Investment Q&A

Q: I recently did a stock screen of cheap companies based on large, well-known companies that are trading at less than 10 PE. Deere & Co (NYSE: DE) came up.

What is your view on this stock for a medium-term investor?

Q: Hello Peter and Ryan,
I have rebalanced my growth portfolio and also have new money to invest in 4 to 5 positions for the long term.
In the 5i 20 growth portfolio I have 16 of the stocks except the following 4 stocks CSS, FSV, G and MG. At present valuations is it still advisable to add these stocks or would you suggest other stocks.
Thank for providing such great insight, Ronald

Q: Hello Peter and Team,

At the end of this year, I'll have to convert my RRSP to a RRIF. Since my spouse is younger than me, I understand that I can use her age to determine the withdrawal rate, which I hope is correct. Since I won't need all of this extra cash, I read that one can make an in-kind transfer to an unregistered account, while paying taxes on the amount transferred, of course (!) Our TFSA's are maxed out, so these surplus funds can't go there. Is this a good strategy? If so, how can I determine which stocks (mainly from your model portfolios (thank you, thank you, thank you!) to transfer to an unregistered account? Alternatively, if there's an article describing this strategy in the Canadian Money Saver, I'd appreciate learning the issue(s) to look at. I attempted a search on the CMS website, but couldn't find exactly what I'm looking for.

As usual, I really appreciate your truly valuable service and timely advice.

Q: goodday, iwould like to buy PPY,and AVO on margin as they look like a couple of very nice companies to own.looking for growth in the next 6m to a year.good/bad idea? tkx pat

Q: Hi Peter and staff: I currently hold PPY , AVO and SYZ (4% each). would you add additional shares at current prices or wait for a fall back and then buy?

Q: Hello Peter and Team,

What do you think of Grenville Strategic Royalty Corp (GRC-X)? Looks to me like a mini Alaris Royalty. National Bank has initiated coverage on this stock and anticipate a dividend of 0.05$/year to be announced by year end.

Q: Hello Peter & Co,
Yamana Gold has lagged Goldcorp (5i equity) and the XGD basket partly because of its venture with Osisko; I'm thinking of buying it (for one seasonal cycle) purely on a valuation basis.
I'm not confortable enough with gold to make it a long term holding.
Your comments?
Thanks
Tony

Q: PMO005....Pimco Monthly Income... I had this transferred in from my wife's "fired" advisor account. Is it worth keeping? and,if not, could you suggest an ETF. Very hard to find any info on this product. Thank You Ron

Q: General comment on ACQ.With all due respect to your positive opinion,I have 3 issues.Recently,it did a equity financing of 2.565m shares @ $78.,but its owner,CAG sold 2.5985m shs @ $78.If CAG did NOT sell,it may not have to do the financing.Why did CAG sell,even though it still owns 9.6% after sale.2)Reportedly,auto sales is @ a record level with easy & cheap financing.A source pointed out this could be a "auto bubble" similiar to "sub prime"3)What will be the effect once interest rate starts to climmb?Yellen indicated that bank rate will not increase until mid 2015,but many analysts are predicting US 10yr bond rate could increase fr current 2.55% to 3%-3.5% by year end.Thanks

Q: Hi Team,

You have mentioned QST favorably in some of the recent questions. Why do you like QST? What are the attributes which make it a good investment? It has been dropping recently on no news. Do you have any insight into that? Thanks

Q: SPP (SPOT)I own a stake in this company and am thinking of moving on. Do you see any reason to keep it? It is only trading at 5 to 6 cents and my sale would clean out some junk. THANKS AS ALWAYS.

Q: "Vecima is a solid small cap tech company at 15 X earnings, with a very solid balance sheet. It looks fine.
Your reply to Dennis (14Jul14) indicates 15 X earnings. I assume this refers to P/E ratio. TMX Money website indicates a P/E of 7.50. Can you clarify if TMX is incorrect. Thanks

Q: Hello Peter!
I have no room for contribution to my TFSA account for this year, but I want to buy now ACQ and put it into my Unregistered account and hold it until next year and then move it "in kind" to my TFSA acc.in form of yearly contribution. Is this good strategy and do I have to pay tax on capital gain if price of ACQ go up.
Regards Andrew.

Q: Greetings: Many REITs are trading below book value ie: cheap, bargin basement territory with good yields. If interest rates rise and REITs have their debt under control why does the REIT price fall? If interest rates rise because of inflation expectations and an improving economy, REITs have the ability to raise rents faster then inflation thus acting as a hedge against rising rates BUT the opposite has happened. Where is the flaw in this logic? Thank You

Q: Hello Peter

You said "Our IT guys have indicated MS Office has an option when you are saving to save in the older Excel format. This is all they have offered so far. We are unsure if you have tried this yet."

This morning I downloaded the latest version of Apache Open Office 4.1.0 and your .xlsx files open perfectly.

Many thanks....... Paul K

Q: Hello Peter and Team
I hold SU, CVE, ARX and HSE in the energy sector of my portfolio which is becoming overweight. Do you see these four companies to be diverse enough to warrant holding all four or is there sufficient duplication to justify selling one of them? In other words, if I wish to reduce my energy holdings should I trim all four or sell one? If the answer is to sell one, which one? My preference is to holder fewer stocks if adequate representation of the sector can be maintained.
Thanks
David

Q: Just looking at LVS, Las Vegas Sands. They seem to have hit a bit of a speed bump in June but have had good growth. Their report is coming out on july 16th, i believe.
thanks

Q: My question is on DD (Dupont) I have been holding for about three years now. I am just wondering if the upcoming spinoff is still going ahead and if I should sell before or coninue to hold until it spins off into two companies.

Thanks

Q: Hi Peter & Team,
Oil & Gas stocks are consolidating lately, I am thinking to buy either VET - Vermilion, BTE - Baytex, or SGY - Surge.
Which one would you suggest and pls rank them by 1 , 2 and 3.
Thank you for your advice as always.
Pui

Q: Peter & Team, DEE. With oil prices retreating to more normal levels, can you please comment on the declines in most energy names and, and in particular, the precipitous drop in the share price of DEE (-18% in a month; 5+% today). I like the growth prospects of DEE as outlined in their recent presentation available on the web. Is now a good entry point into DEE? It is a Jason Donville top pick and he forecasts a $20 stock in 3-5 years as the plan is implemented. What do you think? Many thanks and all the best to Peter in his recovery. Keith