| DON'T BUY | 39.500 | Bruce Campbell | Lower growth and a stagnant dividend and earnings. Prefers Rogers (RCI.B-T) for its better growth and growing dividend. | 2008-08-18 | |
| HOLD | 40.010 | Peter Brieger | Looking very interesting and thinking of adding to it. Telecom area going forward could be rather interesting once the auction is over and sees how the dust settles. | 2008-06-30 | |
| BUY | 39.240 | David Baskin | At lot of speculative money went into this company thinking that something exciting, fast and lucrative was going to happen. There was selling pressure when this didn't happen. When the BCE (BCE-T) deal closes, some of the money will come into this stock, as people will want exposure to this sector. Very nice dividend. | 2008-04-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 39.800 | Norman Levine | Owns Allstream, which was supposed to be their growth vehicle but it didn't come through. No earnings growth. Valuation of the company has come down. Indicated it wants to be a player in wireless national spectrum and this carries a lot of risk as well as a lot of cash. Too early. | 2008-04-10 | |
| DON'T BUY | 39.800 | Paul Gardner, CFA | Worst child of the telecom space. Allstream acquisition has been a disaster. It is frightening that they are going to bid on Spectrum, but they have to. Great business in Manitoba but that's not satisfactory and they have to grow it by Spectrum and grow the network. Going into a crowded space. There is a threat of them cutting their dividend. | 2008-04-10 | |
| Comment | 39.980 | Laura Wallace | Just announced plans to create a 4th national wireless firm with 2 strong partners. Very interesting here. This will reduce the capital expenditure and balance sheet risk and will be able to maintain their attractive dividend yield. Could be an attractive investment. | 2008-03-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 41.600 | David Burrows | Telecom has not been a space that has been performing well. There are concerns about wire line revenues as well as the wireless side. If he had to pick one, it would be Bell Alient (BA.UN-T), which is paying about 9.5% and just recently raised their distribution and only paying out about 90% of their cash flow. | 2008-02-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 42.580 | Brian Acker, CA | The model price is $38.21, a -12% differential. The model price is dropping. Downside risk is a lot. | 2008-01-17 | |
| BUY | 43.430 | David Baskin | This is a stock that won't let you down too badly no matter what happens in the US. As interest rates fall in the US and the Bank of Canada follows the dividend that comes with this stock becomes even more attractive. Almost 6% in dividends. | 2008-01-14 | |
| BUY | 46.300 | David Cockfield | (Market Call Minute.) Safe. | 2007-12-21 | |
| Comment | 44.470 | David Baskin | A little bit of an uptick today because of the government’s announcement on wireless (spectrum). The question is, can they put enough money together to become a serious wireless player and take on the 3 giants in the field. Doesn't think they have enough resources of their own. | 2007-11-29 | |
| HOLD | 44.070 | Michael Decter | Good dividend. Earnings weren't bad. What may be hurting them a little bit, people are waiting for the BCE deal to conclude and the bondholder issue to go away. Prefers Telus (T-T) and Rogers (RCI.B-T). Will probably be a takeover at some point. | 2007-11-12 | |
| BUY | 48.530 | Ron Meisels | Has done an inverse head and shoulders and what you want is a major break above $50-$51. If you own the stock, have your Stop at $46. Stock should break into new high levels fairly shortly. | 2007-09-27 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 49.000 | Norman Levine | (A Top Pick Sept 5/06. Up 2.7%.) His theme was yield. This paid more than 5%. Sold his holdings. No longer as attractive as a takeover candidate. | 2007-08-29 | |
| BUY | 48.620 | Peter Brieger | Recently recovered. Buy for the yield. | 2007-08-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 48.680 | Paul Gardner, CFA | Has had a rough ride for 3, 4 years. Their business is static. 60% of it is wire line. Have done well recently by collapsing costs. Not a growth story. | 2007-08-22 | |
| SELL | 48.030 | Paul Gardner, CFA | Fully priced. Doesn't expect it will be taken out. Very leveraged. Last quarter earnings beat the analysts’ expectations by about $0.06. Their Allstream purchase has been a nightmare. | 2007-07-19 | |
| Comment | 48.370 | Chyanne Fickes | Has done very well. Yield is quite high, but there is concern that they will not be able to continue with that kind of dividend. Could be a target at some point, which is why it is at its current high price. | 2007-07-05 | |
| WEAK BUY | 49.200 | Ross Healey | Still likes it. Has a decent yield, with a decent upside. Better value then Telus.
| 2007-06-01 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 49.170 | Norman Levine | (A Top Pick June 13/06. Up 5.7%.) 4.5% dividend. He recently sold his holdings. Has probably seen the best behind it. | 2007-05-30 | |
| SELL | 48.900 | Paul Gardner, CFA | Has recovered from the All Stream acquisition. Balance sheet is pretty leveraged. Big dividend. In order to add accretion to the stock, they need to get bigger. Still struggling. Would take some profit now. | 2007-05-17 | |
| SELL | 49.250 | Patrick Kim | Investors buying into this name have been doing so for the potential takeover only. The underlying business is a pretty weak business. Their bulk of their business is from local and long-distance which is a brutal business. | 2007-05-14 | |
| BUY | 49.120 | Michael Sprung | A well-run telecom company. Balance sheet is not particularly levered for a telecom. Not a bad place to be. | 2007-04-27 | |
| DON'T BUY | 47.340 | Gavin Graham | There is an erosion of its base because of competition from cable. Revenues are down. | 2007-03-26 | |
| DON'T BUY | 47.750 | Chyanne Fickes | Think it's a little rich right now. | 2007-02-06 | |
| DON'T BUY | 47.500 | Paul Gardner, CFA | Doesn't like the telecom market too much. Over competitive. Have a high yield and great cash flow. Cable companies are one step ahead of the telecoms. | 2007-02-05 | |
| HOLD | 45.580 | Steve MacInnes | Feels it will be able to maintain its dividend. Have substantial tax losses available, so could be an acquisition target. | 2007-01-11 | |
| DON'T BUY | 44.660 | David Burrows | This has been an under performing stock. The catalyst is that it could be acquired, but he doesn't buy stocks on that basis. Would prefer a Rogers (RCI.B-T) or Telus (T-T). | 2007-01-08 | |
| DON'T BUY | 45.700 | Brian Acker, CA | Way over valued according to his model. | 2006-12-21 | |
| BUY | 43.790 | Ross Healey | Very nice dividend. Investors are avidly seeking dividends. Its base business, wire line telephone, is probably in a long-term decline. | 2006-12-04 | |
| BUY | 43.600 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | Has drifted down because it can't convert to an income trust. Solid 6% dividend that is still supported by earnings. The Allstream tax losses are still protecting the earnings. | 2006-11-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 43.960 | John Zechner | Doesn’t like it. Not growing. Numbers show they are losing more on their landlines than expected. Allstream was a tough buy for them. | 2006-11-08 | |
| WEAK BUY | 45.490 | Peter Gibson | Yield of 5.8%. A pretty good chance it will be taken out by Telus (T-T). Poor in its profit growth but it’s in a spectacular sector. | 2006-11-03 | |
| BUY | 45.600 | Norman Levine | Thinks their main business will become a trust and they will spin off Allstream. Very good dividend. | 2006-10-31 | |
| HOLD | 45.950 | Michael Smedley | Structure doesn't make it a trust candidate quite yet. In the meantime, you get a good dividend of around 5.5%. | 2006-10-19 | |
| HOLD | 46.740 | John Zechner | Wouldn't buy at this point. The dividend is not at risk. Allstream has turned out a bust. Will generate cash, but won't have growth. | 2006-10-16 | |
| BUY | 46.740 | Peter Brieger | Allstream will be disposed of one way or another. This will then be converted into an income trust. | 2006-10-16 | |
| BUY | 48.480 | Norman Levine | Going through a strategic review and one of their options is making the core telephone system into an income trust. They would then probably sell Allstream. | 2006-10-10 | |
| BUY | 47.320 | David Burrows | Starting to see a better environment in general for telecoms. This is a sector move which is helped by Telus (T-T) moving to an income trust. | 2006-09-13 | |
| Comment | 47.400 | Gavin Graham | High dividend. As an operating company is not looking too well because of Allstream acquisition which is continuing to lose market share. | 2006-09-06 | |
| TOP PICK | 47.340 | Norman Levine | Restructuring defensive stock. Great yield at 5.5%. They are doing a strategic review that will probably result in some very positive happenings. | 2006-09-05 | |
| HOLD | 46.900 | David Baskin | Doesn't expect a lot of excitement to happen with this company in the next little while. Fairly priced. If you like the dividend, continue to hold. If you're a trader, the juice is pretty well squeezed out of it. | 2006-08-24 | |
| DON'T BUY | 46.880 | Paul Harris, CFA | Doesn't like the telecom sector. Losing their fixed line business to the cable industry. The really strong growth is coming from the mobile side. Made a big mistake when they bought Allstream. | 2006-08-15 | |
| HOLD | 47.000 | Bruce Campbell | $1/2 overvalued unless there is a takeover when it would be in the low $50's. The Bell Alliant income trust (BA.UN-T) would be the primary fit. | 2006-08-10 | |
| DON'T BUY | 47.000 | Paul Gardner, CFA | Would be a good income trust. Stable with free cash flow, not much volatility to earnings. Have a high dividend. The integration of Allstream has been problematic and competition has been fierce. Doesn't like the telecom industry. Over competitive. | 2006-08-08 | |
| DON'T BUY | 46.680 | Larry Berman CFA, CMT, CTA | Has done quite well over the last number of months and at this point, would prefer Bell Canada (BCE-T) on a risk/reward basis. | 2006-07-24 | |
| DON'T BUY | 45.610 | Chyanne Fickes | Doesn’t have a good earnings outlook. Also have some other issues they are still dealing with, such as trusting | 2006-07-04 | |
| DON'T BUY | 45.700 | Brian Acker, CA | His model price is $37.75 and has been trending down. It's a negative 18% differential. | 2006-06-19 | |
| TOP PICK | 46.440 | Norman Levine | 5.6% yield. Feels there is further capital appreciation as it is under self-review as to how to shake it up and enhance shareholder value. | 2006-06-13 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 46.840 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | (A Top Pick Apr 5/06. Up 10%.) Good value here, but just not in the current structure. Getting paid 6% dividend while he waits for them to start realising the value. Expect they will be an income trust in the next 2 years. | 2006-06-07 | |
| BUY | 47.150 | David Baskin | All dividend payers are undervalued right now. There has been a tremendous move away from the blue chip, slow growth dividend payers. Not a growth company, but the dividend is very attractive. | 2006-06-06 | |
| BUY | 45.380 | Norman Levine | Operationally, they have had some disappointments, especially since they acquired Allstream. Dividend is good at 5.7%. The company is undergoing a strategic review which will be to the benefit of the shareholder. | 2006-05-30 | |
| Comment | 45.100 | David Baskin | Had a nice pop today and might have been speculation that the dividend tax credit was going to be enhanced, which did happen. Enormously beneficial for stocks that pay dividends. | 2006-05-02 | |
| BUY | 43.580 | Werner Muehelemann | Last quarter was a turnaround. The yield is high. The company will not have the choice but what had to start restructuring to produce more earnings. Expect that part of their business will be transformed into a trust. | 2006-04-12 | |
| TOP PICK | 42.950 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | Good value. Yield of 6%. At the end of a year or two, it could become a trust. They bought Allstream to forestall being pushed towards a trust. They are starting to work their way through the losses in Allstream. | 2006-04-05 | |
| DON'T BUY | 42.750 | Paul Gardner, CFA | The telecom sector in Canada has a lot of competition. Didn't like their acquisition of Allstream last year and there are some real problems with Allstream. Long-distance and business rates are coming down. | 2006-04-04 | |
| HOLD | 42.650 | Michael Smedley | Great dividends. He feels that in the end they will sell off Allstream and become a trust. | 2006-03-29 | |
| BUY | 43.910 | John Sinkins, CFA | Their entry price was $41.50. Likes high divident and the market. | 2006-03-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 40.670 | Bruce Campbell | There is a 6.5% dividend. May have to cut it going forward. Could see the stock going back to $35. Prefers BC and Rogers . | 2006-03-06 | |
| SELL | 38.080 | David Baskin | Does not see any upside in stock. dividends are not secure and yields can't be substained. Time to sell. | 2006-02-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 37.200 | David Burrows | Believes there are other sectors to put your money in. Avoid this stock. | 2006-02-27 | |
| DON'T BUY | 37.700 | John Zechner | Not much growth here.They are not generating as much cash. He feels it is probably not going anywhere. | 2006-02-22 | |
| TOP PICK | 38.000 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | He doesn't own it personally?!? Recommends buying at $38. | 2006-02-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 37.860 | Jean-Francois Tardif | They are struggling. Their Allstream acquisition is having problems. Revenues and margins are going down. | 2006-02-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 38.710 | Brian Acker, CA | His model price of $38.31 gives and negative 1.5% differential. | 2006-02-07 | |
| DON'T BUY | 38.900 | Ross Healey | He used to like this a lot before they acquired Allstream. Can see it going down to $34. They have a good, strong balance sheet. Sold all his position. | 2006-02-06 | |
| DON'T BUY | 38.900 | David Burrows | They might be just shy from a cash flow standpoint of being able to cover the dividend. He feels they probably will maintain the dividend. The question is, do you want to own this just for the dividend. They have a lot of residential fixed lines that are in decline. Their acquisition in the long-distance market has not worked out particularly well. | 2006-02-06 | |
| WAIT | 39.700 | Gavin Graham | Reporting tomorrow. The earnings are expected to be lousy. Have had a decline in long-distance calling with their acquisition of Allstream. They may have to cut the dividend. | 2006-01-31 | |
| HOLD | 39.000 | Norman Levine | Has a good dividend, but there is no assurance that it is safe. They have a new president/CEO. There is no real growth right now. The traditional wire line business is declining. They have their wireless area that he thinks will kick in down the road and gives the company some growth. | 2006-01-25 | |
| DON'T BUY | 39.960 | Bruce Campbell | Has a nice yield. There could be a dividend cut, so would be slightly nervous. | 2006-01-24 | |
| SELL | 39.760 | David Burrows | Unless there is some significant change to wire line Telecom, this is not a great business to be in. | 2006-01-04 | |
| DON'T BUY | 39.760 | David Baskin | Dead money. Has a good dividend. Has a really hard time growing. | 2006-01-04 | |
| BUY | 40.650 | Gavin Graham | Has a high yield of about 6.5% and even as they cut it to 4.5% is still a good yield. Their acquisition of Allstream is proving to be a rougher ride then they thought. | 2005-12-29 | |
| DON'T BUY | 40.650 | Paul Gardner, CFA | Problematic. It has dropped significantly due to the Allstream purchase which they spent a lot of money on end and not getting the synergies out of it. Margins are decaying. Dividend is probably safe for the moment. Losing market share. | 2005-12-29 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 40.200 | Norman Levine | (A Top Pick Oct 25/05. Down 12%.) In the Western world, telephone companies have been poor performers. A buy at this price. Feels the dividend is safe. Over 6% yield. | 2005-12-28 | |
| HOLD | 40.200 | Peter Brieger | Feels that the dividend is safe. There are rumours that they will sell their Allstream subsidiary and then convert it into an income trust. | 2005-12-28 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 38.590 | Ross Healey | (A Top Pick Oct 13/05. Down 19%.) Like all Telco’s, there is concern that long-term viability is not there. | 2005-12-13 | |
| DON'T BUY | 38.510 | John Zechner | The dividend is sustainable, but they are paying out more relative to income which is probably due to Allstream eating these guys up. Also losing business to the cable companies. Not a fan. | 2005-12-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 38.510 | Laura Wallace | Dividend is currently yielding about 6.3%. Any time you see a dividend that high, you know there is skepticism about the company’s ability to pay it. Most analysts think they will be able to skate through, but it is tight, so considers it speculative. If you own, would continue to hold. | 2005-12-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 38.290 | Peter Gibson | Liked its 6% dividend yield and profit growth, but the ROE began to deteriorate and there were some other concerns about their operations, so the company sold its holdings. | 2005-12-09 | |
| WEAK BUY | 40.500 | Norman Levine | The stock is not without risk. The Allstream acquisition is not going as smooth as they had hoped so they had to bring down their earnings estimates. Doesn't think the dividend is in jeopardy any time soon. | 2005-12-05 | |
| DON'T BUY | 40.600 | Ron Meisels | Broke down through the 200 day moving average line. | 2005-12-01 | |
| HOLD | 41.010 | Bruce Campbell | The yield looks attractive, but the last quarter reported brought into question as to whether the margin is sustainable. Doesn't the cut would be very much. | 2005-11-21 | |
| HOLD | 41.000 | Shauna Sexsmith | This is not a growth stock. Doesn't have a wireless position. It's landlocked. Has fallen off because of all the hullabaloo about income trust conversion. Dividend is probably safe. If you need income, it's a fine holding. | 2005-11-16 | |
| DON'T BUY | 40.990 | Peter Brieger | A dividend cut looms large if that's the reason you bought this stock. Looking at his holdings very hard and wants to do some more homework on it. | 2005-11-15 | |
| BUY | 40.360 | David Burrows | Undershot expectations in this last quarter. A lion's share of their business is wireline telephone. All companies in this area are having a difficult time of it because there is virtually no growth. Their Allstream business is having a tough time. They don't have the wireless exposure. There is some risk for the dividend. | 2005-11-11 | |
| HOLD | 40.100 | Michael Smedley | There ought to be a limit to the downside. The Allstream seems to be problematic here. It does have a good solid home territory. | 2005-11-10 | |
| SELL | 40.150 | David Chapman | Telecommunication sector has been very weak here and this stock took out the very important low of '04. This is a signal that the stock is going to have some trouble for a while. Had a failed top after a double top. Could go lower. | 2005-11-09 | |
| DON'T BUY | 39.590 | David Baskin | Rising interest rates make their dividends relativley less attractive. Results for the last quarter were fairly anemic. | 2005-11-08 | |
| DON'T BUY | 39.590 | John Zechner | Feels the 6.3% dividend is safe, but wouldn't rush out to buy this one. The problem is that it is a core wire line business and they all have the same problem of the long distance business melting down on them. | 2005-11-08 | |
| DON'T BUY | 40.800 | David Driscoll | All the telecoms are getting killed by competition with the cable companies as well as Voice Over Internet (VoIP). Long distance margins are pretty well nil. | 2005-11-03 | |
| SELL | 41.140 | Paul Harris, CFA | Doesn't particularily like the telecom sector. Their acquisition has been a difficult one. Has a lot of pricing pressure. | 2005-11-02 | |
| DON'T BUY | 41.140 | Ian Nakamoto | Curently this is mainly a dividend attraction and right now it looks like it can be sustained. | 2005-11-02 | |
| BUY | 41.500 | Norman Levine | Has had a rough October. Had a contract with Rogers (RCI.NV.B-T) to carry their long distance phone calls. Rogers acquired Callnet, so doesn't need this company anymore. Have just guided lower. They have a dividend of $2.75 which they are earning on earnings/cash flow. Buy this on a yield play. | 2005-11-01 | |
| TOP PICK | 45.100 | Norman Levine | Yielding about 5.7%. Feels they will get some growth from Allstream. Potential takeover of them or by them. The stock was hurt recently because they're the long distance carrier for Rogers (RCI.NV.B-T) which most bought Callnet and are switching everything over to them. A very low marging business and feels the market vastly over reacted to it. | 2005-10-25 | |
| DON'T BUY | 44.000 | David Driscoll | From a valuation standpoint he has it valued at $30/35. The dividend yield is very attractive. In a good space because they have a lot more wireless than a lot of the other telcos. When you compare the free cash flow yield against a 5 year Government of Canada bond, you are not getting a big payback. | 2005-10-21 | |
| TOP PICK | 47.170 | Ross Healey | A defensive position. Has a nice yield of about 5.5%. Good value in it. | 2005-10-13 | |
| BUY | 48.400 | Ross Healey | Has terrific support in around the $46 level and also has a superb yield on it. His FMV is about $64/65. Seems like a good non-energy stock to hold. However, it hasn't done a great deal this year. | 2005-09-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 48.600 | Matt Baillie | Not a huge fan of this company because he didn't like the Allstream acquisition. The long distance market is a tough area to be in when you're a small telco and you're being attacked by the cable companies. Can't see much upside left. | 2005-09-08 | |
| BUY | 46.590 | Norman Levine | Likes it for the dividend yield. Feels it is a safe dividend. Owns Allstream which gives it national exposure and growth possibilities, but also raises the volatility and risk level. The market is waiting to see how this works out and the stock has been treading water for awhile. Feels the growth prospects will come through. | 2005-08-15 | |
Experts that have talked about Manitoba Telecom Services
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