outside of investing in BAM/BN/BIP/BEP are there any other companies that will experience increased growth rates? Perhaps Canadian Only Lumber Companies, Steel, etc.… Being careful to ensure the industrial carbon tax doesn’t offset any building growth rates.
• Looks like major projects are going to be built to save the country from the tariffs. Assuming these are going to be non-conventional energy would the companies such as BAM/BN/BIP/BEP/WSP, benefit the most? Are there any other companies to start looking at? Perhaps carbon capture companies?
• I wonder if there are any areas of benefactors increasing/decreasing the amount of tax havens in Canada? There are a fair number of mid/small companies that could setup a beneficial tax structure and become more profitable. My experience with setting up offshore structures is that there are setup/dismantle/maintenance costs with Lawyers and Accountants but perhaps other benefactors are investable. Are there any publicly traded Accounting or Legal companies to start watching?
• With proposed additional spend to media companies are there any benefactors? Will BCE benefit from the overall plan? Are there companies worth looking at in the media sector?
• With the additional military spend are there any companies in Canada to invest in? I have a small position in MAL which could benefit from Canada built fighter jets. Is BBD.B a good one to look at?
• After reviewing the proposed firearm buyback pricing list, the overall program looks to be worth ~$2B in 2025 for Canadians. My question is could there be benefactors to this spend? Maybe ~$2B is not enough to stimulate the economy considering the current spending levels but it reminds me of a COVID-like spend bump. Assuming a large portion of the funds will be redistributed back into the economy.
• Health care seems to be getting an increased focus compounded with the buy Canada therefore are there any pure Canadian pharmaceutical/healthcare companies that will benefit? I have a SIS position that I could add to if they are going to be benefactors. Are there any companies that provide safe site vending machines or building structures?

Q: Good morning all; I've a two part question for you, First, the listed investments are in a RRIF. The current plan is to extract only dividend income, and have some modest stock growth.

I have funds for one more position and I'd like 3 of your suggestions that would add decent dividend income with modest growth of stock value.

Second question is about XLB. It was originally purchased as a post-inflation investment looking for some appreciation as rates declined. While Canada may get a bit more downward adjustment I believe Trump policy will be inflationary. What would be a sound replacement, meeting the dividend and growth goals for the account?

Thanks as always.

Dave

Q: Given Acadian Timber's forest lands are situated on both sides of the New Brunswick/Maine border, do you see this putting the company in an advantageous position in the event of a tariff dispute between Canada and the US? Does the company have processing operations on both sides of the border?

Q: If Trump wins election and he follows through with his promised 20% tariff on imported goods, which Canadian industries would be most adversely affected?

Q: Hello,
Do you think ADN is a buy and why? Can you please also comment on their payout ratio and debt level. Would it be your favorite in the sector? Thank you,

Q: Good Morning. I need to trim my holdings portfolio down to a more manageable number. My portfolio is pretty well balanced. From the list of NTR,PBH, DIS,RCI.B, ADN,GE, FCX,WMB,GS,CVX, CAT,LYB and APO how would you rank them with 1 being the best and 5 the least favoured. Please take as many credits as you need. Thanks Peter

Q: I would like to add to one or two of the above dividend paying companies I hold in my RSP.
I would appreciate your preference ranking... a short comment as well if possible.
Thanks as always
Albert

Q: Retired (25 years) investor, preservation of capital and income paramount. Can you please provide the following, ETF or equity suggestions for:
Basic Materials (hold 2% LIF), Communications Services (hold 4% BCE), Consumer Cyclical and Consumer Defensive (hold 0%), Healthcare (hold 1% HHL), Industrials (hold 0%), Technology (hold TXF 4%).

Thank you for considering my lengthy question for which I apologize.

Q: Hi. What are your thoughts about these two small cap companies, the one a timber company, the other a manufacturer of lumber products? Both have strong dividends. My thanks.

Q: HI Guys

I know you were asked a recent question about Arcadian Timber but Just wanted some clarity. On the recent question you said " In the last year, ADN saw it's price see a slight drawdown, but total return was up by 3%. ADN continues to be a solid dividend payer with a yield of 7.14% while payout ratio is quite good at 37.36%. "

Today with their earning report they stated the dividend payout ratio for the year ending December 2023 was 132%, but 99% with the DRIP. and "Adjusted EBITDA for the year was $20.6 million, compared to $18.2 million in 2022. Acadian generated $15.0 million of Free Cash Flow during the year, compared to $12.2 million in 2022, and declared dividends of $19.8 million or $1.16 per share to our shareholders. Acadian's balance sheet remains solid with $14.8 million of net liquidity as at December 31, 2023, which includes funds available under our credit facilities."

So just wondering about how much extra funds they generate/accumulate beyond the dividend and the security of the dividend going forward. Aren't they at a level that is somewhat worrying if there was a further downturn in the lumber industry?

By the way I am a long time holder of this stock.

Thanks so much

Stuart

Q: It’s been a little while since the last 5i report and even the last question on ADN. It’s 10 year performance looks quite impressive to me. Could you please provide updated thoughts and outlook on this one based on todays economic environment? Thank you!

Q: Acadian Timber (ADN) has come up on my radar. In your assessment, how safe is it's dividend?

Q: Please provide best “lower risk” investment ideas given the housing shortage in Canada and USA?

Q: Hi Guys

Your thoughts on Acadian Timber's recent earnings? I have owned it for quite a while and although I like the healthy dividend I noticed the payout ratio in the quarterly report was 115%. Should I be worried about that?

Thanks

Stuart

Q: I see RBC came out qith a mixed call on the wood sector. Isare there any here that look like the have growth in income and share price? How heartily would you recommend them?

Q: Hi 5i. I think the figure you like to use to measure a company's dividend payout is the ratio of dividend to free cash flow. I think Peter even wrote about this recently in the FP. For the above two companies, could you please tell me what the dividend-to-free cash flow currently is? Is it following a perceptible trend of rising or falling?