STOCKCHASE

Is 7% appreciation possible through their yield and capital appreciation? Management team has done a good job in diversifying their business away from the traditional cheque writing business. Cheque writing business is declining about 3% per year. The plus side is that they are a monopoly. You are making a bet on how well management can diversify away from that business. Not sure if any of their acquisitions to date have been big enough to move the dial. 6.5% dividend yield.

2012-05-09

Comment

17.400

Jim Huang

Their main business is printing cheques, which is a slowly eroding business. They are trying very hard to replace their existing business with something more electronic. Feels the dividends are sustainable in the next year or 2. He'll continue to watch their progress.

2012-03-01

TOP PICK

17.750

Ross Healy

7.2% yield. This is one of the few stocks that stands out as having forecasts that are steadily going upwards for 2012. Stock is set back almost to it’s price to book.

2012-01-10

DON'T BUY

15.540

Business for paper written cheques has been declining year-by-year but they have done a very good job to fight that. Have entered into a bunch of lending businesses, which has seen year over year increases. However physical cheque needs is going to continue to decline as we move into the Internet age. Doesn't expect the 8.1% dividend to be cut over the next 12 months.

2011-12-20

TOP SHORT

15.250

James Hodgins

A Pairs Trade going long Versapay (VPY-X) and short Davis+Henderson (DH-T). Core business of cheque printing and processing business is in decline and thinks it will go into much sharper decline in the next 2-3 years.

2011-11-24

Comment

15.870

Jamie Horvat

This is a growth by acquisition business. Relatively low margin and has been pretty steady Eddie. Good cash flow generator. Doesn't see a lot of long-term growth but if you're holding it for yield he would continue to do so.

2011-11-18

TOP PICK

16.000

Ross Healy

Earnings forecasts have been ratcheting upwards quite nicely. Strong yield of 7.6%.

2011-11-17

Comment

16.750

You have to worry long haul about a cheque printer but they have actually done pretty well. Have added a lot of electronic features. Wouldn’t bet against them. 7.4% yield.

2011-11-10

TOP SHORT

16.650

James Hodgins

Cheque supplier, etc. They are in the business that is clearly deteriorating. His major concern is that they are taking the remaining capital of the company and making acquisitions and using debt to do that.

2011-10-20

BUY

16.340

Jason Donville

This one or DirectCash (DCI-T) or First National (FN-T)? He prefers Davis + Henderson but Likes DirectCash too. A little more negative on First National. However, analysts don't seem to be too high on the stock. Excellent yield of 7.5% and it is a growth stock also.

2011-10-17

BUY

16.020

Andrew Hamlin

Cheque writing company. Very good company and very strong cash flow. Have expanded into the US. For income focused investors, this would be a very good buy. Dividend is reasonably well covered.

2011-10-07

TOP PICK

16.250

Diversifying their business. Student loan processing, lean processing. Have bought a couple of companies. "Asset", a collect business which is counter cyclical to their student loan business. And "Mortgage" bought in the US which is a web based mortgage sales package. CEO is retiring, new CEO looks good. 70% payout ratio, conservative balance sheet.

2011-10-06

BUY

19.230

Andrew Hamlin

Dominant cheque printer. Has expanded into the US. Manageable payout ratio and the dividend looks safe. Very attractive for income investors.

2011-08-16

HOLD

18.950

Douglas Kee

Nice boring company with yield of 6%. People still use cheques. He has some but would not run out and buy it – lack of growth; dividend increase record is not great.

2011-07-21

BUY

20.260

Earnings looked fairly good in the 1st quarter and were helped quite a bit on the top line by an acquisition they made. Multiples appear reasonable. Close to a 6% yield.

2011-05-17

WEAK BUY

20.850

Douglas Kee

5-10% dividend grower. A good quality company. A bit small for his fund. 8.6% sustainable yield. There isn’t a lot of potential for upside due to the nature of their business.

2011-03-21

BUY

20.490

Cheques but are diversifying. Strong management. Likes this stock. Has done reasonably well.

2011-02-03

HOLD

20.890

David Cockfield

Started in cheques, which they have totally tied up. Have added new products. Pays a reasonable return.

2011-01-21

BUY

20.370

Good management. One of the true monopolies in that they control cheques and can increase pricing when needed. Tremendous amount of cash flow. Expect they will diversify away from cheques.

2011-01-11

WEAK BUY

19.420

They are not earning their payout. Now that they have announced what they will payout, people are taking another look at it. It is not a big growth area. There is still a huge market for cheques but to grow they have to take market share and it could be a long haul.

2010-10-20

BUY

17.260

Very solid lead managed. You would think cheque making would be threatened by technology but they have been very good at adapting. Good solid trust to own.

2010-08-16

DON'T BUY

16.840

David Baskin

Not a name he likes that much. They are in a sunset industry.

2010-06-03

BUY on WEAKNESS

18.010

Manufactures bank cheques Good yield. Very solid and extremely well managed company.

2010-04-22

BUY

16.990

Prakash Hariharan

(Market Call Minute) Great name. Bought two companies and did well. Good payout ratio and sustainable yield.

2010-03-01

PAST TOP PICK

17.090

(Top Pick Jan 16/09, Up 7%) Maintained distribution. Trimmed his position a bit. Will have to cut distribution 25-30% as they convert their company.

2010-02-23

DON'T BUY

16.990

Jason Donville

Fully valued and he has taken profits recently on this one.

2010-01-22

Comment

16.010

Distribution is safe. Has about an 82%-83% payout ratio. Have diversified outside of the cheque business, which is declining. Have invested in Biologics and mortgage brokerage software. Looking for a distribution cut to take into account taxes and possibly more growth acquisitions.

2009-12-03

DON'T BUY

15.990

Pay out about $1.84 in distribution and earnings per unit are around $2.20 giving them about an 80% payout ratio. Not sure they will be able to sustain the distribution.

2009-11-27

HOLD

16.360

(Market Call Minute.) Looking at little bit expensive. Good base business. 11% yield.

2009-11-25

DON'T BUY

15.560

Richard Croft

They make cheques for banks. More electronic banking is being done so you have to wonder that when this changes into a corporation will there be any growth.

2009-11-20

BUY

14.060

Jason Donville

Bad news of a distribution cut because of the conversion in 2011 is already built into the stock. This will become a high dividend yielding equity. 13.1% yield.

2009-10-16

HOLD

14.220

Have a relatively steady cash flow that is pretty dependable, which would be attractive to a lot of potential buyers.

2009-10-14

BUY

14.000

Originally did cheque printing but have supplemented this with various other businesses such as software for mortgage brokerages. Good management. Yielding of about 13% will probably be reduced when they convert to a Corp.

2009-09-17

HOLD

12.390

Some people would argue that bank cheques are a declining industry. Recently acquired a business processing services company. Extremely well managed. 14.7% yield. Fairly high payout ratio.

2009-06-26

BUY

13.910

(Market Call Minute) Going to do some good things with their cash flow going forward. Good stead-eddy company.

2009-04-27

BUY on WEAKNESS

12.050

Sandy McIntyre

Very stable industry over the years. Have some exposure to the mortgage market through a subsidiary. Has added to his holdings on dips. He'll continue to own this through their conversion to a corporation.

2009-02-24

TOP PICK

15.950

Dominant cheque provider for the major Canadian banks. Cheque business is declining but this is a mature business and generates a lot of free cash flow. Paid down debt and diversified into mortgage software. Expecting a rebound into 2010. 12% yield should be sustainable.

2009-01-16

Comment

15.590

Cheque business is a steady cash flow type of business. Have hung in relatively well compared to their peers. 12% yield.

2008-12-19

STRONG BUY

15.490

Cheques are their core business. This would have been his 4th Top pick. Good balance sheet. Payout ratio of about 82%.

2008-09-19

BUY

14.690

(Market Call Minute.) Just came out with very strong results. Likes the business. Fairly recession resistant.

2008-08-07

TOP PICK

17.290

Dominant supplier of cheques to Canada's leading financial institutions. The selloff in February was overdone. Recommends a Partial Buy now and if it sells off more, add to it.

2008-05-06

Comment

16.130

Norman Levine

Cheque printing, etc. Steady growth. In this kind of market, this is the kind of business you want to be in. Just took a big drop but he doesn't know why.

2008-03-10

PAST TOP PICK

20.780

(A Top Pick Dec 15/06. Up 35.7%.) 8% yield. A safe, stable business. Cheque volumes have been quite high in Q2 and Q3. Also acquired an acquisition mortgage brokerage services. Doesn't feel the growth in 2007 is sustainable in the long term and the company is targeting a 3% to 5% growth rate. Still likes.

2007-11-28

PAST TOP PICK

19.060

(Up 10.8% since September 2006) When he had picked it they had just made a substantial acquisition, in the mortgage brokerage services. Since then the market has softened.

2007-10-19

PAST TOP PICK

19.300

Leslie Lundquist

(A Top Pick July 13/06. Up 7.3%.) Still likes.

2007-07-25

DON'T BUY

19.410

Rock solid asset but a bit expensive at 9.5 X EBITDA.

2007-07-13

PAST TOP PICK

19.490

(A Top Pick May 5/06. Down 5.2%.) Have done a very good job in offsetting the decline in cheque writing. Have expanded into other related products and services. Made some good acquisitions.

2007-07-11

PAST TOP PICK

18.930

Then $15.40 Had a good run. Pretty close to fully valued but a very stable boring stock.

2007-06-11

PAST TOP PICK

19.160

Then $18.75 Up 2% which is good from the prospect of Oct's.

2007-06-08

TOP PICK

19.320

Andrew Guy, CFA

Strong management. Continues to produce bank checks, but has moved into other services. Now have a company that allows processing of mortgages.

2007-05-25

HOLD

18.260

Would prefer at $16. 8.5% yield. A slow growth, steady Eddy kind of business.

2007-04-27

BUY

16.440

Andrew Guy, CFA

Although core business is declining, management has found new ways to grow through new services for the banks.

2007-04-09

PAST TOP PICK

16.520

(A Top Pick Dec 15/06. Up 6.5%.) Came out very strong 4th quarter results and increased distributions. Will continue to show modest but stable growth over time.

2007-03-23

PAST TOP PICK

15.420

(A Top Pick Sept 25/06. Down 17.6%.) Thinks it will weaken further.

2007-02-09

PAST TOP PICK

15.650

(A Top Pick Dec 15/06. Up 1.4%.) Likes the underlying operating business and would continue to recommend this one.

2007-02-02

TOP PICK

15.400

Largest supplier of cheques to Canadian banks. Very stable business. Growth at about 3%. Acquired an on-line mortgage business which is complimentary. Good price.

2006-12-15

BUY

15.300

Robert Lauzon

Attractive entry point. Nice yield which is sustainable. Recently increased distributions. Stable cash flow.

2006-11-24

PAST TOP PICK

19.450

(A Top Pick May 5/06. Down 3.7%.) Continues to like it. A good, steady name in the business area. Market sold off on their new acquisition, but this should work out quite well. Should get 3-4 percent growth.

2006-10-27

BUY

19.150

Neil Wickham

The business of manufacturing cheques is supposedly declining but it is doing so at a very, very slow rate.

2006-10-03

TOP PICK

18.750

It has room to appreciate. It is cheap, safe and stable.

2006-09-25

BUY

18.650

Patrick Kim

Has a fantastic track record. Managing to squeeze more margins through innovative thinking and new products.

2006-08-04

DON'T BUY

18.300

Ravi Sood

Has been one of the stars in the business trust area. May actually have turned a corner and be facing a decline in volumes which is affecting their core business. Doesn't see any opportunity for capital gains.

2006-07-21

TOP PICK

18.250

Leslie Lundquist

Pays about 8%. Haven't done well in the market over the last couple of quarters. Excellent track record in terms of operating their business conservatively and increasing distributions. Low debt. Made an acquisition which the market didn't like but she feels will be valuable in the longer term.

2006-07-13

DON'T BUY

17.700

James Leung

The chequing industry is a very mature one. Cheque usage has been declining for years and is currently in about a 3/5% decline. Company has done a good job in mitigating a lot of the headwinds. Recently made an acquisition in the mortgage business but they paid a huge multiple, about 14 X cash flow. Timing is at the peak of the cycle.

2006-06-30

BUY

17.140

Dean Orrico

Made an acquisition that is primarily involved in the brokerage business. The stock has fallen off quite a bit. There should be continued growth and thinks the stock has been oversold. Good value at these prices.

2006-06-23

TOP PICK

17.380

Robert Lauzon

Have increased distributions 7 times since they went public. Recently acquired Filogix, a high-growth software business that puts together a mortgage lender and mortgage broker. Sold off too much.

2006-06-21

BUY

19.200

Dominant player in the cheque industry. Although cheque usage is declining 3% or 4% per year, they are managing it by some creative ways. Down because the overall market is down. Acquired a software company unrelated to their more business. Good value.

2006-06-01

TOP PICK

20.410

They provide the cheque services to a lot of the financial companies. Decent pricing power. Good, steady cash flows. Cheque usage has declined, but they have been able to expand into other areas and their margins are improving. Good value.

2006-05-05

BUY

20.380

Have been subject to a little bit of natural decline in cheque usage but have introduced innovative new programs. A good solid name.

2006-04-26

BUY

22.140

Patrick Kim

Should be a core holding in most income trust portfolios. Have a fantastic track record of growing their earnings despite their product of paper cheques.

2006-01-13

TOP PICK

18.360

Have long term contracts with all the major Canadian banks. Good visibility and stability in their revenue. Have a good track record of offsetting the slow decline in cheque usage. Very conservative in their payout ratio. Very attractive at these levels.

2005-11-18

DON'T BUY

18.290

James Leung

The major supplier of printed cheques to the chartered banks. Cheque usage has been in decline. Have a lot of cost efficiencies. Has had some earnings revisions downwards.

2005-11-11

PAST TOP PICK

23.010

(A Top Pick July 15/05. Up 9%.) Slow and steady. Good core holding for a portfolio.

2005-09-16

PAST TOP PICK

23.110

(Top pick May/6, up 10%)

2005-08-26

BUY

22.350

Dean Orrico

Has exclusive relationships with Canadian banks. Good business, but the cheque business tends to decline at about 3% or 4% a year, but because they are basically a monopoly they can increase prices.

2005-07-29

TOP PICK

21.500

A very high quality trust. Have long term contracts and relationships with all 6 of the major banks. Very stable business. Have combatted the decline in cheque usage by decreasing the size of the bundles clients order and adding additional features. Conservative payout ratio. A great Buy under $21.

2005-07-15

TOP PICK

20.900

A core holding. Was a little bit light on their Q1 results because of a decrease in revenues which he thinks is temporary. A very healthy payout ratio. Expects a distribution increase this year.

2005-05-06

BUY

21.340

A core holding. Strong management. Slow but moderated growth. Facing challenges in cheque usage which they are addressing.

2005-04-15

WEAK BUY

22.700

John Priestman

They have been doing some profit taking. Had a spectacular run. Increased their distribution 4 times. Pays $1.44 (about 6%.) Has a monopoly in cheque printing.

2004-12-31

BUY

22.350