STOCKCHASE

Not a fan because he could see a lot of capital required. However, they came up with some reasonable numbers and they kicked their dividend up. He still has doubts if the dividend is sustainable. Not enthused about pure oil sands production. Would prefer others.

2012-05-04

HOLD

21.620

Michael Sprung

Has been caught up in a lot of the controversy about the development of the oil sands. Retreat has probably been somewhat political. Cost escalations in oil sands development has been going up significantly. Long-term holders should do okay with this stock. Nice yield of 5.6%, will probably continue for some time.

2012-04-27

Comment

21.620

A lot of Canadian oil companies are being picked away just for the long-term life of their reserves. This one pays a little bit of a dividend, which is the only reason he owns it. He would rather have the ones with higher dividends.

2012-04-27

DON'T BUY

21.230

Paul Gardner, CFA

If he is going to be involved in the oil sands business, he wants to be in the best in class. Imperial Oil (IMO-T) is the best in class and lowest cost and he recently got out of Imperial Oil.

2012-04-25

DON'T BUY

20.780

Charles Lannon

Lots of depreciation so look at cash flows not EPS when judging sustainability of dividend. You have huge project exposure with this one. This is not his type of resource stock because it is one resource – huge equity stake in Syncrude. Look for companies in a multitude of locations. Prefers Vermilion or Freehold.

2012-04-24

BUY

20.060

Bill Carrigan

Chart shows it is into support in the latter part of 2011 and the current year. It hasn't taken out the low of 2011, which is positive. Will probably run back up to the upper trading range. If it gets above $23, it should have a decent rally.

2012-04-13

Comment

20.700

Michael Simpson, CFA

(Market Call Minute.) Highly tied to the price of oil. If you think oil is going higher then it is a Buy.

2012-04-12

Comment

20.480

Joseph Schachter

Over the next 3-4 years? If you are looking out 3-4 years, he would guess oil prices would be over $100. His concern is that to be a buyer right now, the stocks get hit hard as this oil is higher cost with $60 breakeven. If you hold for 3-4 years, you will eventually do very well.

2012-04-05

BUY

22.150

Down 25%. He has said before that it is good value. Could be environmental issues. He thinks it is good value. But there may be factors related to development of oil sands.

2012-03-19

DON'T BUY

23.050

This is not a good time to buy this company. There have been some shut-ins on some of their production. Also, they are required to come up with a fair amount of capital in the next little while. When this has happened in the past, they have cut their payout.

2012-02-17

DON'T BUY

22.230

Thinks there are better places to be in the oil sands. Would prefer Cenovus (CVE-T). Expect that oil will do well but to capture the oil price at these levels you will probably be better to own something a little more international.

2012-02-15

HOLD

22.000

He is neutral on this one. Has a target of $27.

2012-02-10

Comment

24.240

Bruce Campbell

Great, long-term asset. Prefers Suncor (SU-T) which owns a piece of it and has way better growth. Nothing particularly wrong with it, he just has other preferences. Will probably ease its way up with other oils.

2012-02-06

BUY

24.230

Mike S. Newton, CIM FCSI

Just reported and was in line with expectations. Starting to move up quite nicely. Feels it has some good potential upside right here once the Syncrude story gets going and starts running properly.

2012-02-01

DON'T BUY

24.650

People almost look at it as a utility. Pretty good at digging it out of the ground and processing it. Payout ratio is too high. They have big capital plans. They are tight on the money side. In the past when this happens they cut the payout. Will be fine on a long term basis.

2012-01-20

PAST TOP PICK

24.660

(Top Pick Jan 26/11, Down 3.13%) Oil came off and this came off with the group.

2012-01-19

Comment

24.600

Sandy McIntyre

Over the past few years, this has pretty well become a pure play on the commodity. There is a bit of a future growth profile. Current oil price comes close to supporting the distribution. When it becomes oversold, he Buys but when it recovers in price, he Sells. He would have been a buyer around $20.

2012-01-18

DON'T BUY

23.680

Douglas Kee

His favourite in the oil sands is Cenovus. Doesn’t see a lot of growth in the yield of COS. Oil sands guys are becoming manufacturing guys.

2012-01-12

Comment

23.980

Bruce Campbell

Is this a possible take-out by the Chinese since they already own a part of Syncrude? Great question. This is a place where the Canadian government might stick its hand in as Syncrude is the oldest, most profitable oil sands plant. For a takeover, you are likely to find it in something smaller.

2012-01-03

BUY

22.450

Cut their payout last year because of a bigger than expected capital expenditure. Gives a reasonable 4.5% yield. Owns 36.7% of Syncrude. Possibility that Chinese could be interested.

2011-12-28

BUY

22.800

Rick Stuchberry

If you think oil is going to be $90-$100 or in the vicinity for the next little while, this one should be fine. 5.3% distribution should be safe. Good company and well-positioned and in a good play. Good entry point to establish a core position and you can trade around your core position.

2011-12-22

Comment

22.570

Richard Croft

Good time to sell Puts into the market? By doing this, you are taking on an obligation to buy the shares so you have to be comfortable owning this company. Also, on a stock like this that has a pretty decent dividend, there is a decent cash flow coming out on a regular basis and is about 4% higher than the risk free rate and options tend to be priced off the risk free rate, you actually get a much higher premium on the Put than you would on the Call option. Very good strategy.

2011-12-21

Comment

22.100

Peter Brieger

Probably basing at this time. Not his favourite and he would look elsewhere. If you want the income, you are probably fairly safe with this one.

2011-12-16

Comment

21.190

Their problem is twofold. They are the biggest player/owner in Syncrude, which is going through an expansion, which is using up a lot of capital as well as a lot of maintenance costs. Oil stocks in general have come off quite a bit. This has given them a double whammy. Company has said the dividend is safe but if oil comes down a lot, he wouldn't bank on it.

2011-12-14

DON'T BUY

20.920

This is not one of his favourites. If he wants yield, he goes to some of the older, smaller income trust oil/gas companies. They have a lot of business ahead of them in terms of keeping their facilities up and running. High maintenance costs and have some high capital costs coming.

2011-12-09

HOLD

20.450

Largest owner of Sincrude, which is largest player in oil sands. Has a lot of capital expenditures on maintenance and expansion. Questions if they will continue to pay the dividend if oil goes down, but it is safe for now. Likes the long-term outlook on oil sands but will hold it.

2011-11-29

DON'T BUY

19.230

Stan Wong

Got stopped out of this stock at around $24 in August. Expectations of earnings are declining. Not sure oil prices can be sustained at the current prices. There have been larger than expected CapX costs. Technically below the 52 and 200 day moving averages.

2011-11-24

DON'T BUY

20.680

Jim Huang

Own a big stake in the oil sands Syncrude project but don't control operations, which has been pretty weak up until about a couple of years ago. Getting better, but even with the high oil prices have spent all their money on CapX so there is not a lot of room for dividend increases. There are better places to be. (See Top Picks.)

2011-11-14

Comment

21.110

A solid way of participating in the oil patch but he prefers the mid tier ones that offer greater production and a better yield.

2011-11-11

BUY

21.110

Andy Nasr

Attractive valuation and pays a good dividend. Expect oil Sands stocks will have some cost pressures as they expand production. Feels oil prices will be $90-$100 for the next 10 years.

2011-11-11

STRONG BUY

20.570

Equities are saying that oil prices are not going to stay in the mid-$90's. He believes oil will stay reasonably high, 1) partly because you need high oil prices to keep it getting discovered and 2) Asian demand is growing 15%. A screaming bargain at $20.

2011-11-10

DON'T BUY

22.240

John O'Connell, CFA

High-cost producer. There is some question as to whether they are going to have to invest more money to develop their assets more. Not a growth story. If, down the road, the US does not need all our oil, this one is vulnerable.

2011-11-02

WAIT

23.410

Steve Carlin

Almost a direct call on the price of oil. It looks expensive to him and there are operational hiccups that could affect production over the next couple of years. Let some of this dust settle before taking a look.

2011-10-26

DON'T BUY

23.410

Bruce Campbell

Prefers Suncor. COS is a pure oil sands play. Not a bad yield. There isn’t really any growth.

2011-10-26

PAST TOP PICK

23.320

(A Top Pick Oct 6/10. Down 10.39%.) The purest play on oil prices in Canada.

2011-10-24

PAST TOP PICK

23.320

(A Top Pick Oct 6/10. Down 10.39%.) The purest play on oil prices in Canada.

2011-10-24

PAST TOP PICK

23.320

(A Top Pick Oct 6/10. Down 10.39%.) The purest play on oil prices in Canada.

2011-10-24

PAST TOP PICK

23.320

(A Top Pick Oct 6/10. Down 10.39%.) The purest play on oil prices in Canada.

2011-10-24

Comment

21.900

Mason Granger

Valuation is kind of compelling. $0.30 dividend would be at risk if oil went down to $70. A “no growth” story for the next decade.

2011-10-13

DON'T BUY

20.650

Michele Robitaille

They need $60 - $65 oil barrel to break even. Thinks the dividend is sustainable at $80, but less so if the price comes down to $70 There are other more defensive plays in the oil patch. Ok for a long term play though.

2011-10-06

BUY

20.650

Oil stocks look cheap at these levels so it is a good time to be putting money to work.

2011-10-06

BUY

20.390

Bill Carrigan

Where punished when they moved from being a trust. Chart shows a 5 stage drop this year. It is so low here, it is entering the space of the last bottom in 2009. Stock has been totally washed out so probably not a bad place to be. On a short-term daily chart, he sees a falling wedge, which is quite bullish.

2011-09-30

PAST TOP PICK

20.670

(A Top Pick Sept 16/10. Down 18.65%.) Has it is a Buy recommendation in his Income Investor. Cut the dividend by 60% as they were going to be doing a big capital investment program so share price got knocked down. Have now raised the dividend by 20%.

2011-09-29

Comment

21.830

Bill Harris, CFA

Compelling yield and makes lots of money, which is extremely important in this market. Long life, high-quality income producer. If oil prices come off, there will be more opportunity to add to it. A consortium so expansion is really problematic. Looks like it will get on top of its efficiencies in 1-2 years time. Prefers Imperial Oil (IMO-T).

2011-09-19

HOLD

21.050

David Burrows

There are concerns about the costs of oil sands producers. Don’t add yet.

2011-09-13

PAST TOP PICK

22.350

(A Top Pick Sept 16/10. Down 9.5%.) Reduced their payout in order to have more capital investment. 5% yield.

2011-09-09

HOLD

23.410

Ross Healy

Fell right down to pretty good support. Was wobbling when it was up there and then finally down it went. Much improved dividend yield. It’s not a buy, but not a sell.

2011-08-31

BUY

21.880

Michael Sprung

One has to have a long-term perspective on this one. Oil sands have had a lot of controversy recently, in the US. Overall the If happy with the yield, it is a good long term investment.

2011-08-23

Comment

22.400

Mason Granger

Has intrinsic value and is basically an annuity on oil. Don't expect a lot of growth for 7-8 years. Pays a regular quarterly dividend. Yield of about 5.4%.

2011-08-10

PAST TOP PICK

24.050

(A Top Pick Sept 16/10. Down 4.76%.) Still likes.

2011-08-05

BUY

26.550

A pure oil sands play. Market was disappointed today that they didn't increase their dividend. Biggest owner of Sybcrude, which has had some operational issues. Good opportunity to get in.

2011-07-27

BUY

26.690

Laura Wallace

Very well positioned in the oil sands. Wouldn’t be her top pick, but she likes it. Will be volatile along with energy prices.

2011-07-15

DON'T BUY

26.290

Alice Tsang

Have had quite a bit of cost issues. Have consistently seen higher CapX and costs and slashed dividends. Expect the stock will base around this price. She prefers something with better cost control and better growth.

2011-06-24

BUY

29.250

Nice leverage to oil. The most potential upside. It is cash generating. Pays a yield while you wait.

2011-06-06

DON'T BUY

29.370

You would do better with CNQ or SU, which have better growth potential. Thinks at some point this one will be taken over.

2011-05-24

STRONG BUY

29.740

Of the big Canadian oil companies, this is the cheapest. Expect them to continue to have good earnings.

2011-05-16

Comment

30.980

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

An okay company, but prefers Cenovus (CVE-T). Oil sands is a great asset and will continue to be so but the trouble is that it is in partnership with a bunch of people and much more difficult running a company through committees as opposed to a pure play.

2011-05-13

TOP PICK

31.400

Had a pretty good run from December. Would like to see it hold at this level. Just upped their dividend from $0.20 to $0.30. Just broke out of a cluster area that formed in 2009 and 2010. Doesn’t see much resistance until $55. Good risk/reward.

2011-05-04

PAST TOP PICK

32.110

(Top Pick Apr 16/10, Up 13.02%) Would have hoped for a little more, but they had a dividend cut. It’s very attractive right now. Highest leverage to oil of any of the equities he follows. You want to hold this if you think oil is going higher, as he does.

2011-04-20

HOLD

31.530

Joseph Schachter

Tar sands stories have done beautifully. If you own, stay with it.

2011-04-14

HOLD

32.400

Really got nailed when they cut the dividend. With oil prices where they are, he is not interested in buying more oil companies until there is a pull back. Great possibility that this company will raise its dividend with oil above $80 a barrel. Can’t see great upside in the medium or short term but for the long term this is one you can hold.

2011-04-11

Comment

32.650

Don Lato

Canadian Oil Sands (COS-T) or Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ-T) for a 21 year old and which has the greatest growth potential? Although Cdn Oil Sands is the purer oil sands play, for over all growth potential you would have to go with CNQ. They have more growth potential in oil sands but also have other areas oh heavy and light oil as well as natural gas. (See Top Picks.)

2011-04-06

PAST TOP PICK

33.480

(A Top Pick Feb 1/10. Up 24.56%.) Still likes and is still a Buy.

2011-04-04

PAST TOP PICK

32.340

(Top Pick Mar 5/10, Up 21.05) They slashed the distribution and it really hurt. Now is attractive to hold because of leverage to oil. You might see a raise in the distribution. This is a fair valuation right here. You could wait and see if oil pulls back and this will slide right back in order to buy.

2011-03-04

DON'T BUY

30.280

It is playing catch-up with its piers. Would be careful buying oil stocks right here. Not sure if oil is worth $97 a barrel. Prefers SU and CNQ with much better growth profiles but wait for a correction.

2011-03-01

BUY

30.050

Brooke Thackray

Technically has been in a trading range of about $27-$30. Now starting to rise which is a favourable trend and should go to $34-$35 from here. Good seasonal and fundamental trends.

2011-02-28

BUY

29.590

On the oil sands, price of production will go down. Initial costs of building the plants are their biggest expense but after that costs decrease.

2011-02-18

DON'T BUY

27.930

Christine Poole

CapX requirement in the Syncrude project was going up so needed to decrease distributions by a significant amount so now has a low yield. Cut was more sever than the street expected. There are better energy names with better yields and better growth.

2011-02-14

PAST TOP PICK

28.460

(A Top Pick Feb 1/10. Up 6.48%.) Based on what the Chinese paid for oil sands properties this should be 50% higher. Strong Buy.

2011-02-07

TOP PICK

26.590

(A Top Pick Jan 28/10. Up 1.83%.) Was surprised by how much they cut the dividend. Announced they have some major capital spending and basing it on $75-$80 oil. Expects the dividend won’t go down as much as they said.

2011-01-26

SELL

26.740

John Zechner

He’d switch to another horse in the oil patch. Recently had some production misses and the stock was sort of expensive anyway and growth will be more limited. There are better ways to play it such as Suncor (SU-T), Cdn Natural Resources (CNQ-T) and Athabaska (ATH-T).

2011-01-19

WAIT

26.740

Ara Nalbandian

Very, very long life asset in Canadian Oil Sands. They indicated their cap-x program will be higher than initially indicated. This caused a correction in the stock. It’s a good long-term hold. He is looking for opportunities in this one.

2011-01-19

PAST TOP PICK

26.180

(A Top Pick Jan 22/10. Down 0.83%.) Sold his holdings before they cut the distribution.

2011-01-17

HOLD

26.410

Very leveraged to oil and has taken its hit on the distribution cut. Oil has gone up and you might do better in the short term to Hold for a higher exit price.

2010-12-31

Comment

26.000

David Baskin

Prefers bigger producers and developing companies that own their own plays such as Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ-T) or Suncor (SU-T) This one gives the yield but the others give the growth..

2010-12-22

HOLD

25.490

Douglas Kee

Cut dividend but this is what is happening to companies that have been in oil sands longer. Everything wears out eventually. We could see this in a lot of these companies.

2010-12-21

TOP PICK

25.090

Bill Carrigan

Market will punish this one for its distribution cut which will happen in a week. This changes shareholders from those in it for income for those in it for growth. Once that process is done, it reverts to an energy stock that is just trying to get growth. Good support at the $24 level.

2010-12-20

PAST TOP PICK

25.210

(A Top Pick Feb 1/10. Down 6.58%.) Off because they cut their dividend by 60%, which was more than they needed to. Still likes.

2010-12-17

DON'T BUY

25.210

Market had expected a cut of 30% in the payout but they cut it by 60% because they were seeing significant increases in the potential capital budget they had outlined for themselves. Still some uncertainty. He got rid of most of his before the cut. There are better choices out there.

2010-12-17

DON'T BUY

25.040

Rick Stuchberry

It was disappointing when company leapt way over everyone’s estimates on the decrease on yield. They blind-sided the street. You wonder as an investor if you want to be blind-sided. This is a short term (6-8 months) problem. This is a money cow at $80-$90 for oil. Maybe they wont cut the distribution the way they say.

2010-12-16

BUY

24.850

Colin Stewart

Likes the oil sand space. When distributions are cut, it can create market dislocation and therefore opportunities.

2010-12-14

HOLD

24.600

Don Vialoux

Oil stocks in general have very strong seasonality from January through to May. This one didn’t have much of a move last year. Oil stocks generally don’t do much until the end of January. If you don’t own, wait for a base to form.

2010-12-10

BUY

24.700

Dean Orrico

Going from a $2 dividend to an $0.80 dividend so is being recycled out of yield oriented hands to more value oriented, which is pretty much in line with a composite on the TSX. Loves the asset.

2010-12-09

WATCH

25.080

Don Lato

Disappointed recently and maybe a little overdone. Distribution cut was far more severe than expected. At these levels you are buying for future growth, not yield. May have a further look at this one.

2010-12-08

BUY

24.510

Laura Lau

Mining project. Market seems to prefer smaller SAGD projects because of mining environmental liabilities and heavier costs. Lot of torque with royalties and operating costs creating $60 a barrel. Dropped too much on announcement of distribution cuts.

2010-12-07

BUY

24.510

Cut the distribution by much more than the market expected. This is probably a good time to start buying this one. They have a huge expansion going forward. The dividend will probably go higher as they bring more production on board. This is an interesting entry point.

2010-12-07

DON'T BUY

27.750

Christine Poole

Their asset is 37% interest in Syncrude. Dependent on crude oil prices and their operating costs. Expecting higher operating costs over the next couple of years and will be announcing their Capital Budget Plan in early December.

2010-11-29

WEAK BUY

27.110

Prefers others. Lack of growth. Has been concern about the dividend being cut but thinks it’s OK for the foreseeable future.

2010-11-26

BUY

27.300

Brendan Caldwell

Presume they will be able to maintain their dividend when they convert. Issues are coming out of the US about the “dirty Canadian” oil but their alternatives are limited.

2010-11-25

HOLD

26.910

Ron Meisels

After the sell off in 2008, it went into a horizontal trading range. If it could go past $30, it would be a wonderful breakout. Until that time it is going to be meandering. If it goes below $25, it may be a signal that it wants to come down.

2010-11-24

Comment

27.290

David Baskin

Will have to convert to a corporation by Jan 1st. All oil sands companies have enormous depreciation because capital bases are so huge, which shelters the earnings so doesn’t think they will be greatly impacted by the change. 7.35% yield but prefers growth prospects of CNQ (CNQ-T).

2010-11-09

BUY

27.290

One of his favourite holdings. Purest play of a producing company in the Athabaska oil sands. In the last few months, Sincrude is going through a huge expansion plan, which involves huge debt, and all partners have to take part. It is thought that COS will cut its distribution in the new year. With the price of oil doing as well as it has, COS has moved off its bottom.

2010-11-09

Comment

25.560

Michael Smedley

Major player in the oil sands. Hasn't been achieving the kind of free cash flow to pay the big income trust dividends. Not exciting.

2010-10-29

BUY

25.560

Built stage 3 for Syncrude and therefore increased production by a third. All the hedges they put in place while they were building have run off so is now dependent on what the output is. Had some unscheduled maintenance. Have an advantage with low gas prices, which they use to produce the oil. Decent yield.

2010-10-29

DON'T BUY

26.480

David Burrows

Considers integrated oils, gas and financials as in a “have not” category. In energy you want to own producers who have upside to production and who are efficient using technology to increase reserves or become more productive. This one is not seeing growth in cash flow that he would like. (See Top Picks.)

2010-10-27

DON'T BUY

26.260

Mason Granger

Disappointing. Market has great expectations. Thought production would be 300 million bpd next year. Potentially a distribution cut with this one.

2010-10-22

BUY

26.200