| SHORT | 11.000 | Ken McCord | (Market Call Minute.) He is shorting a lot of consumer stocks. Consumers are not spending money. | 2008-07-29 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.330 | Norman Levine | (Market Call Minute.) Too early. If you are thinking of Buying in the home improvement sector Lowes (LOW-N) and Home Deport (HD-N) are about 6 months ahead of it. | 2008-07-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 12.780 | David Burrows | (Market Call Minute.) Doesn’t like the home improvement space | 2008-05-22 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 13.090 | John O'Connell, CFA | (A Top Pick July 31/07. Down 42%.) Still likes. | 2008-05-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 13.890 | David Baskin | The Canadian environment has become significantly more competitive. | 2008-03-18 | |
| DON'T BUY | 14.250 | Robert Floyd | You are really looking at consumers and their ability to spend on renovations, et cetera. Some analysts are forecasting a slowdown in the housing space and this has hit the stock. Need to see firmer signs of a bottom in the economy before this will take hold. Growth rate has not been tremendous so valuations are a little bit weak. | 2008-01-15 | |
| Comment | 16.910 | Brian Acker, CA | (Market Call Minute.) Still a lot of value here. Trying to hold at around the $17 mark. His model price is $33.80, a 101% positive differential, but his model price is moving down because of earnings. | 2007-12-20 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 16.700 | Ron Meisels | (A Past Top Pick Feb 14/07. Down 32%.) When he saw a major breakdown at around $20, he sold his holdings. Stock has been very oversold and could have a jump to $18 - $18.50 but you would have to be brave. | 2007-11-23 | |
| SELL | 17.300 | Norman Levine | Housing market continues to look very bad. They have the added problem of Lowes (LOW-N) moving into the Canadian market. | 2007-11-09 | |
| DON'T BUY | 19.600 | Peter Brieger | Stock is not moving because the housing mess and the fears of a drying up of home improvement activity. In the doghouse and will remain until the outlook for housing improves. | 2007-11-06 | |
| BUY | 20.780 | Andrew Guy, CFA | Consolidating its hardware business within Canada. Run their stores very well. Inexpensive. | 2007-11-02 | |
| BUY | 20.870 | Brooke Thackray | Has been bouncing around. In a very competitive field. If it drops below $20 because of increased volume it will be a bad situation. Stock increases around year-end. Would pick it up at this level, sell it in January. | 2007-10-26 | |
| DON'T BUY | 20.870 | David Driscoll | Great housing boom, getting difficulties because of currency risk. Doesn’t pay a dividend. A lot of completion from Lowes/ Home depot. Not generating free cash flow. | 2007-10-25 | |
| DON'T BUY | 22.000 | Chyanne Fickes | Stocks in this sector in the US have been really beaten up. Our housing industry has not sustained the same decline, but she feels we are reaching the top of a bubble here. If there is a downturn in the economy, there could be more downside on this stock. | 2007-10-01 | |
| BUY | 21.510 | Michael Sprung | 2nd quarter was very good. Price of the stock leaves him indifferent. US building problems could spill over into Canada. Shorter term there could be problems, but over the long term it is probably a good stock to own. | 2007-08-31 | |
| TOP PICK | 21.220 | John O'Connell, CFA | This one is for the long haul. With the slowing that is going on in the economy, it is going to allow them to consolidate the business at very attractive numbers. Trades at around 12X earnings. Earnings increased by about 7% in the last quarter. Growth t | 2007-08-27 | |
| DON'T BUY | 20.810 | Jeff Parent | It's a definite positive that the Canadian housing market has not failed and our tighter controls. Doesn't feel the upside is very high on the stock. | 2007-08-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 21.270 | Robert Floyd | Last quarterly report was affected by weather as well as tuck-in acquisitions they have made. He felt the numbers were reasonable. It is a decent franchise. Thinks it could be taken down with the overall theme of housing stocks. Not a bad entry point, but the upside is modest. | 2007-08-10 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 21.270 | Michael Sprung | Feels the renovation market is okay. Has grown through a lot of acquisitions over the years and realized synergies through that. Starting to see some positive results with margin expansion. Would consider at $20. | 2007-08-10 | |
| TOP PICK | 22.470 | John O'Connell, CFA | Well run. Growth by both acquisition and organic. Largest home renovation and retailer in Canada. Very diverse product platform. Moving towards their own branded products, which will give them higher margins. | 2007-07-31 | |
| TOP PICK | 23.060 | John O'Connell, CFA | Missed its earnings this quarter so the stock dropped. Has been a fabulous growth story. Very robust story in terms of big box stores. Gross margins are improving because of its private labels. | 2007-05-29 | |
| BUY | 22.920 | Michael Smedley | A great company and you might think of it as an acquisition target. | 2007-05-25 | |
| BUY | 23.960 | Brian Acker, CA | Looks fantasic.
Don't own it currently.
| 2007-05-02 | |
| BUY | 24.360 | Chyanne Fickes | For the last couple of years, it has traded in a tight range between $20 and $25. Had increased earnings for the last 17 quarters. Trading at a very low PE. | 2007-03-12 | |
| TOP PICK | 24.280 | Ron Meisels | Had a good base formation and the stock just broke through a wedge. | 2007-02-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 22.340 | Chyanne Fickes | Rumours of it being taken over, but doesn't think it will happen at this time. It has done very well. Looking at where housing is, she wouldn't consider looking at housing stocks at this time. | 2007-02-06 | |
| HOLD | 21.800 | Bill Carrigan | Chart shows it is building a symmetrical triangle. There was a higher low in December. Would be patient with it to see if it could break out. The MACD has turned above the signal line which suggests there is some positive momentum. | 2007-02-01 | |
| DON'T BUY | 21.700 | Norman Levine | Not so much in new housing as in refurbishing. That area has cooled off some. It's looking at a big competitor coming into the market, Lowes (LOW-N). | 2007-01-31 | |
| BUY | 20.900 | Steve MacMillan | “Best of breed” in the home improvement space in Canada. Low P/E because of the concern of investors on the housing market. Acquiring companies with good opportunities to make investments at reasonable prices. | 2007-01-03 | |
| Comment | 20.450 | David Taylor, MBA, CFA | Loves the renovation sector. Owns Home Depot (HD-N) instead. | 2006-12-18 | |
| BUY | 22.950 | Chris Smith | Stock has probably bottomed. Too much hand wringing about the housing market. The stocks have discounted a lot of bad news in the housing market. Canadian housing is in much better shape. | 2006-10-25 | |
| BUY | 21.920 | Michael Smedley | Steadily improving situation. The company is admirable. A good blue-chip type of stock in the portfolio. | 2006-10-19 | |
| DON'T BUY | 22.010 | Veronika Hirsch | Has a short on this. Not a reflection on the company, but that Canada there are not that many housing plays. Because she is negative on housing in the US, she feels it will spill into Canada. | 2006-08-29 | |
| WEAK BUY | 20.790 | Peter Brieger | Estimates of $1.75 this year and $2 next year makes this incredibly cheap. Could be a name he would be interested in once there is confidence that they can keep up the momentum on the home improvement side. | 2006-08-14 | |
| HOLD | 20.360 | Ian Nakamoto | Trading at roughly 10 X next year's earnings. There is always a potential the company could be bought out. Well-managed company. | 2006-08-03 | |
| DON'T BUY | 20.840 | Michael Sprung | Has done extremely well. More of growth than a value play. Well-managed. A little expensive. Would be more interested under $20. | 2006-07-18 | |
| DON'T BUY | 20.630 | David Cockfield | Very much a cyclical stock. They are very subjective to sharp swings in sales. Multiple is a little on the high side. Would prefer to see the stock around $18/19. If there is an economic slowdown and turnover in the housing industry, these are the guys that suffer. | 2006-07-13 | |
| DON'T BUY | 21.000 | David Burrows | His feelings on retail are not particularly positive. There has been weakness in some parts of the housing business in the US. There is also some weakness in the consumer space. | 2006-07-12 | |
| DON'T BUY | 23.250 | David Burrows | Has not paid a lot of attention to the stock as the performance over the last year has been relatively weak. Would Prefer Canadian Tire. | 2006-03-23 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 23.450 | Chris Smith | There we are concerns last year on interest rates which put a lot of pressure on this stock. At this stage, it looks like a pretty decent opportunity. Would probably set back and wait for it to pull back a bit. A pretty good company. The earnings are there. | 2006-03-21 | |
| DON'T BUY | 23.580 | Jean-Francois Tardif | Housing might be slowing down because interest rates are heading up. Rona is a well managed company, stock is cheap, but there's better opportunities elsewhere. | 2006-03-16 | |
| WATCH | 21.460 | David Baskin | It is a good company. Stock price does not reflect their performance as stock price got ahead of itself. More attractive at $21 than $25. They are watching it . | 2006-02-28 | |
| SELL | 22.000 | Ron Meisels | Negative stock, not behaving well. Sell it before $22.50 | 2006-02-21 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 21.050 | Peter Brieger | Home Improvement line. They like it and are watching it, will buy at $20. | 2006-02-20 | |
| DON'T BUY | 20.780 | Ross Healey | Has been reacting pretty much along with the outlook for the housing market. Hit its peak around 4 X book value and has been trading in a mushy way ever since. Too late in the cycle. | 2006-02-06 | |
| WATCH | 21.100 | Peter Brieger | Looking at a long-term chart, the next stop on its decrease is $15. The fear is that the Wal-Mart's and other big chains will come in and create havoc with their business. Once it breaks $20 and shows signs of stabilising, he will buy. | 2006-01-30 | |
| DON'T BUY | 20.000 | Norman Levine | Investors worry about rising short-term interest rates which can hurt housing related stocks. There is also all the concern of Lowes coming into Canada as competition. Long-term, it's a good name to be in. Right now the trend is down so there's no reason to be there. | 2006-01-25 | |
| BUY | 20.580 | David Baskin | The whole home improvement sector has been under pressure because of worries that the housing boom is going to implode. Resale homes are at record levels so doesn't think the renovation trend has come to an end. The stock has probably been oversold. | 2006-01-19 | |
| BUY | 21.250 | James Cole, BA, CFA | Valuation is quite reasonable at this level. Stock price has dropped because of fears of a housing bubble and if there might be a slowdown in home improvement levels. | 2006-01-17 | |
| BUY | 21.050 | Peter Brieger | One of his favourites and with the pullback the P/E ratio is 12.2. That compares to 15+ for Canadian Tire. Could be an interesting buy here, especially if new housing slows down and people become more interested in renovations. | 2006-01-16 | |
| HOLD | 21.520 | Michael Smedley | A great company. Developing its chain into Quebec and across the country. | 2006-01-03 | |
| BUY | 21.730 | Brian Acker, CA | Has a model price of $33.59. A 54% differential. | 2005-11-14 | |
| DON'T BUY | 20.770 | David Burrows | In the short term there's been a couple of warnings from the US home builders taliking about weakness. If the concern about short term interest rates starts to catch, and consumers start to pull back, this is an economically sensitive stock. | 2005-11-11 | |
| BUY | 22.020 | Michael Smedley | Renovation sector looks very strong. A great company. | 2005-10-11 | |
| BUY | 22.830 | Norman Levine | Has a huge business in small stores around the country so competition from big box stores is not much of a problem. Very service oriented. | 2005-09-28 | |
| HOLD | 23.700 | John Zechner | Stock has lagged probably due to worries on the housing and renovation markets. Feels this is more of a problem in the US where the real estate market is way more extended than it is in Canada. Company has been well run. | 2005-09-13 | |
| WEAK BUY | 23.880 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | Has done extremely well. Consolidated a lot of the home business. Home Depot (HD-N) is their competition, but are limited ti big box stores where Rona uses both small and big facilities so has more opportunities as to store location. Same store sales are starting to decline. | 2005-08-11 | |
| HOLD | 22.770 | Bill Carrigan | In a defensive sector (consumer discretionary) where managers might want to rotate into. Had a run up and is now in a consolidation phase. If you own, don't let it make a 52 week low. | 2005-08-09 | |
| BUY | 23.800 | Martin Hubbes, CFA | Has executed extremely well. Thinks people may be worried about competition from Home Depot (HD-N) and Lowes Companies (LOW-N). So far they are holding their own and doing extremely well. You'll have to watch out for the long term risk. | 2005-08-02 | |
| SELL | 23.850 | Norman Levine | Easy money has been made. Very well managed company. Lowes is moving into Canada and will be competition and will hurt the stock. | 2005-06-06 | |
| BUY | 22.860 | Gavin Graham | Somewhat off over the last few months after a strong run. Home hardware is a marvelous area to be in.They've become the consolidator in the Canadian industry. Well managed. Will continue to do well and is only nid/high teens for pretty good earnings growth. | 2005-05-16 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 25.160 | Peter Brieger | Interested in 3 key stocks in the retail area, Rietman's (RET.NV.A-T), Canadian Tire (CTR-T) and Rona (RON-T) and will buy one or more of them on any pullback. | 2005-04-26 | |
| WAIT | 24.800 | Ron Meisels | Very often, when a stock goes for a 2 to 1 stock split, it goes into a bit of a waiting period. $21/22 might be a pull back level. | 2005-04-11 | |
| HOLD | 49.600 | David Burrows | Home improvement has been a great place to be invested over the last couple of years. Does see some slowing taking place although this company has been the leader in the Canadian market. Just watch for slowdown in the sector. | 2005-02-15 | |
| DON'T BUY | 48.150 | Gordon Higgins, CA, MBA, CFA | Likes that it went beyond the big boxes. They also have smaller stores that they operate in other areas. Have made astute acquisitions which is why the stock has risen dramatically. Now getting to the point where you are now starting to price in the next acquisition. Be cautious at these levels. | 2005-02-09 | |
| DON'T BUY | 46.900 | Jean-Francois Tardif | Doesn't like to buy stocks when they have moved up dramatically. Have made some great acquisitions. Too expensive at this time. Expects the housing boom to slow down. | 2005-02-03 | |
| BUY | 46.900 | Gavin Graham | Talking about increasing their stores by 10%. Housing sales are still good and even if this slows down, renovation should be strong. | 2005-02-03 | |
| WEAK BUY | 44.460 | Veronika Hirsch | Has done a super job in making/integrating acquisitions and growing. If interest rates rise in the US, they'll have to eventually rise in Canada which may slow down housing. Rona is leveraged to the renovation market so they won't be hit that hard. Great company, but not wildly enthusiastic about the sector. | 2005-01-28 | |
| WEAK BUY | 44.150 | David Baskin | The whole home improvement market has tremendous durability. Interest rates staying low is very good for them. Not cheap. | 2005-01-25 | |
| BUY | 41.600 | John Zechner | Looks good for the long term. Last quarter was very strong. Still doing acquisitions and consolidating the market. Not very expensive. | 2004-12-21 | |
| HOLD | 38.800 | David Baskin | Have done a terrific job and there timing was perfect in being right on top of the home renovation and new housing boom. Sensitive to interest rates. Not cheap any more. | 2004-12-09 | |
| HOLD | 38.900 | Jean-Francois Tardif | Very impressed with their numbers. Wonders if they can continue to grow at a good pace. Not a dirt cheap stock. Not bullish on consumer spending. If you own, it is probably a good long term hold. | 2004-12-03 | |
| TOP PICK | 34.980 | Blair Wilson | Earnings will be announced tomorrow, so see what they are before buying. Estimated that they will be $0.63/0.64 a share. Strong balance sheet and a great history of consolidating. Valuation is about 16 X this year's earnings. 15% growth is expected. | 2004-11-10 | |
| TOP PICK | 31.500 | Ian Nakamoto | Very successful in making acquisitions. Well recognized by the consumer. Trades at 12 X estimated earnings. | 2004-09-14 | |
| TOP PICK | 31.190 | Jackee Pratt | Excellant growth rate. In the second quarter earnings went up 75%. Largest Canadian hardware company. | 2004-09-03 | |
| WAIT | 30.950 | David Chapman | Has been on a uptrend in the first quarter of the year and on a drift in the second quarter. Wait to see the new high for this company. | 2004-09-01 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 30.850 | Blair Wilson | (A Top Pick June 15/04. Then: $29.06) Trading cheaper than it did in the past. 30 dollars or below is the establishing position. | 2004-08-31 | |
| BUY | 27.620 | Michael Smedley | Under held. You can put it in the drawer and forget about it. | 2004-07-28 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 27.300 | Blair Wilson | (Past top pick June 15/04. Down 7%.) In a sector that is out of favor with higher interest rates and lower housing starts. Good price, but you may have to hold onto it for a while. | 2004-07-22 | |
| TOP PICK | 28.980 | Blair Wilson | One year outperform recommendation. Medium risk. Trading at 20 X last year's earnings, but about 14 X next year's. | 2004-06-15 | |
| HOLD | 29.560 | Norman Levine | Has had a good run but has come off recently because of concerns of possible interest-rate increases. There could be some more short-term weakness. | 2004-04-07 | |
| BUY on WEAKNESS | 32.390 | Michael Sprung | Have done well, and recently reported results that were ahead of expectations. Made some good acquisitions. Increased market share and profitability. ROE is above 25%. Would look at it in the high $20's. | 2004-03-04 | |
| VAGUE | 30.250 | Peter Brieger | There is a premium to be paid for brand names. On his watch list. | 2004-03-01 | |
| WAIT | 31.550 | Michael Sprung | Good competitor. Well managed company. Growth is expected to continue. | 2004-02-09 | |
| BUY | 30.510 | Gavin Graham | Own stock. Home depot north of the boarder, like the way the execute. Reasonably valued. Think it will do very well. | 2004-02-03 | |
| HOLD | 31.050 | Peter Hodson | Doing a good job. Too big for his funds. Think the space will stay hot. | 2004-01-23 | |
| HOLD | 25.510 | David Taylor, MBA, CFA | Have done an excellent job. Made some fantastic acquisitions. Cheap relative to its peers in the US. | 2003-11-17 | |
| PAST TOP PICK | 24.010 | Mark Jackson, CFA | (A top pick Aug 20/03. Up 33%.) Still likes. Expects good earnings to be reported. Merger should be solid. | 2003-11-04 | |
| BUY | 22.500 | Michael Smedley | A great group. Beautifully run. A good, long-term investment. | 2003-10-20 | |
| BUY | 21.240 | Richard Stone | Well run company. Good quarterly earnings. Management has good focus on its acquisition model. | 2003-09-10 | |
| TOP PICK | 18.400 | Mark Jackson, CFA | They are just making an acquisition of Reno Depot that should really power their earnings ahead.This quarter may show weakness but think this year they are online for about $1.20.A good, well run company. | 2003-08-20 | |
| BUY | 17.260 | John Zechner | Housing and renovation market has slowed down. Company valuations are good. Still some growth. | 2003-05-16 | |
| BUY | 13.850 | Gavin Graham | Should be a big beneficiary on recent housing spending. Well run. | 2002-12-16 | |
Experts that have talked about Rona Inc
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