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| PAST TOP PICK | 10.100 | Colin Stewart | (Top Pick Feb 4/11, Down 34.49%) Still quite likes it. | 2012-02-07 | |
| SPECULATIVE BUY | 10.830 | David Cockfield | Strand board producer in the US. Stock has started to turn around. It’s a long shot. No earnings or dividend. European operations have been quite positive. People are getting hopeful. You have to have a long horizon to buy this company. The US new housing sector has to come back. | 2012-01-20 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 11.900 | Michael Decter | Oriented strand board for houses. Terrific company but probably not the time to buy. Needs a real rebound in US housing. Forecasts are half 1 million starts this year and 8 hundred thousand next year. Historic level is 1.5 million starts. You could probably get in lower than the current price. If you've got the stomach for volatility 3 years out, this is a very good stock. | 2011-06-27 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 13.070 | Michael Decter | (A Top Pick April 22/10. Down 28.5%.) Sold at $11.15 Sept 1/10. Highly leveraged to oriented strand board, which is very much tied to the US housing recovery. | 2011-05-16 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 13.400 | Michael Decter | (A Top Pick April 22/10. Down 26%.) Sold his holdings. | 2011-04-13 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.920 | Michael Smedley | Pulp, veering toward cotton and other natural textiles. Don’t compare it with Domtar and others like that. | 2011-03-08 | |
| TOP PICK | 15.740 | Colin Stewart | 3rd largest OSB (Oriented Strand Board) producer in North America. This is a way to play a recovery in the US housing market. It may take some time. Looking at the supply and balance the US needs 1-2 million new homes a year and are currently at 500-600 thousand. | 2011-02-04 | |
| BUY | 10.840 | Michael Decter | Low cost producer of oriented strand board. Stock has come off a good deal because of fears of weak US housing starts. Will take a couple of quarters but it is a well managed company and will be a survivor. | 2010-08-26 | |
| WAIT | 12.640 | David Cockfield | Is the preeminent producer of strand-board. Most efficient plants. Nobody is building much, but the hurricanes give them a little lift. Within 2-3 years, US house building will be back. Well-managed, good plants, but you might have to wait a while. | 2010-07-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 17.250 | Benj Gallander | Did a reverse split and he would wait at least 1 year before considering this. Forestry sector is improving. | 2010-05-13 | |
| TOP PICK | 18.290 | Michael Decter | Low-cost producer of oriented strand board. (Cheaper substitute for plywood) Cyclical industry. Prices for strand board has almost doubled in the last quarter. Looking for a couple of really upside surprise quarters. | 2010-04-22 | |
| WAIT | 16.540 | David Baskin | Everyone’s darling. Huge dividend. Mediocre for 2010 and 2011 because of unsold new houses in US. | 2010-03-16 | |
| DON'T BUY | 1.280 | Robert McWhirter | (Market Call Minute.) Forest products area. We'll continue to face challenges. | 2009-06-22 | |
| BUY | 3.580 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA | Loosing money so paying dividends out of capital, but parent is taking their dividend as shares. Don’t buy it for the dividend but it is a nice way to get paid. | 2008-09-30 | |
| SELL | 4.640 | David Baskin | (Market Call Minute.) Housing industry in the US has record inventories. | 2008-09-02 | |
| DON'T BUY | 6.330 | Derek Webb, CFA | Not very bullish on the whole forest products industry. There is way too much supply in the world. Demand has been flat to declining. | 2008-05-16 | |
| BUY | 5.520 | Robert Floyd | An economically sensitive stock, however these stocks tend to discount the bad news fairly quickly, so now it is really looking forward to better days. Technically it looks like the stock has bottomed. The safety of the dividend is probably questionable. | 2008-04-29 | |
| DON'T BUY | 4.760 | David Baskin | (Market Call Minute.) Wouldn't touch this one right now. Not a lot of demand for roofs and floors in the US. | 2008-04-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 4.900 | Michael Sprung | Not so certain that the dividend is safe over the next 3 years. The stock has been hit severely by the fears of a slowdown in the US of a housing crisis. The glues and resins going into strand boards are very expensive so they are being squeezed on both ends. | 2008-04-15 | |
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| DON'T BUY | 5.200 | Don Vialoux | Chart shows a downward trend, however the stock seems to have finally bottomed recently. Earnings have not been too good. Because the US housing market is down, fundamentals are iffy. Starting to receive some early short-term momentum indicators that suggest a low here. Seasonally, forest product stocks tend to go lower after April through to October. | 2008-04-03 | |
| HOLD | 5.920 | Bill Shaw | If you look at the replacement value of the assets, it is about $11 to $12. Oriented strand board pricing is at the lower end. Correlated to the US housing market. Over time, these are great facilities. A potential takeout candidate. | 2008-02-19 | |
| BUY | 7.150 | David Taylor, MBA, CFA | 2nd largest and lowest cost oriented strand board producer in North America. The good thing is, because they are the lowest cost producer, it will be the last one to go bankrupt. Pays a nice dividend while you wait and is trading below its replacement value right now. | 2008-01-10 | |
| BUY | 7.570 | Chris Smith | Because of what is going on in the housing market, it has come under a lot of pressure. From a valuation point, it looks pretty attractive and if you are prepared to sit tight for 12 or 18 months, you can probably make money in it. Well diversified and w | 2007-08-30 | |
| DON'T BUY | 7.820 | Brian Acker, CA | He has a model price of $2. His mean estimate of earnings for 07 is $.25 and $.10 for 08. | 2007-08-22 | |
| BUY | 8.120 | John O'Connell, CFA | Good management. Cyclical. Housing is very soft, but industrial construction is very strong which offsets it. Very shareholder friendly. Special dividends. Compelling price. 5% dividend. | 2007-07-31 | |
| Comment | 9.420 | Bill Carrigan | Currency sensitive. Thinks it has bottomed, but they're running into trouble. Stocks recover before the Cdn$ rolls over. He thinks you will be OK on this one. | 2007-07-10 | |
| TOP PICK | 8.580 | Bill Carrigan | Sector has gone through a lot of bad news. Nobody likes the group. Thinks the stock has bottomed. If you Buy, watch the bottom low | 2007-05-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.390 | Brian Acker, CA | His model price on this is $5.90 which is a 29% negative differential. | 2007-04-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.060 | David Baskin | Produces oriented strand board. A cyclical business. New home building business in the US is about to fall off the cliff. This is a one-trick pony. Good take 2 or 3 years for recovery. | 2007-04-09 | |
| WEAK BUY | 8.310 | Robert Floyd | If nothing else, you can probably get a play on this one over the springtime. | 2007-03-29 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.310 | Ian Nakamoto | Very strong company but until there is a sign that housing has bottomed out, the stocks are going to be under pressure. | 2007-03-29 | |
| HOLD | 8.220 | Gavin Graham | Oriented strand board is weak because of the weak US housing market. Mills are being shut which will end up creating a demand, but you have to be patient. | 2007-03-26 | |
| DON'T BUY | 9.600 | Norman Levine | Totally tied in to the US housing market. Manufactures OSB and prices are depressed. Also, there has been a huge capacity of OSB come into the market. | 2007-01-31 | |
| BUY | 9.290 | Ian Nakamoto | In a relatively tough situation. Has been hammered, but will do fine. As a decent dividend and is a low-cost producer. When housing starts gradually recover, this company should do fine. | 2007-01-11 | |
| DON'T BUY | 9.020 | Gavin Graham | Likes it as a company, but not the right stage in the cycle. | 2006-12-28 | |
| BUY | 8.910 | Gavin Graham | The lowest risk way to play the whole forest products sector, Well managed. Decent yield. | 2006-12-07 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.720 | David Baskin | Wouldn't buy it until you see what shakes out with the US housing industry. It may take 2 or 3 years before all the inventory gets consumed. | 2006-11-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.470 | Norman Levine | Tied totally into the US housing market. Prefers the lumber guys. | 2006-11-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.500 | Jean-Francois Tardif | Very dependent on you as housing. Expect the US housing will continue to be weak. | 2006-10-26 | |
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| DON'T BUY | 8.100 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA | Very cyclical. It’s main exposure is making oriented strandboard that is used in housing. As US housing goes down, so does their market. If earnings continue to go down, dividend could be at risk. Very good company, but not compelling value today. | 2006-10-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.130 | Norman Levine | It is a good company. It is not getting a payment from the US. When the cycle comes up again this should do well. Don't buy at this time. | 2006-09-27 | |
| TOP PICK | 8.680 | Irwin Michael, B.Com, MBA | Everyone hates this and is concerned about a recession in the US. This is the lowest cost Oriented Strand Board producer in North America. Good balance sheet and excellent management. 4.7% yield. Will be for sale over the next 12 months. | 2006-09-18 | |
| BUY | 8.800 | John O'Connell, CFA | 2nd largest oriented strand board manufacturer in the world. OSB prices are down quite a bit now. A very well run business. Pays a $.40 dividend. Doing a buyback. Stock price has dropped because of concerns of housing. Rebuilding of hurricane hit areas will create demand. | 2006-08-25 | |
| DON'T BUY | 8.850 | Ian Nakamoto | Likes the company, but it's in a sector that is going to be challenged in the next year or two with lower housing starts. | 2006-08-03 | |
| SELL | 8.820 | David Baskin | Best days are gone for this company. Demand for oriented strand board, largely driven by the housing industry, is down. All the anecdotal evidence suggests that housing in the US is in for a very rough time. | 2006-07-27 | |
| BUY | 12.550 | Chris Smith | Have not been affected to any extent by the strong Cnd$. The stock is tending to be held back by all the threats of new capacity. Believes that is a lot of posturing in order for a large US company to come in and scoop this company. | 2006-03-21 | |
| VAGUE | 12.260 | Bill Carrigan | Recommends looking at the history of the stock. Stock has not reflected its potential. The company has been rebuilding in the South. The expert likes sectors like this one. | 2006-02-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.210 | David Baskin | The glory days are gone. It is dependent on US housing starts as well as the renovation business. The evidence suggests that the bloom is off the housing rose. | 2006-02-01 | |
| BUY | 11.950 | Gavin Graham | 3.3% dividend. The need a lot of their product to rebuild the gulf and this company is really efficient. | 2006-01-31 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.430 | Bill Harris, CFA | The whole lumber and paper sector are getting beaten up. He still finds these stocks are not cheap enough yet and are under an awful lot of stress. | 2006-01-03 | |
| BUY | 12.200 | Gavin Graham | Highly profitable. Pays a decent dividend. They're raw material costs should be quite stable. If US housing slows down, this will have an effect on their margins. | 2005-12-29 | |
| WEAK BUY | 11.350 | Brian Acker, CA | Doesn't see much happening tp this company. It could spike up to the $15 range. He has 12 estimates, but doesn't feel really good about them. It's a cyclical cyclical. Has a model price of $24. | 2005-11-14 | |
| HOLD | 11.060 | Michael Smedley | There are others that excite him more at much higher multiples. Might be a takeout prospect one day. You need a long term view. | 2005-11-10 | |
| DON'T BUY | 10.980 | Brian Acker, CA | Has a model price of $18.22, but it has been coming down a lot plus he has 11 estimates in his database running from $0.93 to $3.56 which means 11 intelligent human beings can't agree on where it should be. Thinks you can get value elsewhere. A pure cyclical play. | 2005-09-07 | |
| BUY | 11.210 | Gavin Graham | A very steady generator of cash flow. They have the oriented strand board market which is going through the roof and they have been paying a special dividend. Doesn't know why the stock hasn't moved up. | 2005-06-08 | |
| BUY | 12.100 | David Taylor, MBA, CFA | Will always be tied to housing starts. Dirt cheap because the world is convinced that housing start numbers are going to start rolling over. The company spews cash and pays special dividends. | 2005-04-25 | |
| BUY | 12.900 | Bill Shaw | A principal producer of oriented strand board. Prices for this product have been rising and he continues to see very strong demand. Earnings are very good. Expects strong cash flows in 2005, perhaps in the $3 range on a go-forward basis. | 2005-02-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 11.750 | Brian Acker, CA | P/E is at 4. You want to buy companies when the P/E is 300, not 4. Buy companies when they have no earnings. Trading at close to 3 X Book which is pretty expensive for a cyclical. Expensive relative to its balance sheet. | 2005-01-18 | |
| DON'T BUY | 10.900 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA | Took a drop when they spun off Fraser papers. Have cleaned themselves up to be pretty much oriented strand board. A commodity cyclical which can be risky. | 2004-12-02 | |
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| VAGUE | 10.950 | Norman Levine | One of the major producers of OSB for new housing. There has been a weakness in the housing market, so the stock has dropped. Compounding that is when Noranda sold off their shares. If you think the housing market will come back, then buy. 3.6% yield. | 2004-10-27 | |
| DON'T BUY | 10.630 | David Burrows | Stock dropped when Brascan released their position to a group of underwriters at a price lower than wheree the stock had been. | 2004-10-25 | |
| DON'T BUY | 10.770 | Ron Meisels | Stock is not behaving well. Questionable if it can turn around and start a new up leg. | 2004-10-20 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.290 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA | Lumber prices are down 25%. When commodity prices are against you, it is not ususally the time to buy the stock. | 2004-09-30 | |
| BUY | 12.010 | Norman Levine | Oriented strand board, being in the housing area, is a very cyclical business. Not a long term hold. 3 1/3% yield. Cheap. Housing should remain fairly strong. Be patient. | 2004-09-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 11.940 | Andrew McCreath | OSB (oriented strand board) is a highly cyclical business. Looks very cheap on current year's earnings. Brascan sold of its shares very cheap, so supply exceeded demand. Dead money in the short term. | 2004-09-27 | |
| HOLD | 12.180 | Michael Smedley | Great dividend flow. Good solid business, unless something goes wrong with building sector. Support buying it. High quality company. Stay with it | 2004-09-22 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.350 | David Baskin | Feels the stock has peaked. If you own, take some profits. | 2004-09-09 | |
| BUY | 15.800 | John Zechner | Likes the outlook for lumber and paper products. | 2004-06-23 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 16.100 | Michael Sprung | (Past top pick Mar 30/04. Up 13.5%) Now taking profits in it. May have a couple of dollars left in it but interest rate increases could affect housing. | 2004-06-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 15.680 | Brian Acker, CA | A cyclical stock. There has been a huge valuation on the stock and, historically, has never exceeded this valuation. All you will get is an increase on earnings. | 2004-06-03 | |
| BUY | 15.430 | Mark Jackson, CFA | Splitting into 2 separate companies which will generate some value for shareholders. Also likes the markets they participate in. | 2004-05-28 | |
| TOP PICK | 15.100 | Kyle McKay | Oriented strand board has moved from $200 last December to $500. Coming to a very strong seasonal demand. Very low inventory levels for OSB. Very cheap. | 2004-05-27 | |
| BUY | 14.700 | Ian Nakamoto | Related to housing starts. As long as mortgage rates stay within a band, housing starts should do fine. Yield is roughly 3%. | 2004-05-07 | |
| BUY | 15.100 | Mark Jackson, CFA | Being restructured by splitting into two companies. This should be positive. | 2004-04-13 | |
| TOP PICK | 14.950 | Ian Nakamoto | Doing everything possible to surface value. Company will be split which will give a better showing of their assets. Both companies will probably be acquired. | 2004-04-06 | |
| TOP PICK | 14.090 | Michael Sprung | Has a couple of dollars left in it. Likely see $16-18. | 2004-03-30 | |
| BUY | 15.150 | Craig Porter | Brascan is spinning out the OSB side to make it a cleaner asset for a takeover. Not a bad buy. | 2004-03-11 | |
| BUY | 14.350 | Kyle McKay | Seeing exponential growth in their revenues as well as the margins. Trading at about only 3 X earnings. Volatile. The cautious. | 2004-03-09 | |
| BUY | 14.340 | Michael Sprung | Has had a big year. One of the largest producers of strand board in North America. If Brascan where to sell their holdings, that would be a big plus for them. | 2004-03-04 | |
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| BUY | 14.110 | Norman Levine | In general, forest product stocks are looking good here. Should do well. Prefers Inter Forest. | 2004-02-23 | |
| BUY | 10.800 | Michael Sprung | Has performed quite well over the last several months. Still has a bit of legs under it. Well-positioned. Largest producer of oriented strand board in North America. Also own some nice timber assets. A good-quality company. | 2003-12-01 | |
| HOLD | 9.650 | Michael Smedley | Has a very good yield. | 2003-09-30 | |
| STRONG BUY | 9.660 | Michael Sprung | Oriented strand board prices are getting very high. ROE is in excess of 13%. Book value is over $5. Dividend is over 4%. | 2003-09-25 | |
| BUY | 9.700 | Michael Sprung | Has done well, but feels it is at a discount of the true NAV. | 2003-09-11 | |
| BUY | 7.350 | Vincent Delisle | Solid dividend. This stock is a slower growth in the cyclicals. | 2002-10-17 | |
| WEAK BUY | 8.380 | Eric Bushell | Product is in a good long term trend, but US housing market could start to weaken. Watch the US housing market carefully. | 2002-07-18 | |
| BUY | 8.790 | David Burrows | Has been a strong performer. Good stock. | 2002-03-22 | |
| TOP PICK | 8.760 | Michael Sprung | A great yield. Safe dividend. $8/9 a good opportunity. | 2002-03-11 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 8.860 | Robert Lyon | (Was a top pick on Sept 21 up 27.5%) More upside for this stock. | 2002-03-07 | |
| BUY | 8.860 | Martin Hubbes, CFA | Prefers over Canfor, but not a big fan of forest products. | 2002-03-06 | |
| BUY | 8.600 | Michael Smedley | High P/E due to lower earnings. Will continue to pay a good dividend. Cyclical. | 2002-02-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 7.910 | James Cole, BA, CFA | Long term outlook is poor. | 2002-01-25 | |
| DON'T BUY | 7.580 | Mike Weir | Dividend over 5%. Have had good growth, but too concentrated in their plywood substitute product. | 2002-01-23 | |
| DON'T BUY | 7.350 | Brian Acker, CA | 5.5% dividend, but haven't had earnings for some time. May be able to treat it as a trading stock between $7 and $10. | 2001-12-28 | |
| DON'T BUY | 7.450 | Brendan Kyne | Slowdown in economy will have a strong affect on forest products. | 2001-12-04 | |
| DON'T BUY | 6.610 | Fred Sturm | Has some concerns about the lumber picture. | 2001-11-01 | |
| TOP PICK | 6.950 | Robert Lyon | Very cheap. 5.5% dividend. | 2001-09-21 | |
| BUY | 7.690 | Fred Sturm | Good dividends. Growth will be awhile. | 2001-08-02 | |
| HOLD | 7.270 | Martin Hubbes, CFA | Cyclical. Safe dividend. | 2001-07-11 | |
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| WEAK BUY | 8.150 | Ian Nakamoto | Earnings in this sector will be weak for 6/9 months. | 2001-06-05 |
