STOCKCHASE

Dry Nat gas producer. Could spin out an oil play if necessary. Probably a 2013 thing. Mirror assets of Birch Cliff but a third of the value. He will start buying 10% below where it is now.

2012-01-24

PAST TOP PICK

4.670

(A Top Pick Aug 24/10. Down 24.26%.) So his holdings at $7.75, made a profit and then bought back at around $5.18. Sitting on a very profitable dry, natural gas property. Ripe takeover candidate. 19 year reserve life.

2011-10-13

PAST TOP PICK

5.580

(A Top Pick Aug 24/10. Down 8.55%.) Will become one of the lowest cost natural gas producers in Canada. A real opportunity in this stock. Sold his holdings around $7.50 and reentered at about $6.10. Long reserve life.

2011-08-16

PAST TOP PICK

6.570

(Top Pick Aug 24/10, Up 7.17%) Defensive way to gain exposure to Natural Gas. A significant ramp up in production coming Q2 next year. Operating costs are coming down. Trading at half the multiple of a similar company.

2010-12-14

PAST TOP PICK

6.570

Joanne A. Hruska, CFA

(A Top Pick Sept 14/09. Down 6.38%.)

2010-09-13

TOP PICK

6.140

We are going into a seasonably weak market for oil and gas. Existing production and meaningful resource upside. Market cap of over Billion. It’s trading cheap on reserves. Can fund about 10-15% growth per year.

2010-08-24

HOLD

7.370

Joanne A. Hruska, CFA

Gas focused. Not buying any right now but continuing to old. Have a fantastic Montney property at Glacier, which has good potential.

2010-01-13

HOLD

7.350

John Stephenson

Historically has issued a lot of convertible debt but is paying it down and cleaning up its balance sheet. Direction is positive.

2009-09-28

TOP PICK

6.900

Joanne A. Hruska, CFA

Recently converted from a trust. Raised some money and sold off some assets. Will focus most of their attention and money on a Glacier play in the Montney's. Excellent land assets.

2009-09-14

Comment

6.280

Rick Stuchberry

Has converted from a trust to a corporation and they will become a pure exploration/producer without the distribution. Not on his radar screen.

2009-08-27

BUY

5.610

Laura Lau

(Market Call Minute.) Should be substantial growth next year from the Montney play.

2009-08-14

DON'T BUY

4.610

Has been converted to a Corp. As an oil/gas royalty trust they have struggled with their debt levels and payout ratios. Have an interesting project natural gas Montney play. He is more interested in oil/natural gas companies that pay stable dividends.

2009-07-06

HOLD

4.950

Jennifer Stevenson

Has been completely restructured. Has a very attractive land spread in the Montney's. As the gas market focuses on resource plays they could capitalize on this or be taken over. The next 3 months could be a problem for the gas market.

2009-06-01

DON'T BUY

4.510

Michele Robitaille

Turning into a corporation and cut the distributions to zero. Had to sell off a bunch of assets to pay off debt. There are a lot of better opportunities in the oil patch.

2009-05-22

DON'T BUY

2.920

Kevin Hall BComm, CFA

Double whammy in that it is natural gas focused and has a lot of leverage. Have a number of convertible debentures that are due to mature in the next 3 years, particularly 2009. Chances of refinancing are pretty limited.

2009-02-27

WAIT

2.910

Did the right thing in substantially cutting its distribution to live within its means. Near-term issue with some convertible debt that needs to be rolled over and thinks the market is concerned that it will be refinanced with shares so would wait for some clarity. Pretty good asset base.

2009-02-24

HOLD

2.890

Rick Stuchberry

(Market Call Minute.) Reasonable yield. If oil/gas can turn around in the next little bit, it looks good. If not you are in the glue.

2009-02-20

Comment

5.300

You have to be satisfied that oil prices are going to hang around $50-$70 over the next 5 years. Also, will the government do anything about income trusts in the next budget?

2009-01-20

DON'T BUY

5.500

Primarily weighted to natural gas. Traditionally has a higher payout ratio and higher debt level. There are names that could hold up better in a difficult environment.

2008-11-20

BUY

7.280

(Market Call Minute.) Higher risk name, but he would buy some in the hopes that we get a cold winter and natural prices firm up.

2008-10-29

Comment

10.450

Michael Decter

Gas weighted. Could be a takeover candidate. If this is a loss in a taxable account, consider selling and putting the proceeds into one that is a little stronger. If non-taxable, wait for 12 to 18 months to see if you can get 20% to 30% back.

2008-09-23

Comment

10.000

Roughly 60% gas and 40% oil. About 70% payout ratio. Prefers other trusts in this area. At present natural gas prices, he would be concerned about the distribution.

2008-09-19

Comment

9.480

Michael Decter

No disasters and mild winters have hit natural gas. For the stock to do well, gas would have to go to $9 or $10 and you'd have to have the Cdn$ come off.

2008-01-07

Comment

12.720

John Stephenson

3 gas-weighted companies that he feels will cut distributions are Trilogy (TET.UN-T), Advantage Energy (AVN.UN-T) and Prime West (PWI.UN-T).

2007-08-08

HOLD

15.520

Michael Decter

Wouldn't be at the top of his trust list. If you own, Hold as there is more positive than negative ahead.

2007-06-20

DON'T BUY

12.520

About 75% natural gas. In the past, have relied on equity issuances, buying additional companies to increase production. The only way to survive is to add production through the drill bit.

2007-02-23

SELL

12.680

Michele Robitaille

Have cut distributions twice in the last couple of months. This is one of the more unsustainable models. There are better quality oil/gas trusts available.

2007-02-02

DON'T BUY

12.890

Just cut the distributions by half and could be expected to cut again. He has actually been short this stock in 2006. Too much debt.

2007-01-22

SELL

12.800

Robert Toole

This is a trust that he would sell sooner as opposed to later. Payout ratio of over 160% using cash flow and its capital expenditure.

2007-01-18

DON'T BUY

16.000

Kevin Hall BComm, CFA

Have had some distribution cuts. One of the bigger under performers in the group. Very highly leveraged. Payout ratio is higher than the group average. Natural gas focused.

2006-10-27

BUY

15.530

Some of the royalty trust that he likes includes Prime West Energy (PWI.UN-T), Precision Drilling (PD.UN-T), Advantage Energy (AVN.UN-T).

2006-10-23

DON'T BUY

12.690

Dean Orrico

This one wouldn't be a name he would include in his portfolio right now. He actually had a short position earlier this year. Gas weighted, high payout ratio and a relatively high amount of debt.

2006-10-06

DON'T BUY

18.340

Had shorted this trust earlier this year because of its high payout ratio and gas prices were weakening. There are better ways to play natural gas.

2006-08-11

SELL

20.840

He is shorting this trust. Ketch Resources (KER.UN-T) and Advantage Energy (AVN.UN-T) are merging. The merger is to this trusts advantage, as they would have had to cut distributions.

2006-06-02

SELL

20.350

Ravi Sood

Advantage Energy (AVN.UN-T) and Ketch Resources (KER.UN-T) are emerging. Wouldn't own the merged company. He was short Advantage and longer Ketch.

2006-05-26

DON'T BUY

22.290

(Interviewer asked about gas weighted trusts that Michael does not like.) Would definitely stay away from this trust. Payout ratio is too high. They are currently unhedged.

2006-03-31

SELL

22.500

One of the poorer quality energy trusts. Primarily a natural gas weighted trust. Has a high debt level and a high payout ratio.

2006-03-24

DON'T BUY

22.030

This is not one of the top tier trusts. Has a relatively high payout ratio. They are paying out more than they are earning in free cash flow.

2006-01-18

SELL

21.490

Not one of his favourites. Would sell this and look at other companies that are less leveraged. Too high a debt to cash flow ratio.

2006-01-16

WEAK BUY

19.640

Because they are gas oriented, they will probably have a very good future. Sold his holdings when they chopped distributions some time ago, but they are now back in place. Prefers others to this.

2005-11-15

SELL

20.700

Sold out of his portfollios. A natural gas focused trust. Has a lot of leverage, with a higher payout ratio then others. Sell this and buy other gassy trusts.

2005-09-23

DON'T BUY

20.400

Michele Robitaille

Really hasn't made the transition into a sustainable energy trust. Have much higher debt levels than their peeers. Relatively high payout ratio.

2005-09-16

SELL

19.450

Kevin Hall BComm, CFA

Used to be holders, but saw a lot of risk. Looks like it's coming back a bit. Not one of the higher quality trusts out there.

2005-08-26

WEAK BUY

19.050

Patrick Kim

One of the more aggressive royalty trusts in terms of money they are budgeting for future capX, above average payout ratio and their above average financial leverages. Q2 numbers were basically in line. A play for investors looking for very robust commodity prices. For the more aggressive investor.

2005-08-19

DON'T BUY

19.050

Payout ratio is too high for his liking.

2005-08-12

TOP PICK

18.720

Yielding about 16%. Mostly natural gas in orientation. Had a fairly siginifcant price correction into the mid to high teens and has started to recover frokm that. Likes the outlook for natural gas. If it goes back to the $20/21 range, you get a nice capital gain and in the mean time you have a nice income.

2005-08-10

DON'T BUY

17.720

Recently dropped its distribution which was a little surprising given that oil/gas prices have been going up. Not one of his favourite trusts. High debt. Pay out a lot more than they are bringing in. Distributions continue to be vulnerable.

2005-07-08

DON'T BUY

18.610

Sold his active positions over the last year because they were paying out too much of their cash flow. Decreased their distibutions about a month ago which is the reason for the drop in price. If you own, consider switching into some other gassy names like Ketch (KER.UN-T), Fairborne (FEL.UN-T) or Esprit (EEE.A-T).

2005-06-17

DON'T BUY

17.180

Sold out his position some time ago when he became concerned about the high payout ratio. It's gone against the grain of the whole patch.

2005-06-03

SELL

18.670

Increasing their distribution ratio when they are already a bit stretched on their payouts. Have been selling his core position. They were increasing their BOE's from 10,000 to about 15,000, but are now just doin acquisitions which are expensive. Susceptible to a decrease in distributions.

2005-04-08

DON'T BUY

18.800

Highly leveraged to gas prices. Has been unable to show increases in reserves and production on a per unit basis. What they spend and what they distribute is more than 100% which bothers him.

2005-04-05

DON'T BUY

19.300

Dean Orrico

Generally quite constructive on the oil/gas sector, but this is a name they have been selling out of for some time. One of the highest debt to cash flow multiples relative to its peers. An externally managed trust.

2005-04-01

SELL

19.080

John Stephenson

Wouldn't recommend this one. Have very high levels of debt. Trading at a debt/cash flow ratio of 2.3 versus 1.4 which is the sector average. Have a high payout ratio of 93%.

2005-03-30

DON'T BUY

19.080

Not one of his favourites. Has a high payout ratio. 100% on distributions and another 100% on capex., so it's spending almost twice as much as it's bringing in.

2005-03-30

DON'T BUY

19.880

Matt Baillie

Payout ratio and leverage are a little too high. Not trading at a discount to the group. Better royalty trusts available.

2005-03-16

BUY on WEAKNESS

20.200

David Baskin

Good performer in 2003-2004, might have peaked out. Good management. If it falls back 15% it is a buying opportunity.

2005-03-08

HOLD

20.980

Bill Shaw

It really comes down to where you think the price of oil is going to be in 1/2 years out. Feels the price of oil is going to trend a little bit lower for the next year or so, so thinks there will be distribution cuts in oil trusts.

2005-02-22

DON'T BUY

21.120

Owns, but has lightened up significantly. Has a very high payout ratio which raises questions of sustainability. Have stuck to their external management format which runs counter to the theme of internalizing managers.

2005-02-18

BUY

21.680

The most highly leveraged, both operationally and financially to natural gas. Have good yields.

2005-02-11

BUY

21.800

Q: Advantage or Bona Vista trust, or wait until after the S&P/TSX Comp. includes trusts? A: Now that trusts are so popular, we might see investors chasing yield to the point that they become horribly over priced. Advantage is highly leveraged re:operating ratios and debt to equity, but great gas exposure. Would pick Bonavista 1st.

2005-01-27

TOP PICK

21.990

Yield is currently around 15%. Have been growing through acquisitions. 65/70% natural gas. The current payout ratio doesn't reflect the current price of gas

2005-01-25

PAST TOP PICK

21.960

(A Past Top pick Sept 23/04. Up 2%.) Very high yield.

2004-11-30

BUY

21.030

First choices would be Peyto and Focus. This one has the most exposure to natural gas.

2004-11-16

DON'T BUY

21.110

Blair Wilson

Has a 3 sector underperform on it. Expected return is just under 4% on a one year basis. Too expensive.

2004-11-10

WEAK BUY

21.280

Heavily oriented to natural gas. If you have concerns on oil/gas commodities dropping, this would be a problem. If they were selling off some holdings, this and Acclaim Energy would be the first to go.

2004-10-13

BUY

21.990

Greg Guichon

Have been very successful in exploring and replacing their reserves. Have an exciting drilling program coming on in the next 12 months. Some debt. Gas prone.

2004-10-08

HOLD

21.400

Likes the natural gas space. Prefers trusts that have lower payouts, such as Peyto and Focus.

2004-09-29

TOP PICK

20.600

95% exposure to natural gas. Has been doing extremely well.

2004-09-23

BUY

19.580

Just made some aquisitions but haven't had a chance to review it. Stock has performed very well and is a long term hold. Good management.

2004-08-25

HOLD

18.680

Production will go up, but the payout is a percent of the monies earned is declining.

2004-08-18

BUY

19.410

Robert Lyon

Pretty solid operating Company. 14 1/4% distribution. There are some trusts that they like better but not a bad trust.

2004-08-05

DON'T BUY

19.770

John Priestman

Good fundamentals. 80% gas. Getting expensive compared to some of the other royalty trust. If you own, take some profit.

2004-05-26

BUY

19.350

Allan Meyer

Mainly gas weighted. Locked in gas prices so not affected by the vagaries of the commodities. Good management. 14% yield.

2004-04-12

DON'T BUY

19.000

Dean Orrico

Has an external management contract and we prefer it internalized. Would like to see debt to cash flow reduced.

2004-04-05

BUY

15.770

David Burrows

Has great gas exposure. Well-run. Have made good acquisitions.

2003-12-03

BUY on WEAKNESS

15.990

Possible decline in distributions because of lower energy costs. If a decline occurs, would buy on weakness.

2003-11-25

DON'T BUY

17.100

80% natural gas, so pretty well fully priced now.

2003-08-21

BUY

15.350

John Priestman

17% yield. One of the best. Biased to gas. Great track record.

2003-07-30

WAIT

15.500

David Burrows

Summertime sees weakness in energy related companies. Gas inventories are stronger than expected. Might be OK in the fall.

2003-07-22

BUY

16.310

2003-06-03

HOLD

15.600

On the expensive side. Good management.

2003-05-07

BUY

15.450

Assumes distribution will be $2.90 this year and $2.24 next, on the assumption natural gas prices would be lower.

2003-04-23

HOLD

14.400

Likes this company, but not at the top of their list.

2003-04-10

BUY

15.390

David Baskin

Well managed. Distributions should rise.

2003-03-04

BUY

13.640

Likes their exposure to natural gas.

2003-01-15

WAIT

13.410

Made some good acquisitions. Wait to see what the reserve life will be after drilling.

2003-01-09

BUY

12.900

Good yield/management. Getting new reserves.

2002-12-30

HOLD

13.300

Has gone up well. Good yield.

2002-10-03

BUY

11.950

Good trust. Locked in their gas prices.

2002-07-17

WAIT

10.920

May pause for awhile. Will recover in the fall. Buy in the summer.

2002-04-18

BUY

11.250

Good management/assets. Short reserve life.

2002-03-19

BUY on WEAKNESS

8.560

Poor gas prices in the short term. 76% of production is hedged and has nade some good acquisitions.

2002-01-29

BUY

8.180

Ray Steele

A good income fund with good assets.

2002-01-16

BUY

7.770

A more aggressive trust. Hedged gas so has stability.

2001-10-29

DON'T BUY

7.450

New issue at $7.50. Reserve life - only 8 years. Higher risk.

2001-10-02

BUY

8.600