STOCKCHASE

Octavian Advisors, out of the US, own a good chunk of this company now and they continue to buy. At last year's AGM meeting they were a little more aggressive than he would've liked. They want a director on the board and the company is saying no. Expect there will be a lot of fireworks at this year's AGM. If they were to offer $15-$18 a share for the whole company, he would be willing to listen to this.

2012-04-17

HOLD

9.580

There is a group in New York that has been buying a lot of this stock. He could see this stock in double digits. Some of the restraints they have to deal with are coming off so he can see them becoming more competitive. Great dividend.

2012-01-17

PAST TOP PICK

7.270

(Top Pick Aug 17/10, Up 75.02%) Consumers Water Heater changed the name. Lovely dividend. Were badly beaten up. Could see them going double digit. Regulatory constraints come off next year. Pay you to wait.

2011-08-25

HOLD

6.870

Bought this at around $3.50. Paid a beautiful distribution in the past and now pay a great dividend. Stock price has gone way up and he is still holding. In the past, a lot of their customers were dropping off so they slowed down the rate of attrition drastically. Thinks there is further capital appreciation.

2011-04-25

PAST TOP PICK

6.230

Mark Carpani

(Top Pick Nov 17/09, Up 10.5% total return) Consumers Water Heater Bonds 6.75 4/30/2014. Sold to buy bonds further up the yield curve.

2010-11-16

TOP PICK

4.600

Part of strategy to get instantaneous returns. Better than 100% upside. A lot of income trusts had payout ratios too high and were not sustainable. Consumers was one. Trust price has come way down. Now 50% payout ratio. They were loosing a lot of customers. He thinks they now have tremendous potential.

2010-08-17

DON'T BUY

4.650

Has been a disappointing holding. Have had higher customer retention problems than anticipated. Earnings hadn't come through as expected. Current valuation is compelling but if it went over $5 he would consider selling his holdings.

2010-07-28

Comment

4.640

He inherited a small bit through new accounts and has been reluctant to get rid of it as he perceives more value in the company than the current price is reflecting. Have suffered from higher costs and a fair amount of attrition in the customer base. More reasonable price would be $5.50, where he would sell.

2010-06-30

DON'T BUY

4.810

Barry Schwartz

(Market Call Minute) Terrible balance sheet.

2010-05-25

HOLD

5.380

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Not done too well, particularly against Just Energy (JE.UN-T). Erosion in their customer base through competition but seem to have stemmed that and come back a little. Expect distribution will be cut when they convert.

2010-04-27

PARTIAL SELL

5.290

Don Lato

Been through trials and tribulations over the last couple of years. Big problem has been the ability of customers to walk away from contracts without penalty but is now very close to being resolved through legislation. Slowdown in housing has also been a problem. Consider taking some profits.

2010-03-23

Comment

5.280

Generally likes the trust sector. Looks pretty decent on a short-term basis. Chart shows nice uptrend but will probably have a few points of upside resistance at about $5.80 and $6.70. 12.2% distribution. Hasn't participated like other trusts so if it broke down through he wouldn't want to hold.

2010-03-22

HOLD

4.600

Has been buying this in the $3-$4 range recently. Feels it is worth $5 a share. 14% yield. Have to restructure some debt but if this occurs it could be a $6-$7 stock in a few years.

2010-01-06

DON'T BUY

4.030

David Cockfield

Not his favourite. European technology of coiled heated water has eliminated water heaters in Europe. It's only a matter of time before Canadians start converting. Long-term prospects are in question.

2009-12-21

Comment

4.050

Debt has been an issue and they have refinanced this. A lot of competition. Tax loss selling will be finished in about 2 weeks so if you own, give it a bit more time for possible better pricing before selling.

2009-12-14

WATCH

3.770

Water heater rental business is very regional. 17% distribution. Recently cut distributions. Have some big debt coming due early 2010. Getting more competition but with new housing development in Ontario they have more chance of growth.

2009-12-03

SELL

3.890

Risk/reward not looking particularly good right now. Cut distribution in half earlier this year, which brought payout ratio down to under 100% but doesn't feel the present 5.4% is safe. Has been a marked deterioration in the business outlook. Competition has increased significantly.

2009-11-25

TOP PICK

3.650

Mark Carpani

6.75% bond maturing April 30/14. Yielding about 6%. Cash flow is based upon rental of water heaters, so a fairly safe utility type play. (Single A rated.) Had some balance sheet concerns recently, which is why it was downgraded. Still a solid investment grade.

2009-11-17

Comment

4.190

Derek Webb, CFA

Doesn't like business trusts as he sees a potential problem between now and January 2011.

2009-10-29

BUY

4.190

(Market Call Minute.) Has been hit very hard but does earn its cost of capital. Longer term it will do better.

2009-10-14

BUY

4.820

Facing pressure from a new competitor that is getting into the water heater business. Getting to a level where he is getting interested. Market is pricing in a 20%-25% distribution cut.

2009-09-17

DON'T BUY

4.940

Sold her holdings over the last year. Prices dropped because the market is factoring in a distribution cut. Payout ratio of about 100%. Will definitely have to cut the distribution in 2011. Competitive landscape has become quite a bit more aggressive.

2009-09-11

Comment

6.100

Ben Cheng

Price has come down as investors risk appetite has dropped. Net attrition rates have been picking up as housing starts in Ontario have trailed off so new water heaters and rentals are down. However, new home starts are starting to look more positive. 21.7% yield.

2009-07-13

DON'T BUY

6.350

Rents water heaters, etc. and recently diversified into smart meters. The issue with them is the recent refinancing of their debt at slightly higher rates. Always found debt levels too high and with the slowdown in housing it has been an issue of attrition.

2009-07-06

Comment

6.360

When they convert to a corporation, the distribution will be a lot less than the current 10.75%. Payout ratio is very high.

2009-06-26

HOLD

6.350

Has looked at this recently because of their 20% distributions. However, the balance sheet didn't attract him enough for him to go beyond a cursory look. A lot of companies as they convert to corporations are finding a perfect opportunity to cut distributions.

2009-06-12

DON'T BUY

6.500

Has good visibility in a more defensive environment. Payout ratio has crept up over 100% because of refinancing of debt. She doesn't generally like this. Competitive intensity has increased over the last little while. Cautious on this in the near term. If things become more optimistic, she will probably cycle out of this name. 10.75% distribution could be at risk.

2009-05-22

BUY

7.570

Ben Cheng

Safety of distribution depends on how people buy new water heaters vs. renting. Reliance Energy just did a bond issue. So credit markets are staring to loosen up here.

2009-04-27

Comment

6.880

Has recently taken quite a hit because of increasing competition. Outlook is relatively stable but with a slight downward trend. 100% payout ratio is higher than what she would like. Acquired a smart-metering business that was to provide some upside but government ruling will not allow it into apartment buildings yet. Expecting a cut in distributions.

2009-04-02

BUY

6.910

Jean-Francois Tardif

Extremely boring company of most listeners are probably paying every month for their water heater and every year the company increases the price by 1%-2% and no one knows it. Cash flow is almost guaranteed. Recession resistant. 10.75% distribution is very safe.

2009-02-26

WATCH

7.390

Jeff Parent B. Eng. FCSI

$7.64 level is very strong support. Technical analyst would say this is a key decision point for the stock. It will either rally back up again or will drop below this point. If you Buy you have to be very careful. If it drops below $7.50 it could go down to $5 easily. 16% yield could be susceptible.

2009-02-11

HOLD

8.990

(Market Call Minute.) You can probably buy Energy Savings (SIF.UN-T) at a lower multiple right now.

2009-02-02

DON'T BUY

9.470

Provides rental water tanks and smart meters. Distribution is fairly safe. Have some upside with new water heaters for new housing. Have quite a bit of debt.

2009-01-16

Comment

8.410

Rent water heaters in Ontario, which is a fairly stable business. Easy to pass through any price increases. A lot of companies are trying to get into this market. Last report showed pretty good earnings.

2008-10-29

DON'T BUY

9.960

Primarily water heater rentals in Ontario. With slower housing starts, there has been a bit of weakness. Diversifying into the smart meter business or it Have a lot of debt. Will take a few years to see if the new initiative works. Facing competition from new players and new technology.

2008-08-13

HOLD

12.900

(Market Call Minute.) Stable income story but not much growth.

2008-05-05

Comment

13.950

Rental of water heaters in Ontario. Has provided a very stable income stream. He doesn't see the growth profile that he likes relative to the business risk. 9.2% yield.

2008-02-26

DON'T BUY

14.960

Ben Cheng

Fairly well run trust. Business is sound, but also dependent on new home construction. US housing sales could potentially spread into Ontario, which is a concern.

2007-09-05

DON'T BUY

17.150

Chris Rankin, MBA, CFA

Doesn't think there is a chance this will ever be purchased by private equity because it is not an operating business, just a securitization vehicle.

2007-07-13

BUY

17.150

Kevin Hall BComm, CFA

Their competition in Ontario was UE Water Heater, which was recently taken over. Water heater market is very lucrative. Generates a lot of free cash flow. Good pricing power. Starting to branch out into other areas. Could be a takeover target.

2007-07-11

BUY

16.640

Not a bad business.

2007-07-03

BUY

16.370

Andrew Guy, CFA

A nice, steady, slow-growing business. Will continue to increase its distribution over time. Not a likely takeout candidate.

2007-06-27

BUY

16.960

A sort of a steady Eddy. Has grown a lot by acquisition recently. Payout is 86% of distributable cash, but that is not a bad ratio for recurring cash flows.

2007-04-27

Comment

16.880

Chyanne Fickes

Had a big jump in sympathy with the takeout of UE Waterheater Fund (UWH.UN-T).

2007-04-17

BUY

14.200

Neil Wickham

Something like a utility play, because the cash flow is pretty stable. Could convert back to a corporation quite easily. Also could possibly be a takeover target.

2007-03-20

HOLD

13.650

Ravi Sood

Great stable assets. Prefers UE Waterheater (UWH.UN-T) at this time.

2006-11-17

BUY

12.650

Peter Gibson

On his good list for income trusts. Very strong underlying operating characteristics. Undervalued. Profit growth is strong. A good long-term investment.

2006-11-03

BUY

15.760

Chris Rankin, MBA, CFA

Trading up at the present time. It is a very safe trust. The growth is low. It is a great place to put money because of the volatility of the market .

2006-09-25

BUY

13.500

A fairly stable trust. Moves a little bit with the housing cycle but is correlated with interest rates. Has pulled back a little and in the low $13’s it looks attractive.

2006-05-18

HOLD

15.750

It’s main business is collecting rent on water heaters. There may be a price increase when it gets included in the index and you may want to consider trimming at that point and then buy back later.

2005-12-08

DON'T BUY

16.250