Investment Q&A

Q: Can I ask you to do a “mental screen” for a few mid-cap Cdn companies that pay over a 3% dividend while having the potential for above average growth in the medium to longer term? Please omit SIS, PBH, EIF and NWC (already owned) and leave out anything in the energy sector. I’m assuming not much in the small cap space would meet the div. criteria and not much in the large cap space meets the growth criteria, but if you think anything there is compelling please include as well. Thank you.

Q: Exco reports on 31 January . Today ( 19 January ) some 234,441 shares traded , the majority between 4.30 -5.00 pm EST ( after normal trading hours ) .50 day average trading is 17,353 shares . The share price fell some 8% .
Now , does somebody know something that the rest of us don't ? I'm curious to know if the TSE regularly monitors unusual trading activity , and what action they take . Now this could just be an entry mistake , but I hope it doesn't mean something nasty on 31 January .

Q: XTC has just reported quarterly earnings . Your comments on earnings please . and thoughts on prospects for this company over the next 2-3 years . Thankyou .

Q: I have this in a TSFA account. What do you think of the likelihood of this going up? Should I hold or sell this stock? Thanks

Q: If you held the following smaller cap stocks in positions of 0.5% to 1.0% of your total stock portfolio, and wanted to reduce the number of holdings by selling several of them and using the money to add to others, which ones would you sell and which ones would you add to: ACQ, ADEN, AEP, AND, CHW, CJ, DCM, ECN, GEO, HPS.A, LNF, NOA, PRL, QIPT, RCH, RET.A, SFC, STLC, SVI, TVE, WELL, XTC. Assume overall portfolio is well diversified so sectors not a consideration, and that this is the riskier part of portfolio, so, higher risk is fine. Would be great if you could pare this list of 22 stocks down to about 10-15. Thanks.

Q: I bought this company a year ago feeling pretty confident because of all the insiders' buying. What did they and I get wrong? Hold, buy more or sell?

Q: Happy 2023 after learning the hard way in 2022 that growth is not always the best rewarded investments. Anyway this shall pass too. My question is about the impact from the interest raise that may potentially slow down buying new cars. It seems to me that the car parts retailers such as Carparts.com that sells “aftermarket auto parts and accessories” may be a good bet for 2023.

Most people in the U.S. simply don’t have a reason to spend money on a new car during the current, uncertain macro environment. Consequently, they will repair their current vehicles if they have problems.

What do you think of my theory? Are there any public Canadian company doing the same as PRTS? Please be free to suggest any other way to play the theme and place your suggestions in your preferred order and your rational.

Thanks a Million$

Yves

Q: Looking for your current opinion of this company it has been awhile since the last comment. I have 500 shares in my RRSP at higher prices currently down around 45%. Are there any catalysts coming is it still a hold? What do you think the prospect of take out target or going private?

Q: I want to reduce Canadian exposure and increase international exposure in my portfolio. Would it be a good idea to sell XTC and buy ZXM? I am down in both securities. Could you please provide your views on future prospects for this move. Thanks

Q: Ever since I started investing roughly ten years ago, I've always enjoyed trying to identify companies that could become acquisition targets. Could you please name five companies (TSX only) that you believe have a high likelihood of being acquired or taken private in this current environment? Thank You

Q: The last earnings were disappointing and the price trend negative for a period of time. What do you think of XTC.A and its opportunities going forward. Would you buy at this time or sell?

Q: Would you add to any of these shares? And if so in what order?
Thank you

Q: Can you please provide the names of some Canadian blue chips with the best balance sheets regardless of sector?

Q: I was looking to add (NEE) Nextera to my RRSP and Exco (Xtc) to my unregistered account for some dividend paying companies based on some insider buying. What do you think of the financial ratios for these stocks, their history, the industry that they serve, their customer base and insider ownership? Buy, hold or sell? Thanks

Q: please list your 5 favourite GARP.companies (growth at a reasonable price). please show their 1. peg. 2.p/e. 3.price to sales ratio. 4 debt to equity. thanks Richard

Q: If you had a well balanced portfolio and were looking to add some medium to small sized companies that were involved in industrial activity of various types, how would you feel about each of these companies on a scale of 1 to 10, with a 10 being a stock you definitely want to add right now, a 1 being a stock you have absolutely no interest in, and a 5 being a stock you thought was not bad, but not good enough to want to buy it. Say you have a risk tolerance of about a 7, with 10 being high and 1 being low. Looking for long term total return. ANRG, DIR.UN, FTT, GDI, HDI, ITP, NOA, XTC.

Q: Happy Monday Peter , just wondering what value stocks you might think are a good investment right now thx Kim

Q: Good morning, I have 32 positions spread between the two TFSA's that I manage. I'd like to get that down to 25. The above are holdings that have fallen to less than half positions and I'm wondering if you could suggest 6 or 7 for removal. Also are there any that you would add to in order to bring them up to half positions. Secondly, without knowing my weightings, do you have a suggested sector or two for this years TFSA contribution?

Q: Which 5 small cap companies are the cheapest all things considered and may have the most upside if small caps in general stage a rally?

Q: What Cdn or U.S. companies would you consider to be the most likely takeover targets in 2022? Can you rank them in terms of quality even if a takeover doesn't materialize?