Investment Q&A

Q: Hello,
I'm a looking to invest in dividend stocks. Currently I would like to increase my exposure to the Utilities sector. Given the current economic conditions, which of the above stocks are most at-risk of cutting or reducing their dividends? Also, of the above, are there any standouts that you prefer? I am also looking at AQN and FTS aswell as BEP.UN and BIP.UN.

Thank you

Q: Hello. May I have your comments on earnings. They looked a bit mediocre, but the share price rose today!

Q: Hi 5i,

I have about a 40% gain on Emera in an unregistered account.

Assuming an otherwise adequetely balanced portfolio, would you suggest a trim? And if so, could you tell me which SECTOR (Cdn) you would invest new money in at this moment if you could only pick one - again, assuming an already balanced portfolio.

Thanks!

Q: Please rank these companies with a long term hold in mind.
Thanks

Q: I'm retired. I own TRP and ENB, (7% weight total).I want to lighten up on the number of equities. Should I sell one of KEY,EMA or AQN (2.5% weight each )and deploy the cash into the other two, leave every thing as is or lighten up on the sector.

Q: Why the sudden jump in these stocks today? I must have missed something?!

Q: I need to top up my utilities exposure and am considering one of Emera or Fortis. Which of these would you recommend or is there a better choice?

Q: Thoughts on results and going forward.

Thanks for your help.
Dale

Q: what our your views on their situation in light of damages to their installations. Seems to be on a steady downturn last week or so.
Thanks
Sherrill

Q: Wondering about where to contribute and add to next . I have a TFSA and RSP self directed ( no unreg'd trading accounts )

Started investing in the TFSA 1st so my RSP is far behind it in $ levels . Now that I have contribution room , plus more on Jan 1 should i go with ..

Topping up EMA in my RSP , would be heaviest weighting if so with TD on top right now .
Topping up RY , NFI , MFC or NPI ( all being medium weight with TD and AQN on top )
Or adding BEP or SRU as new holding to either TFSA or RSP , leaning towards BEP myself .

Thanks

Q: I am aiming for a 20-stock (or slightly less) portfolio of dividend payers. So each position will be 5% or slightly more.

In the pipeline / utility sectors I currently have ENB, TRP and BEP.UN. I am hoping to add one of the stocks below. I have a preference for good dividend growth and good management, but would prefer not to have too much overlap with BEP.UN if possible. Mind you, I suppose BEP.UN is quite diversified geographically which might make a case for being different anyway (your opinion ?). Which one would be the best fit, or is BEP.UN enough ?......

Canadian Utilities (CU)
Fortis (FTS)
Emera (EMA)
Algonquin Power (AQN)

Thanks.
Jim

Q: Looking to add TRP ( already have ENB ) to my RRSP for some income but am somewhat concerned if there were to be a recession - would this be considered a "Utility " thus less likely to take a hard hit or would I be better looking at BEP.UN, FTS, AQN or EMA and if so, which would you recommend at this time ? Your opinion is greatly appreciated.
thanks

Q: Hello there,
For the above stocks, which are in my RRSP, gains in about a year are 15%, 37%,26% and 15% respectively. I didn’t plan it but just happened to buy approx $5k in each of these on a near 52 week low I guess.
I read a comment about letting your winners run, but also am learning about taking profits and not being greedy for more.
What do you look for to make a smart decision, please?
In the examples given, are any obvious sells or keeps?
Thank you for your help!

Q: I hold all of the above in roughly equal weight in the income portion of my portfolio. The first three are at roughly breakeven, the latter five are up, two of them over 20%, as economic conditions have weakened. I am wondering why I don't simplify life by selling them all and buying the PDC ETF which provides greater diversification and has a dividend yield of 4.59%. I realize that 25% of PDC is in energy but mostly safer pipelines. Would this be a good move or am I better off to keep what I have?

Q: How many utilities are enough and where? I have AQN in TFSA and , BEP, BIP, FTS in cash account (along with BAM.A and BBU.UN - total Brookfield is 8.91%). My spreadsheet indicates I have 3% space left in utilities sector to add but your PA says I am over. Sold all of H (was largest utility holding) due to political risk of current chaotic provincial government. Looking at a replacement for H. Don't really need the income for living , looking more for safety and some growth. Looking for your view on how you would rank above prospects or should I add to existing, or stand pat?

Q: How would you rank these based on valuation, growth and management. Market seemed to yawn at CPX results, it isn’t as high profile as FTS but seems to have gotten more shareholder friendly, sixth consecutive annual dividend increase, wondering if this one and NPI are flying under the radar, Thank-you.

Q: Further to my prior question about allocating stocks to multiple sectors, how would you assign the following? I know this is 'not a science', but I think it will give me a better idea of my sector distribution.
TCL.A Cons Disc:Industrial
CCL.B Cons Disc:Industrial
NFI Cons Disc:Industrial
MG Cons Disc:Industrial
LNR Cons Disc:Industrial
TFII Cons Disc:Industrial
EIF Industrial:Financial
AQN Utilities:Energy
EMA Utilities:Energy
MX Mining:Energy
T Telecom:Healthcare
PSK Mining:Financial
TRI Financial:Cons Disc

If you think that other sectors should be included here, please add them.
Thanks again, and please deduct questions as you see fit.

Q: I have about 3/4 positions in the above utility stocks in my non-registered portfolio. I also have some money to add to this sector. Would you suggest I top up one or more of these stocks or open a new position in ACI? Thanks for your advice.

Q: 10:15 AM 5/16/2019
1. Could you please provide the numbers for, and compare and comment on : debt levels, financial leverage, debt to cashflow, and payout ratios for EMA, FTS, AQN, BIP.UN, BEP.UN.
2. You seem to always rate EMA at the bottom of the list [Why?] but I believe EMA has sold off some significant assets [Emera Maine and others?, more to come?] so debt levels should be lower, so is it a secure buy now for long-term dividend income?
3. I worry that BIP and BEP both have extremely high payout ratios. You have suggested that a total of 15% of one's portfolio in these two would be acceptable. Are you still of that opinion?
Thank you........ Paul K

Q: 3:44 PM 5/8/2019
I really apreciated the TSX60 list with US revenue percent for each company. I do however have some questions. Several of the numbers were a surprise.

1. We are told that TD Bank is 50% or more American with a branch on almost every corner in many large US cities but your list shows only 26% of revenue is derived from the US. Can you confirm this number as it makes a big difference to my investing decision.

2. I see Emera has 70% of income from the US which seems a little high to me as I understood that Emera was about evenly balanced between Canada and the US.

3. Fortis with huge investments in ITC in Michigan and 6 adjacent states [the largest independent electricity transmission company in the United States], in Central Hudson Gas and Electric and in UNS in Arizona shows just 9% US income. Surely this figure is sadly out of date.

Can we trust the rest of the figures in the list?

Thank you.............. Paul K