Investment Q&A

Q: I'm trying to choose between TIH and MG.

1. Which has the best long term growth?
2. Which has the future dividend growth?
3. Which has the better balance sheet?
4. Which has the better management?
5. Which is least vulnerable to competition / disruption?
6. Which is 5i Research's pick overall - if there are any particular reasons, please let me know.

Q: I'm trying to understand NBLY .... For starters it is a chain of drug stores that is losing money ... Why ? ..... And second what is the hook here ? I understand the format of Shoppers ..... Flyers, weekly sales, and appear to be a grocery and makeup store more than a pharmacy . What is the format in a Neighbourly Pharmacy when one enters the door ? Is it a pure pharmacy ? ...... Are there other products sold ? .....What does the corporate structure offer to these places ? What is your opinion on management ? ......Please explain what the attraction is here ? Thanks Garth

Q: Hi 5i Team – Having read the latest questions and responses on Lightspeed, I have a few to add and hopefully there isn’t much of an overlap here.

1) On BNN the new CEO talked about the launching of new products. Could you explain what these products are.
2) He also said that Lightspeed is replacing the old Legacy system for its clients with a more up-to-date system. Could you explain what that means.
3) Are there headwinds with more in-store shopping expected as pandemic restrictions are being lifted and at least some of the population wants to return to the personal shopping experience as opposed to the online experience.
4) What will it take for Lightspeed to become profitable and do you have an idea how long that will take.
5) I know Lightspeed has just under 1 billion dollars in cash but does it have any significant debt.
6) Could you describe any similarities to Shopify and also elaborate on the differences.

There are many questions here and even though they relate to just the one company, please feel free to deduct credits as needed.

Thank you.

Rob

Q: I am looking to diversify to more reasonably valued markets. I already own North American and European stocks / ETF's. So I want to increase my Emerging markets portfolio weighting. I own VWO (heavy Chinese component) and also ZID, so I would like even more diversification in S.E. Asia.

You've recently answered a question about EWY and mentioned how reasonably priced it was. Would EWS also be good value right now (i.e. P/E, P/S) ? Is 6% the correct dividend yield for that ETF, and are there any taxes withheld if it is part of one's RRSP ?

Q: Hi,

Have some cash to put to work. What would be in your top 5-10 CDN and US stocks that fit the descriptions below. Can be value or growth. Long term investor. Thanks!

“stocks with fair valuations that are at great price points and have taken a hit during this market volatility”

“high-quality stocks with sustainable growth, solid valuation frameworks, robust profits, positive earnings revisions, and strong momentum compared to peers.”

“wonderful company at a fair price”

“Bargains are the holy grail of the true stock picker. We see the latest correction not as a disaster, but as an opportunity to acquire more shares at low prices. This is how great fortunes are made over time,”

Q: Can you refer to other inflationary periods where there was interest rate increases. And quantify the interest rate % increase and the subsequent stock price % decrease in utility stocks? And would this relationship also apply to renewable clean energy stocks?
Thanks for the great information service you supply!

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

In general, how many stocks in the energy sector should one hold? I'm asking this because Portfolio Analytics is suggesting an increase in this sector. At present, we hold ENB, TVE, and TOU, with TVE being the largest holding. Are there any other complementary names that we should consider? I'd like to adopt an equal-weight strategy for this sector. Would you agree? I've been thinking about adding ARX and SU, and as always, appreciate your guidance.

Q: What are your thoughts on the announced acquisition by EQB of Concentra Bank, along with the big dividend increase. Is this an opportunity to step into the name, considering enhanced growth potential, a current P/E of only 9 (G&M figure) and that there might be a pullback toward the bought deal sub receipt price of $70.50?

Q: I recently asked a question about infrastructure funds and your team suggested IFRA as an ETF option (because I was just asking about one fund). Based on this and some further digging on my part, I am thinking of splitting the funds between two infrastructure ETFs i.e., IFRA and PAVE. Do you see any issues? Thanks again.

Q: Hello 5i,
These three make up the fund portion of a senior's portfolio. All of these have a US focus. Can you suggest 1-2 ETF's that would compliment these three with more diversification and some balance. Nothing risky; 5-year horizon.

And should the TD mutual fund be replaced with an ETF with lower fees?

Thanks for your guidance.

Q: Appreciate your comments on the latest court ruling which was in favour of
Quarterhill. (although the stock fell on the news???)
Ed

Q: Hi Team,
What's your thoughts on Skyworks earnings? Stock is having a negative reaction. This one amazes me and the valuation is so much cheaper compared to most chip names. Why the constant negativity on it? Should a person be selling it for something else? Perhaps add to NVDA? Or Shop? Also...should a person be holding PINS, or swap out for some beat down FB? Thanks!
Shane.

Q: In reply to Gordon who asked about a good stock screener that includes US stocks, I use StockRover and pay for the Premium Plus (mid-tier) package for 27.99 USD per month. Different subscription packages are able to access different metrics to screen with and I believe they offer a free trial so you can check it out.

A sample screener I created selects for companies that have grown sales and EPS at 10%+ for 1, 5 and 10 years, have a 1, 2 and 3 year return of 10, 20 and 100% respectively and an ROE of 10+. A total of 44 companies were returned from a NA universe of 15430. Included in the returns of this screener were GoEasy, Apple, NVIDIA - names that should be familiar to us all...I think its pretty powerful and have been very happy with my subscription.

Q: Hi 5i Team - Could you provide an update on the fundamentals of Mirasol Resources including cash on hand, cash flow, etc. as well as potential for growth through new discoveries and/or acuisitions This company has done little over the past couple of years as far as stock price. If I were to sell is there a replacement you would recommend. Thanks.

Q: Can I ask for your opinion about Plpc, it’s getting hard to find smaller cap value, wonder if this a good possibility?

Q: Do you analyze the chart of 10 days, 1 month, 3 months, or 6 months before deciding to buy or sell a stock? I am confused about Pipe doesn’t seem to move over $5.,but technical chart did not show overbought, please kindly explain, thanks

Q: I'm a little stuck on what I should do now. Sitting at around 5% cash. I'm a growth investor 10+ yrs. With the market backdrop currently posing a headwind for growth stocks, how long does this process/rotation usually play out? Months vs years? I'm holding some value stocks but definitely lean more towards growth. What would be some questions I should ask myself through this process before I allocate my cash? Do I add more to my value stocks to create a barbell strategy or keep nibbling away at growth stocks and ignore the short term market noise? I keep gravitating back to growth names during my searches. Thanks!

Q: How do you evaluate how much debt is safe for a company like Enbridge? At a glance, their debt is massive and their CR is well below 1. I realize this is the case with utilities generally but why is this not considered high risk? At what interest rate does the company become high risk and/or unattractive to investors? Thanks.

Q: Sprout is more than 50% off its high. Other than the tech selloff is there any indication that growth estimates are slowing... they were projected to be 25 - 30% annually? If the stock price has bottomed what in this company would suggest downside protection from the current price?

Q: I currently hold Abbvie and PFE in our portfolio. I'm looking to add another in the healthcare sector, such as Eli Lily, Merck or Danaher. Do you have a preference among thee to add or another?