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Investment Q&A

Not investment advice or solicitation to buy/sell securities. Do your own due diligence and/or consult an advisor.

Q: For an income investor with a long term horizon how would you rank LNF, ALC, WJX, AW.UN, and DBM in terms of total return?
Read Answer Asked by Simon on March 09, 2026
Q: Hello,

Which stocks would benefit the most from a strike/lockout at CP and CNR?
Thank you
Read Answer Asked by Marie-Noelle on August 20, 2024
Q: Hi 5i,
I like the idea of adding an 'industrial' type transportation name and have been looking at ALC.
I wonder though if it might see a near term slow down in business because of the type of supply chain issues currently plaguing some manufacturers such as NFI lately thus leading to less cargo to transport, or does it have enough product that is immune to the supply chain bottlenecks to keep its ships loaded?
I'd also appreciate any other suggestions you might have besides ALC for transportation names worth looking at that also pay a comparable dividend.
Thanks!
Peter
Read Answer Asked by Peter on September 28, 2021
Q: I was wondering if there are any shipping container companies that you would recommend for investment consideration?
Canadian options?
Thanks, Calvin
Read Answer Asked by Calvin on February 08, 2021
Q: I would appreciate your thoughts on purchasing some shares of ALC now that the unit price is below $10. I only own 100 shares bought at $15.92 six years ago in a TFSA account. The dividend has increased. Buying a few more shares would help bring down my book value and if sustainable, the dividend yield would be helped. As a transportation company is it worth holding for the long term? Buy, hold or sell? Thank you so much.
Read Answer Asked by Len on April 13, 2020
Q: My take on ALC's 3rd quarter numbers are a sort of a "muted positive". They seem be doing better but not really enough to move the needle. They have added new ships and freight rates seem to be increasing so organic growth is better. The dividend was increased and they continue to buy back shares but this is double edged sword for a company with poor liquidity. They have raised expectations for the 4th quarter which will be a millstone if they don't post good numbers in January. The stock appears to be range bound and will likely stay so until they either post better numbers or make a good acquisition. They did increase their ownership in the "Ocean Self-Unloader Pool" so they haven't been totally quiet on acquisition front. Management style seems to be cautious and careful. Any comments you have would be appreciated.
Regards,
Jim
Read Answer Asked by James on November 07, 2019
Q: I have always considered ALC to be a proxy (maybe a weak proxy) on the iron ore pellets market. I know ALC ship grain and petroleum too. Of course ALC has other issues like water levels in the Great Lakes as well as replacing an aging fleet which has been slowed down as a number of ships supposed to be delivered weren’t due to problems with the shipyards defaulting or failing to deliver. Nonetheless I would have expected to have seen the share price of ALC strengthen more than it has with LIF doing so well. Am I missing something?
Thanks,
Jim
Read Answer Asked by James on July 15, 2019
Q: In a previous question about ALC you noted that while ALC was not poorly managed there were better companies out there without liquidity issues. I presume you would include CAE as one of those better companies. I bought ALC, post split, (about 5 years ago) and it hasn't done much - I am essentially flat. I have certainly considered selling it but never "pulled the trigger". Unlike yourself I am not really a stock analyst but it seems to me they have been caught up in Trumpian tariff headwinds, weak iron ore prices (a few years ago) and replacing high operating cost (outdated) ships. To some extent the share price also seems to mirror the historical weakness of the Canadian Market versus the strength in the US Market. So far in 2019 the TSX seems to be performing better and the CAD appears to be gaining slightly on the USD. ALC appear to be having trouble replacing their ships as on at least 2 occasions the shipyards have defaulted on the boats. ALC got their money back but the replacement schedule must have been impacted. So, as usual, I am sitting on the fence. My questions...
1) Do you consider CAE to be a much better company that ALC?
2) While both companies are classified Industrial, ALC is more of a classic cyclical Industrial than CAE. In other words do you think ALC should do better if commodities show some strength or the USD shows some weakness?
3) We own 3,900 shares of ALC or about one days average trading volume. Would you have any recommendations about how to sell the shares keeping haircuts to a minimum? Does offering 500 shares at "the bid" at 10 AM make any sense to you? We wouldn't offer the next 500 shares until the first 500 shares were sold. The spread is about 20 cents per share.
Please deduct as may credits as you see fit.
Thanks,
Jim
Read Answer Asked by James on February 25, 2019
Q: For an infrastructure play, which would you prefer or do you have other suggestions? I was considering Brookfield Infrastructure as a one-stop shop but I have reservations about the Brazil exposure. Thanks.
Read Answer Asked by Michael on October 24, 2018
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