Investment Q&A

Q: Eric Nutoil (pun intended) has a firm belief that oil companies will be buying back shares and or increasing dividends for shareholders for the foreseeable future. Apparently even at 70 dollar oil, they’re making money. Why is it then that at the slightest hiccup when oil goes down in value, the share prices plummet? Is it short sightedness for investors or what am I missing?? Thnks Dennis

Q: So I had SHOP at a full 5% position in my portfolio and now with all the carnage it's less than 2%. So my question would be - does it make sense to average down from the ridiculously high price I paid to bring the position up a bit or just let it grow back (if ever)? Am I just throwing good money after bad in trying to make up the loss? I do like SHOP and intend to hold it for many years. Thanks!

Q: Hoping you can comment on your thoughts on stock based compensation in general and go into some details with Palantir (PLTR) specifics. It seems that PLTR are giving a very high amount of stock since it has gone public and seems to have a big impact on earnings per share despite revenue increasing. Is this common practice? Is this a product of it just going public? What concerns, if any, do have with this (e.g., diluting share holders)? Does this give you cause for concern about the long term potential for PLTR? Does stock based compensation tend to decrease in time with newly listed companies or is it often held consistent through time?

Q: If you had the opportunity to invest in a couple of energy plays like ATH or TVE versus the Consumer Defensive/Cyclical like L or ATD at this recessionary like time, where would you put your money?? Dennis

Q: Good Afternoon Peter, Ryan, and 5i Team:
Do you think that SLF represents good value at $57-58 CDN per share ??
Why do you think it has come off so much ?? Is it more sector related than anything company specific ??
Thanks as always for your help. DL

Q: You recently issued a questionnaire which asked for various market predictions and made one or more responses mandatory, which precluded a closing explanation. So here it is. When Putin stops slaughtering Ukrainians or better still kicks the bucket along with his chum Blatherov, and Russia agrees to terms and conditions which obliges them to conform to a rules based system for trade and adopts democracy as a system of government, the equity markets might have a chance of recovering, providing China brings North Korea to heel, stops lying, misleading, maneuvering for lands and waters it is not entitled to or cheating on a whole slate of activities, some of which intrude into our systems of democracy, and likewise agrees and accepts conditions which oblige it to conform to agreed rules for trade, providing Iran does not overturn all of the above. Until then it is a crap shoot.

Q: Of Loblaws and Sun Life, which do you think has the most growth potential over a two year period hopefully coming out of recessionary times?

Q: Your thought on SJ for a longer term investor looking to find value with growth (oxymoron). Valuation seems to be on the attractive side and looks cheap once things start to turn around. Is it relative to peers? it has come down a lot since your report. Is the major concern simply a recession?

Q: Time to increase my weight in Gold and Silver. What two gold or silver stocks do you like now (I already own AEM, so not that one)? And a brief reason why.
Thanks

Q: After reading your report on InterRent REIT, I'm looking into it further. I currently hold NWH but am looking for more growth in both the distribution and unit price (NWH hasn't increased the distribution in a long time, and the unit price hasn't grown that much).

I see that all of InterRent's 2021 distribution was ROC so all tax-deferred. Is this expected to continue? If so, that's a great benefit as I'm holding in a taxable account.

Q: You mentioned that TCL.A is ok for income but if you are in the red would average down as the position is now at 1.5% only. If to sell what stock would you replaced this?

Thanks

Q: Not a question but just a comment that companies like Aritzia First Service and Go Easy would never have been on my radar without 5i. I’ve held all three for a number of years in my portfolio and they’ve done well. It’s also heartening and reinforcing to hear the “experts” on BNN Market Call selecting these names as Top Picks or strong recommendations. I appreciate your sound advice and recommendations. No doubt I can also mention losers that I’ve followed from 5i but my take is that it’s up to us to decide when to sell and what to buy based on your data and your informed advice. Thanks

Q: Can I have your thoughts on PRL. With rising rates and recession fears, would you rate this a buy, sell or hold. Thanks

Q: Hello, would you agree with this statement that I've found from Motley Fool on investing in NWC ?:

"The company is excellent at controlling costs. And its razor-sharp focus on costs plus vertical integration means it is always improving its margins. The stock recently had a selloff after its profitability reduced significantly. But this reduction was due to inflationary costs that the company didn't pass on to consumers."

How would you rate management?
By many metrics, to me it looks historically cheap.....would you agree?

The 3.7% annualized dividend increase since 2018 isn't keeping up with inflation. How do you see dividend increases going forward?

Q: I would appreciate your thoughts on CMMC's quarter. Thanks.

Q: For PK re Share Buybacks
Try using the research tool from your on-line broker for this. I use Scotia iTrade and if I click on “Edge Reports” it shows a very useful table that gives the total shares outstanding for the past couple of years and an estimate for the next two years based on management comments and what they are currently doing. TD Waterhouse has a similar function.
For example, for CNR I see total shares O/S for 2020 at 713M. 2021 is at 710, so I assume 3M shares were repurchased and cancelled. Interestingly, the estimate for 2022 is 688M shares so it looks like they have been buying back more this year.
I love to see the share count go down and the dividend increase each year, even if the share price does nothing. It helps me hold on and accumulate the stock even in a bad market. This has been rewarding. As a last resort you can look on the company web page or even email them your question. Usually you will get an answer.

Q: Good morning everyone at 5i! You have always said that you can’t time the market. I am going on the premise that the market is close to the bottom, and it is time to slowly start to add some names to the portfolio and to add to existing ones. Could you please suggest 5 growth and 5 income stocks ( US or Canadian) which you consider good buys at this point on time? Cheers, Tamara

Q: Thinking of using the 10% cash in my kids RESP to buy QQQ. They won't need the money for 13 years. Does this make sense or is it too risky? The rest of the money is currently in VEQT.

Q: Do you think TECK or LUN is the better investment today? Would you hold both TECK and LUN, or just one? Can also comment very briefly on holding commodity stocks? I assume these stocks fluctuating significantly and are not buy and forget stocks.
Thanks!

Q: What is your opinion on NRP's short-term to intermediate-term prospects? Can't help but think that the cost of Oil, not to mention ENG sources, have it sitting pretty currently.