Investment Q&A

Q: Lots of comments around that there may not be a lot of upside to the Telcos. And we know that covererd call etfs`s also have built-in limited upside. Any thoughts on swapping Telus for a covered call etf for income?

Q: Your thoughts on the high payout ratio for Bce??
Thx

Q: Looking to raise some money. In what order would you sell these with your reasons.
Thanks. ram

Q: Hi there,

I hold a significant number of shares of BCE mostly for the income in a diversified portfolio.

I know in the past few weeks you have discussed the health of their dividend and don’t seem too concerned. To the contrary there are an increasingly large number of pundits who believe they cannot keep the pace of their present dividend and therefore must cut it. They talk about the various ways to measure it albeit as percentage of fcf or EBITDA or whatever but they just don’t have the fcf anymore due to these high capital expenditures sucking the life out of it.

Can you possibly dig into the math on this and give us the true picture? Maybe lower interest rates on the horizon will help with this problem? Or BCE goes the way of AQN, cuts their div and the stock drops like a rock? Been there done that with AQN and wondering if I should just reduce my holdings accordingly and find another way to make up the income.

Ok thanks a lot!

Q: What do you think of BCE as of late being that their dividend payout is sitting at 160% of earnings and their growth is slowing?

Do you think a dividend cut is in the offing down the road or would they risk the share price hit on that move?

Q: If you have to invest new money today with a 3/5 years view (appreciation + dividend), which one will be your choice, Superior or Bell?

Q: These 4 'blue chip' stocks (BCE, TRP, ENB, BNS) pay healthy dividends, but basically are trading where they were 10 years ago. If you were to look out 5 years, how would you rank them best to worst, in terms of how much their share price will increase from today....Thanks...Glenn

Q: I've held this stock for the longest time and it keeps going down ? I'm now down 28 % ! I've recently heard that they might be cutting their dividend and I'm not sure that I should keep hanging on ? What say you, sell or hold ?

Q: My PA wants me in telecom. I had Telus but it dropped heavy and I harvested losses, investing in BCE only to continue down. I realize higher interest rates are a challenge for telcos and utilities. It there a case for any of the of Canadian telecoms? I have a long term investment horizon but do like safe dividends. Are the telcos dividends "safe"?Should I hold BCE or flee for another company, even in the US. (I have VZ, also in the down elevator, bigly). thanks, al

Q: In the past you had a slight preference for BCE over Telus in terms of a long term investment. After the latest results from the 2 companies, do you still have a preference for BCE?

Q: For a RRIF would you be a buyer of either of these companies now. If so which would you prefer.
Also can you suggest 3 or 4 other dividend paying stocks as well. Thank you.

Q: Compare and contrast BCE and Telus’s results.

Q: Sorry for another question about BCE. I'm surprised that the generally good results and the workforce reduction initiatives they announced today aren't having a positive effect on the share price. In fact, at this moment, it's down 4.24%. Your assessment? Thanks!

Q: In light of the announced layoffs, will Bce cut dividends as well?

Q: This is for a 2 year hold. I am 15% down on BCE. I also see stocks like SMCI crushing it.

For total growth of 50% over 2 years, which do you prefer?

FYI in Feb 2024, I am seeing articles on BCE such as:

https://mila.quebec/en/bell-and-mila-to-study-how-deep-learning-ai-can-improve-business-performance/

and this:

https://business.bell.ca/shop/medium-large/resource/bell-collaborates-microsoft-hybrid-work-solutions?INT=BBM_bbmhmpg_TXT___020624_VS_COM_banner-microsoft-news

Q: Hi. I have an RESP for three grandkids, ages 5, 7 and 9. Current holdings that I'm underwater on are: AEM, BCE, BN, NTR and TVE along with these: ARX, BAM, CSU, ENB, RY, TD and TOU. I'd appreciate your overall comments on account re sector allocation and any obvious sells. As well, I'd like suggestions on how to deploy $7000 cash. Thx.

Q: Telecommunication stocks in the US and Europe, such as AT&T and Vodafone, have consistently experienced a long-term downward trend. While investors appreciate the generous dividends, they are wary of the potential capital losses. The question arises: Will Canadian telecommunication stocks, like BCE and Telus, eventually mirror the trajectory of their US and European counterparts? Thank you.

Q: Hi 5i,
On Feb 1st you included BCE as one of the companies with the safest dividends on the TSX.
On Feb 2nd the answer to a question on BCE was "and its free cash flow has been declining over the past few years. Over the past 12 months, its free cash flow is not sufficient to cover its dividends, and the company has issued debt to service these payments. Its debt-to-equity is climbing, and its net debt/EBITDA is high at 3.6X."
The 2 answers seem to be a bit of a contradiction. I understand you are referencing free cash flow (after capital expenditures) are not sufficient.
Would it have been better said that they are issuing debt to finance capital expenditures and infrastructure than to pay dividends?

Q: noticed yesterday td action notes downgraded bce for the next year from 57 to55.
they also said they think that bce will only raise dividend 3% this year instead of the usual 15 year run of 5%. what is your thought and if this does happen do you think
some income investors will leave

Q: Which 3-4 tsx stocks would you consider have the safest dividend?