| BUY | 30.780 | Michael Smedley | 13% yield. Funeral homes in the US. Converted from a stapled income trust, which the US could lap up on a tax effective basis. Part stock, part bond. | 2008-08-20 | |
| Comment | 6.580 | Kevin Hall BComm, CFA | Wasn't actually structured as an income trust but as an Income Depository Security that consisted of a common share and some debt paper clipped together. They are proposing to replace debt with more equity. Rights were issued to unitholders. This allows debt to be replaced with common shares. He feels it makes sense to exercise the Rights. | 2008-05-06 | |
| HOLD | 6.600 | Robert Lauzon | Operates funeral homes. Last year was particularly slow. Generally should be a stable business. US$ income that has been converted into Cdn cash flow, which has been a problem. Recently cut their distributions and are doing a rights issue and lowering their debt, which is positive but a bit dilutive. Fairly valued. | 2008-04-28 | |
| BUY | 7.900 | Andrew Guy, CFA | (Market Call Minute.) A company that has fallen off the radar screen and funeral homes is a steady business. | 2008-02-06 | |
| VAGUE | 7.900 | Chris Rankin, MBA, CFA | Be patient, may take a year or two. | 2007-10-19 | |
| Comment | 8.920 | Andrew Guy, CFA | Very good management team. Won't be as impacted from the tax changes as it is mainly US operations. Because it is small cap, it seems to fly below everyone's radar. Would have liked to have seen a faster pace in consolidations and acquisitions. | 2007-07-27 | |
| TOP PICK | 9.190 | Chris Rankin, MBA, CFA | Funeral home operator. This is an industry that consolidates from time to time. Substantial US exposure, so there is currency risk. | 2007-07-13 | |
| Comment | 9.260 | Michael Simpson, CFA | Cemeteries and cremation services. A US IPS, so it’s not an income trust and won't be impacted by legislation. Did well in Q1. Would like them to get debt levels down. Payout ratio of about 90%. | 2007-07-04 | |
| BUY | 8.450 | Patrick Kim | Funeral services in the US. Technically not an income trust, but an Income Participation Security. Doesn't feel it is subject to the new income trust rules. Non-cyclical. A great long-term business. Good yield of about 12%. | 2007-02-22 | |
| Comment | 7.700 | Michael Simpson, CFA | Funeral home and cemetery business. This will not be affected by the proposed legislation. Debt levels are a bit too high. Payout ratio is also too high. | 2006-11-03 | |
| Comment | 8.150 | Robert Lauzon | Funeral homes across the US. Stable business. Recession proof. Foreign exchange risk. Manageable debt. If you are a bull on the US$, it would be a good stock to own. | 2006-09-08 | |
| BUY | 8.120 | Jason Zandberg | Funeral home operator. Operate out of 27 US states as well as in Ontario. More deaths are fuelling their growth, but attitudes to cremation have changed and % of cremations are expected to rise, which will squeeze margins. 12% yield. There is still growth here. | 2006-09-07 | |
| BUY | 8.310 | James Leung | 5th largest funeral homes in North America and most of them are in rural areas. On the acquisition trail. Very prudent operators. | 2006-06-30 | |
| BUY | 9.340 | Michele Robitaille | Good business. They are in the funeral home business. Continue to do well. Stable management. Pay out 95% | 2006-02-08 | |
| BUY | 8.490 | Michele Robitaille | Focused on the funeral business in rural US. A slow, stable business. It won't shoot the lights out, but will continue to grow at a slow and steady pace. Great management alignment. | 2005-12-19 | |
| BUY | 8.350 | Robert Lauzon | Death care business is a stable one. A long-term hold. Not a lot of growth in this one. | 2005-12-08 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 7.700 | Patrick Kim | (A Top Pick Aug 19/05. Down 20%.) Their underlying business has performed superbly. About 15% ahead of their forcasts when they were IPO'd. Unfortunately there is a malaise in the market with some of the smaller names. | 2005-11-04 | |
| BUY | 8.800 | Ravi Sood | US funeral home business. Has a very stable cash flow from operations. Payout ratio is 80%. Good management. There is US$ exposure. The US$ is hedged, but hedges do roll off, but this is built into the price. A very good entry point for this one. | 2005-10-14 | |
| BUY | 9.530 | Michele Robitaille | A funeral home operator across the US. Good core business. Had a solid 2nd quarter. Gearing up to make some acquisitions in the 2nd half of the year. | 2005-09-16 | |
| TOP PICK | 9.690 | Patrick Kim | Has a solid story, In the funeral service business. The fifth largest in the US. Has come off significantly since its IPO, but thinks it's only malaise in the market. Have outperformed their guidance since their IPO. Earnings are up 15% above guidance and their payout ratio has fallen to 80% yet the yield is north of 10%. | 2005-08-19 | |
| BUY | 10.200 | Patrick Kim | Funeral services. Fits a lot of the criteria that they like to see in an income trust. Relatively stable industry in terms of revenues. A growing operator. Consolidating a lot of mom & pop operations at reasonable acquisition multiples. Extremely positive numbers. | 2005-06-10 | |
| BUY | 9.630 | Robert Lauzon | US funeral home business. Great fundamentals. Very stable industry. Good margins. The thing to watch with this industry is the amount of leverage (debt), but they are comfortable with their leverage. | 2005-04-08 | |
| BUY | 10.150 | Michele Robitaille | Recent IPO. US funeral home operator. Funeral homes are a very stable type of business and very suitable as an income trust model. 95% payout ratio. | 2005-03-18 | |
Experts that have talked about Keystone North America Inc.
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