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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: Six questions regarding pipelines:
(1) I understand that Enbridge finances most capital expenditures by way of debt or new equity, not retained earnings. I am thinking that this would be OK if its GAAP earnings per share are keeping pace with dividend increases and its debt service coverage is stable. Do you agree with these comments?
(2) I assume that the prospects for ENF are tied to ENB. Do you agree?
(3) Do PPL and IPL have the same policy as ENB regarding the financing of capital expenditures?
(4) Do you have preferences among ENB, IPL and PPL and, if so, why?
(5) If I am correct, ENB is mostly pipelines, PPL is mostly other midstream and IPL is somewhere in between. I have this idea that pipelines are more stable than other midstream activities. Is this simply wrong or an over-simplication?
(6) ENF, IPL and PPL represent 10% of my portfolio. Would you suggest lightening up? (I am retired and my portfolio is geared to income.)
Read Answer Asked by Carl on December 11, 2017
Q: Can you recommend 5 stocks which have high growth potential, but currently undervalued or not over-valued for 3 - 5 years hold ? These stocks can be in any sector and can be Canadian or US .
Thanks
Read Answer Asked by Lai Kuen on December 08, 2017
Q: I would appreciate your take on - The cracks in the Enbridge dividend story by David Milstead in the G&M dated Dec 3, 2017. Some of the key points in the article include (all CAPS from the article):

- ENBRIDGE EMPHASIZES 'AVAILABLE CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS' TO INVESTORS WHEN IT TALKS ABOUT THE SUSTAINABILITY OF ITS DIVIDEND. IN CALCULATING THIS MEASURE, IT IGNORES MOST OF ITS CAPITAL EXPENDITURES, DEDUCTING ONLY 'MAINTENANCE' CAPEX TO ARRIVE AT THE NUMBER. THAT HAS LEFT BILLIONS OF DOLLARS OF CAPEX OUT OF THE MEASURE OVER TIME. WHEN ALL OF THE COMPANY'S CAPITAL EXPENDITURES ARE DEDUCTED FROM OPERATING CASH FLOW, ENBRIDGE POSTS NEGATIVE FREE CASH FLOW IN NEARLY EVERY YEAR. STILL, THE COMPANY PAYS DIVIDENDS — AND ISSUES DEBT, AS WELL.
- For the third quarter, Enbridge reported $360-million in maintenance capital expenditures. Total capex was $1.95-billion. Depreciation, a measure of how much of the company's property, plant and equipment was "used up" in the period, was $848-million.
- In the last 10 years, from 2007 on, it was only in 2016 that Enbridge actually posted positive free cash flow, a paltry $83-million. The 10-year total is a staggering $24.1-billion in negative free cash flow. That's before paying out $7.4-billion in dividends. Perhaps not coincidentally, the company issued almost $25.6-billion in net debt over that decade. It now has $65-billion in debt on its books, including the tens of billions it took on in the merger with Spectra Energy Corp. this year.
- https://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/inside-the-market/the-cracks-in-the-enbridge-dividend-story/article37172663/

I would have expected that maintenance capex would be inline with the depreciation expense. Is Milstead highlighting one of the risks in ENB - ie., that the dividend is solid as long as the market has confidence in the Company and it can raise additional capital each year.

What mid/large-cap companies in this sector would you would recommend that have more conservative financials?

Thank you.
Read Answer Asked by rajiv on December 04, 2017
Q: Here we go again.The underwriters try to push the stock as high as possible,but in this case of ENB with limited success.After market closed today ENB announced it is going to the market again to raise financing to the tune of $1.5b of private placement of 33.5m of treasury shares @ $44.84(recent 52 week low of $43.91),At the same time it reconfirmed 10%pa increase in dividend for a number of years.Please advise who are the lead underwriter(s) & underwriters.I guess BMO is one as it did a glowing report in G&M @ end of last week.My purchase @ $50 is 10% higher than the. $44.84,so hopefully the gap can be bridged.Thanks for u usual great views & services.
Read Answer Asked by Peter on November 30, 2017
Q: I am looking to add to either my Utilities or Industrial's.

My industrial weighting for Industrial is 11.8% which might be a bit light, and I can add to CAE or NFI.

Or,

Add to my Utilities is also quite low at 4%. I have BEP and ENB there. Should I add to ENB at this time?

As always thanks for the great advice

Lastly, the only REIT I have is a Small Position in Chartwell. Which i have put in Healthcare. I do have Financials at close to 15%, but should I look at my home as a big investment in real estate and not worry about it?
Read Answer Asked by Colin on November 29, 2017
Q: Do you see ENB as a potential tax-loss selling candidate for the remainder of this year, despite it not being on your list in your recent blog entry on the topic?

I have a 3% portfolio weighting of ENB in a taxable account and still wish to hold it long term, however as I have a small (7%) loss I'm contemplating selling it and buying it back at the beginning of January or thereabouts to offset some of this year's capital gains. Would you advise such a move for ENB right now, or is this all a bit too fancy (and/or risky)?
Read Answer Asked by Peter on November 29, 2017
Q: This is a reset preferred that I bought in the $16 range. With increasing interest rates and collecting the interest, I have done quite well. As long as interest is predicted to rise it will increase in value.
I was thinking that about selling if there is a forecast that interest rate will rise again in Dec or Jan. Will use proceeds to buy ENB in The midst of tax loss selling giving me a better dividend and more opportunity for growth. What’s your view on interest rates and buying ENB ?
Read Answer Asked by Roy on November 28, 2017
Q: Hello Peter
As a recent new member, I am both impressed and a little overwhelmed with all the information. I started making a lists of potential companies to invest with, but decided to cut to the chase and just ask you....I am looking for your recommendation for both income and growth companies.... perhaps 4 or 5 of each. I am fully invested in TD, which has done well for me this last year, as well as a couple energy stocks.... Spartan and Ring. I am retired but have a steady income flow with pensions and dividends from an ongoing business. Thank you for offering such a great service and look forward to a bright and lucrative future. Brian
Read Answer Asked by Brian on November 27, 2017
Q: YGR is seemingly highly rated and has been up more than 200% this year already. Is it still a buy at this level (closed at $4.79 on Friday)? Energy stocks could be back in vogue and with every sector almost already fully priced, it may be their turn.

I have dedicated about 5% of my total capital for very short term (say, no more than a month) high risk investments. Right now I am holding ENB in this slot ( a result of my recent bottom fishing) and I would like to flip it for something else before the Enbridge media day in December. Just in case Enbridge may say something untoward and jeopardizes its pledged dividend increases, or lower its guidance for 2018. After all this company had missed its earning targets for about six quarters. I could lose my modest ENB gain so far, and perhaps more.

Would YGR be a better choice for a bigger short term gain than ENB? Thanks for your take on this idea.
Read Answer Asked by Victor on November 27, 2017
Q: 5i team,
I want to understand more about ENB's debt. Most company web-sites allow the user to easily drill down under "Investor Relations" to find what one wants. The ENB web-site seems different - their Search engine asks "What can we help you find?" I tried to use this, but found it ineffective in finding what I want, debt or other info. Are you able to help on this? Thank you. Edward
Read Answer Asked by Edward on November 24, 2017
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