Investment Q&A

Q: I was disappointed when mfi maple leaf foods reported and did not announce a special dividend from the sale of Canada bread. I sold my stock at a decent profit. I had been holding it for three years.
Now on weakness I am thinking of buying it back wondering what they will do with all that cash.
Thanks. Helen M.

Q: will you please give your opion on r
aging river results. thanks donald

Q: Hi 5i team,

Could you give me your insight with regards to Morneau Shepell? The company reported recently and I felt good about their results. Is there anythingn in particular I should keep a close eye on when invested with a company like this?

Thank you,
Keep up the great work!

Q: Would appreciate your thoughts on EIF Exchange income r2nd quarter report today. Westower margins and profitability appear to be improving. Will this be enough to blunt the short sellers? I sold half my position at a loss after the Globe and Mail printed Veritas' one-sided report without bothering to mention the positive opinions of most analysts. Thanks

Q: Hi Peter & 5i Team. I'm still learning the ins and outs of your website, but I'm very happy with my recent membership purchase.

A macro question that's been on my mind for a while, and was finally broached today on BNN by technical analyst Bill Carrigan. With all the oil and gas production coming online in both Canada and the U.S. (and what's stopping these new production techniques from being used elsewhere in the world?), I'm wondering if we're heading towards a glut of energy products, particularly oil? I realize the U.S. dollar has been gaining strength, but here we are at the peak of the driving season and WTI is at $97 -- despite geo-political concerns in middle east (multiple) and Ukraine. It begs the question where my oil & gas stocks (CVE, WCP, PPY) are going to be in one year, three years, five years? Can we count on OPEC stepping in and cutting production, or is it every producing nation for themselves?

I'm also wondering if I'd be better off reducing holdings in producers and re-allocating towards infrastructure (currently have less than full positions in PPL and PRW), since regardless of the price of energy products, the oil and gas still have to get to market. Thanks in advance for your thoughts. Pete in Calgary, with the rose-coloured glasses placed slightly down the bridge of my nose.

Q: Could I have your opinion on Tesla please.
Thank you for your hard work!!!

Q: Peter,thanks for recommending CSS on 7/29 on BNN.I bought @ $15.18 as it is a great risk/reward ratio(0.18 for potential of $1 to $3).I will reject TFI's offer

Q: CSU
I'm wondering about the debt offering at Constellation Software. Is that a reasonable interest rate (for them - seems a bit expensive)?
Why offer debt in this way to shareholders? The exclusivity seems like it would make it more expensive. Something to do with the insider ownership?

Q: I bought CSU in June 2013, on your recommendation. It is up over 92% since then. It is 15% of my portfolio. Should I sell some of it at this point...and where would you suggest I invest it in if so?

Q: Thoughts on the subordinate debt Constellation (CSU) is offering? Joel Greenblatt wrote a good book on making money in odd deals like this. His thoughts are the big holders create initial selling pressure bc they either specifically invest in equities or the position wouldn't be large enough. Then one could pick up the rights at a discount and to purchase the debt at discount. At $95 for $100 debentures with 7.4% yield your essentially getting a yield of 13.1% annualized in the first year.

Q: on july 29 peter was on bnn with contrans as a top pick with an 18. target with no takeover by transforce. also peter felt a higher offer would come.
now you seem to be saying that no higher offer is forthcoming, I own contrans but why should I keep this stock now, when there are so many better opportunities out there. it is obvious now that 15. is all we are going to get. dave

Q: Peter and Team,

Is there a reason the model income portfolio doesn't contain any of the Limited Parternships that are spun off of the major pipeline companies? Examples would be TransCanada Pipelines LP or the Enbridge Income Fund. These generally pay higher yield and have less volatility than the common shares of the associated pipeline company so I would think this would have been a great pick. Are there reasons to avoid these vehicles?

Q: PM Prism Medical
Hi Peter and Ryan: The auction price is $8 to $8.75. The shares were appraised at $9 to $9.80. Do you think the shares will wind up around $9 after the buy back?
Thanks.

Q: RE: CSS
So, the takeover of Contrans by Transforce seems to be progressing glitch free. Is there still a reason why I should not sell my shares and access a price, as of now, that is superior to the original Transforce offer?
Thank you and kind regards,

Q: HLF: Hello Peter & team. Would you still rank HLF a B rating following today's dreadful quarterly report? Rising costs which can't be passed on due to contracts and competition. Customer sales are also weak. Not much comfort from commentary on operational outlook. Should I dump it? Thanks, Keith

Q: HLF reported its 2nd quarter earnings today and the stock dropped like a rock, down 11% in minutes. Were the results really that bad? I bought this stock in part because I thought it was a relatively stable one and not likely to take the kind of huge drops momentum tech stocks do at every little glitch. What do you see for the near future of the stock?

Q: could you please comment on PHM's latest earnings? Thanks

Q: Hello Peter & Co,
I bought AVO on Jan 29, 2014 for $32.85; it is now around $20.
Question 1: If I did not own it, would I buy it now? Probably not, given all the noise.
Question 2: do I buy more and thus reduce my average cost to $26? I think not; I'd rather take a position in DHX Media (on my watch list).
Decision: hang on to it for a while longer unless it drops further to $18-19.
What do you think of this rationale?
Thanks
Tony

Q: Hi folks:
I can only find 9 stocks on your site with ROE greater than 20 percent. Most of these are quite expensive. Would an A+ stock with ROE around 15 % offset the need for a 20 % return?
Charles

Q: Hello,
Could you please comment on GXI. It reported yesterday and the market is responding negatively today. I own a small position and was thinking about adding more for a long term hold.
Thanks again
Luke