Investment Q&A

Q: Hello Peter,
Do you feel it is too late to buy silver stocks as the run up has been quite good? I am looking at the following: silver wheaton , first majestic, ishares silver trust (SLV) or central fund of canada (cef.A) which gives mixture of silver and gold? Also, do you feel gold standard ventures is a stock that can be held for few years with a hope of increased capital appreciation or possible take over. Thank you.

Q: Can you give me some reasons why this company is trading so low. From what I understand they are the patent owner of WIFI technology that helps congestion problems in high traffic areas. In this stage of WIFI development, this company should be in high demand and the stocks should be taking off. But the stock sits well below 1.00. Do they have the WIFI patent that there is stated in their google finance description or is the low price due to poor management.

Q: Things seem to be going well for this company and if all goes well they should be producing later this year. For those with a little patience, MPV looks to be a decent bet for those seeking dividends (I understand that most of the $ made here will be allocated to dividends as that is what the 3 main owners (of MPV) want) ... thoughts?

Q: This stock recentky made a Globe and Mail small cap stocks to watch list. It seems like an inretesting stock. Is it buyable as growth prospect? What can you tell me?

Q: Victoria Gold has been spectacular lately, I believe because it represents a good option on the gold price....they have cash ( recently raised more), an exploration program and a fully permitted "shovel ready" property. Now that it has spurted from roughly the 20c level it is probably getting ahead of itself at 53c close today.
My question is do you have another 2-3 companies that you are aware of with similar qualities (optionality, cash, decent property) that have not had a big move yet ?

Q: Can you provide any information on Mainstreet Health Investments trading on the VSE as HLP.u. ?

Thanks.

Linda

Q: Is it a good buy at these levels?
What about the energy risk?

Q: Hi can you help assess the market today? The US Fed announced that interest rates may be raised this year, increasing the chances of one or two hikes. This sparked a sell off in metal and energy companies. Is this due mainly to a sector rotation to another sector due to the news, or are interest rate hikes normally bad for energy? Given this news, what sectors would you expect to do well and which ones to do poorly, or has nothing materially changed today? Then there is Goldman saying that there could be a large correction this summer - is this also related to the interest hike potential?

Q: Lots of momentum behind Maple Leaf Foods. Owned them forever and sold out at $25.00. Now they are approaching $30.00. One analyst thinks they can go as high as $40 now that their restructuring is in place. How does MFI compare to Premium Brands a stock I don't own but have been watching.

Q: Any views ?

Q: Hello,
I am concerned about my sector weighting in Technology.If I include the stocks listed above,my weighting is 32%.I also have CSU,ESL,CGI,SH and SYZ,all in a range of 1% to 6%.Thank you for your excellent service.

Q: Can I get your thoughts on NDQ please?
Thanks,
Rob

Q: I was thinking that there would be some negative news regarding oil and gas loan losses and also consumer loans. With this as a backdrop I was wondering if you think the banks will see another sell off next week during their earnings release ? I see no real catalyst to drive them higher. Would appreciate you thoughts. Thinking about the last quarter and the money that could have been made by selling and coming back after the hit the banks took.

Q: What is your opinion? I'm thinking of creating a "synthetic annuity" by investing some U.S. money in a U.S. covered call etf, namely SPXX. It provides a generous dividend (about 7%) and seems as secure as a regular annuity since it invests in the S&P 500 stocks. I know the share price may decline along with the market, and the dividend may fluctuate. Therefore the income isn't as fixed as a regular annuity. However, I also retain some principle and don't give it all to an insurance company. Generally speaking, what do you think of such a "synthetic annuity?"

Q: Originally there was money offered.Has this changed,they say it will be operated independently.Will LVL still be listed on Canadian stock exchange.Tks 5I

Q: You have dropped coverage of Trimac due to the proposal to take it private. However, do you have any idea whether the proposed price of $6.25 reflects fair value of the stock, considering that transportation is at a low point in the cycle ? Do you have any other transportation or trucking stocks you would recommend ?

Q: I am a retired, conservative, dividend-income investor with a pension, CPP, and mostly dividend stocks (AD, AQN, ALA, BCE, BNS, CPG, CGX, ECI, FTS, PBH, RY, TRP, WCP, WSP, WEF, ZLB, XIT, Sentry Cdn Inc, RBC Equity Inc, Sentry REIT, Annuities, Fisgard Capital).

I have a roughly 10% weighting in energy. I hold CPG in my Cash account and have a potential capital loss available. Listening to the CEO yesterday, it looks like the dividend will remain small for the foreseeable future.

Two options = sell and replace with a better dividend player, capturing the Loss. Or, continue to hold CPG as this seems to be one of the "go to" names as oil recovers. While I would like more steady income, it is possible if I switch energy names that the new holding would then cut its dividend.

Under consideration are BNE, VET, FRU, SU, CNQ, ZEO, XRE. Are there others that should be on the list? I don't want a small cap and I'd prefer an oil name.

I have tried my usual filtering with P/BV < 2.0, P/CF < 6.0, Div > 3.0% and Beta < 2.5 (not sure if you want to consider beta in this exercise because you want the bounce) and don't get anything that makes sense.

It is normally all about total return, but steady income is more important.

Help and thanks in advance...Steve

Q: Hi Peter and Team,

I own TMA in a margin account and would like your advice as to what to do: should I wait for the $6.25 price when (and if) it goes private, or should I sell into the market at the current price (it closed today at $6.16)? Having used the proceeds of Contrans CSS (when they were bought out) to buy Trimac, I'd rather not replace TMA with another transportation stock. If I do sell now, can you recommend a few suitable replacements in the Industrial sector?
As always, thanks for your valued advice.

Q: Hello Team,
Can you help clarify for me what seems to be a contradiction. Markets are supposed to have priced in the possibility of a US rate increase sometime this year. Yet, when the Fed minutes released today (May 18) indicate that may indeed be the case, markets react with volatility (i.e., gold down, oil down, US dollar up, financial stocks up, etc.).
My question is, if the market has priced in a rate increase, why is there so much volatility when there is the hint it might actually happen?
Thank you, Michael

Q: What do you think of Hydro One for a growth/moderate dividend investment?