Investment Q&A

Q: Hi,
I'm wondering what your thoughts are regarding Telus' reducing 2023 guidance. I've had it for a while and while price is under my buy in as of today's drop, dividends cover that. Do you think the reaction today is overdone, or is it time to move to something more profitable? I'm an active investor, so tend to follow the momentum. I am concerned T has been steadily losing momentum since last May 2022 and am thinking with this change in fundamental outlook, that trajectory will continue for a while. Dividends are nice to have, but are not worth having if the stock's price continues to deteriorate. It would be interested to know what you would suggest as a replacement at this time? BCE, NVDA, GOOG, MSFT, WSP, Cdn banks are all currently owned, no Health Care exposure and what seems like too much energy exposure lately. Add to something? Find something new? Cdn or US doesn't matter. Sorry - lots of questions here, so deduct accordingly.

Dawn

Q: Hi, Telco stocks have been weak for past few months , with new 52 weeks lows. perhaps due to pressure from increased competition ( Rogers/Shaw) and rising interest rates. Many analysts have also revised their price targets lower, in anticipation of weak results and soft outlook, at least in the near term.

My question is more specific to Telus, which was hit hard today, due to lower guidance announced by TIXT. Although, TIXT accounts for only 10% of Telus revenues/earnings, but it appears to be a continuous drag for the parent co. I know, 5i hold TIXT in its portfolio and has been supporting to own the stock, despite its downward trajectory for a long time. Telus now faces not just industry challenge from its peers, but also additional impact with negative and uncertain outlook for TIXT.

In light of this, if we wish to own only one Telco, would it be safer and

Q: Hi

Sold both BCE and T prior to them dropping.

I am now under weight in communications by 3.79%.

Do I buy them back or would I be better off with VOX as my US holdings are doing better than my Canadian holdings over all.

Thank you

Mike

Q: I am tempted to switch from Telus to Rogers. I think the total return for Rogers will be higher for the next two years.
Your opinion please.
Raouf

Q: Telus is something I've been on the cusp of buying over the years but never pulled the trigger.

Is this a good time or is there some structural that is supporting such a high dividend? Is it the interest rate expectations that are causing Telus to go down so much?

Q: Canadian telecom stocks have not been performing well recently.
1 ) Are Canadian telecoms strictly comparable to U.S. counterparts like VZ which has also not performed well but appears to trade more cheaply and with a higher dividend .
2) And if they are comparable , might that suggest that the Canadian companies could play catch-up to the downside ?
Thanks

Q: I was wondering why Telus seems to be underperforming right now.

Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i Team,

I am looking to create a dividend portfolio of 15 positions yielding around 6%. My plan is to weigh these positions equally in a non-registered account. A good number of these equities are in your income portfolio but I just wanted to get your opinion if you would swap any of these out or add anything else?

Telus
Enbridge
CNQ
TRP
MFC
BCE
TD
SLF
A&W
BEP.UN
BNS
Acadian Timber
Fiera Capital
CPD
CVD

Thanks in advance for your help!
David

Q: Peter; Re the Telus question- they have stopped their optic cable program- blaming the Government’s ban on Huawei.
Rod

Q: Good Day Team 5i: If I needed to raise cash , Which of these would you advise I sell at current prices ? I am a retired income and growth investor.Tellus down 5%, nutriune break even, and Tc energy break even.

Q: So would you rate Telus a buy or hold here? A price point in the mid-20s and a pretty compelling yield seem interesting to me right now. It is a core holding but wondering if the market knows something that is not obvious to me. Thanks .

Q: I have a full position in T, at break even. Would you suggest switching to any other Canadian Telecom? In the past you have favoured T. Is it still your Canadian Choice. thanks, al

Q: Good morning team,
Could you please give your take on these holdings .. keepers or let go? With the exception of TECK, I am down with the rest. Although they are good companies, they don't seem to have +ve momentum ..
I appreciate your thoughts ?
Thanks
CR

Q: Hi, Telus stock has shed about 8% of its value over past 3 weeks and is trading very close to its 52 weeks low of $25.95, back in January. Is this the " higher interest rates for longer fear " for Telcos/Utilities or, there are business issues specific to Telus. If none, does it male sense to add at these levels for income/growth ?

BCE has also declined by about the same %, during the same period, but is still well above its 52 week low.

Thank You

Q: 1. Do you recommend purchasing these stocks now, and why pls? 2. How much could TRP price drop if the behind schedule Coastal Gaslink project takes even longer to complete?

Q: In response to my earlier question:
Thanks for highlighting that the "Shares Outstanding" hasn't gone up a lot in the last decade.
I am looking at the data provided from gurufocus and their numbers for "Outstanding Shares" match with what you mentioned in the earlier answer.
But when I look at "Common Stock" it has been doubled in the last decade period. It remained flat until 2019 at 5660 mil and jumped to 11399 mil by end of 2022. Do you think this is because of the split in 2020?
Can you please clarify the difference between "common stock" (which doubled in last few years) and "shares outstanding" (which somewhat remained steady in the same period)?
Should I not look at "common stock" while looking at a company's balance sheet.
Thanks again for addressing my concern.

Q: I usually look at EPS, company debt, payout ratio and their # of common stocks while reviewing a company financials.
How would you justify Telus's 135% payout ratio ?
Company earned 1.22 (2021) and 1.15 (2022) and paid dividend of 1.27 (2021) and 1.36 (2022)
Long term debt is increasing and they have almost doubled their common stocks in last few years. All leads me to believe there may not be much growth in terms of the stock price in next 2-3 years.
Their cash flow doesn't looks sufficient to cover their dividend unless I am missing something here.
Thank you for your guidance.

Q: What is the best metric(s) to use to value Telus, and how does that / those metrics compare to the past historic range(s) ? If it is P/E, then I find it hard to justify buying today at what appears to be approximately 24X.

Q: What's your current view on Telus? The stock hasn't done much and going down. There is likely increased competition from Rogers/Shaw merger. I also hold BCE and wondering if its time to move from Telus to another opportunity.

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

Lately, Telus is under-performing Bell by quite a lot. On days when both stock prices are increasing, BCE goes up by a greater percentage than T, and conversely, when there's a decline, BCE declines less. We own both in our combined accounts, and Portfolio Analytics indicates that our Communication Services sector should be increased. If we wish to do this, is BCE the safer stock?

Also, is there something going on here that is causing this under-performance of Telus?

Thanks as always for your sage advice.