STOCKCHASE

Great way to gain exposure to global wireless business. Emerging growth in China and India and other emerging markets. Dividend is sustainable plus special last year. In all likelihood you will see that special dividend again this year.

2012-02-07

DON'T BUY

27.230

An interesting telco. European in origin but has some emerging market exposure but is usually the 2nd, 3rd or 4th in emerging markets. Payout ratio is very high at roughly 90%. Given the regulatory environment in Europe, he would think the dividend is at risk.

2012-02-02

HOLD

27.200

Darren Sissons

As a value investor, he likes the story. Paid a special dividend in Jan/12, which came through Verizon (VZ-N) which took annualized yield up to 8%. Also has growth aspects, as it is exposed to India and parts of Africa.

2012-01-30

Comment

27.760

Karl Berger

Has done a very good job of developing foreign markets and a significant portion of their exposure comes from outside of Europe. However, they do have a relatively high concentration of their business in Europe still, which is not the best regulatory environment for mobile or phone company. A reasonable holding but he prefers others.

2012-01-20

BUY

27.410

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A-N) Vodaphone (VOD-Q)? Both are likely to do OK for you over time. This is one of the leading global phone companies with a very decent yield but which will probably get reduced over time as they have not been getting regular dividend as a shareholder in Verizon (VZ-N).

2011-12-28

PAST TOP PICK

27.360

(A Top Pick Dec 16/10. Up 10.8%.) Still a good one. Has been paying special dividends. Nice yield.

2011-12-22

Comment

27.040

Likes the business they are in, which is wireless around the world. Big growth is in emerging markets but their best asset is their 45% holding in Verizon Wireless (VZ-N), which has just declared their 1st dividend. Thinks this will be a recurring event.

2011-12-14

BUY

26.960

Owns 45% of Verizon (VZ-N) and they get a special dividend. They need to do something about Verizon. A more sustainable dividend.

2011-11-18

HOLD

27.310

Well run and the 3.6% dividend is safe. Dividend will grow in time along with its modest earnings growth. You need to be patient with this.

2011-11-17

TOP PICK

29.070

Richard Fogler

Largest wireless phone company in Europe. A third of its business is in Africa, middle east and Asia. Trades at about 14X earnings. Worth mid-$40s. Yields about 3.5%. Owns 45% of Verizon (VZ-N), largest wireless in the US.

2011-11-14

BUY

28.060

World’s largest international cellular operator. Combination of a really nice yield of 5%, special dividends and growth.

2011-11-03

WEAK BUY

27.260

Stan Wong

One of the sectors he likes. Beta is lower. Yield is nice, over 5%. There are some other names that are a little more attractive in terms of reliability of earnings. You wont go wrong but there may not be a ton of growth.

2011-10-19

BUY

27.420

Unilever (UL-N) or Vodafone (VOD-Q)? Prefers this one. Pays a 8% dividend. Big mobile company and benefiting from growth in mobile globally. Both are representative of stable, large-cap equities that are good places to hide.

2011-10-18

Comment

27.600

Jeff Black

Industry in this space is pretty capital-intensive but it does have a reasonable yield. Quite exposed to Europe, which has some serious issues.

2011-10-14

BUY

26.570

Global, mobile telephone company. Trades at 11X earnings. 5.75% yield. From a sector point of view, it has outperformed a lot of European telcos. Had acquired a lot of tiny businesses globally and has divested a lot of them that didn't make sense. 45%-48% holding in Verizon wireless, which is about to start paying a dividend. Well-run.

2011-10-06

PAST TOP PICK

25.080

(Top Pick Sep 7/10, Up 7.89% Total Return) Still holds and likes that it is consolidating. Selling minority positions. Buying back shares and will pay out a special dividend later this y ear. Likes Version.

2011-09-23

BUY

24.580

5.5% dividend yield that is quite secure. Verizon and emerging markets. Not a ton of growth in the telecom space.

2011-09-22

Comment

25.770

Generating lots of cash from its mature operations. How safe is the 7.6% dividend? You have to be comfortable as to how management will use the cash. (Could acquire an expensive emerging market company.) It has the mixture of European exposure along with the fast growing emerging market exposure. Probably OK.

2011-09-09

PAST TOP PICK

26.410

(A Top Pick Sept 07/10. Up 14.44%.)

2011-08-26

PAST TOP PICK

26.570

(A Top Pick July 27/10. Up 15.9%.) Still likes this very much. Just announced a significant dividend increase.

2011-08-09

BUY

27.320

Owns 40% of Verizon wireless (VZ-N). Big question is will Verizon buy them out or alternatively when they start paying a dividend. Decent yield and they have exposure to emerging markets. Buy this because it is a defensive stock.

2011-08-05

BUY

26.650

Based in UK but is really an international phone company. Mostly wireless in Europe and the developing world. Owns 45% of Verizon Wireless (VZ-N) in the US. At some point in the next 2 years, Verizon will either payout a huge dividend or possibly buy out Vodaphone. 7.4% yield.

2011-07-27

DON'T BUY

25.780

Lorne Steinberg

Whole telecom area looks cheap on a price/earnings basis. All struggling with growth. Good dividend yields and look very safe but pricing is coming down for everybody in the sector. Growth prospects are getting tougher to come by. Will have trouble generating earnings growth.

2011-07-14

BUY

26.720

Just added to his holdings recently. Dynamite company. World's largest cell phone company. Also have a big chunk of Verizon (VZ-N).It is likely that they will either institute a dividend or buy back stock. 4.5%-5% yield. All growth is in emerging markets. Great combination of yield, growth and a potential event because of Verizon.

2011-06-30

STRONG BUY

26.760

English-based telecom operating mainly in Europe and developing markets but their jewel is their 40% of Verizon Wireless in the US. In the next 2 years, either Verizon will pay a huge dividend, will want to buy a stake in Vodaphone or a combination of the two. Likes the worldwide growth prospects. Yield of 7% plus.

2011-06-29

BUY

26.530

Gotten rid of poor performs and smaller holdings. When they Bought 45% of Verizon and then Verizon’s parent made it stop paying dividend until debt was paid off, which it now is. The question now is whether they Merge with Verizon. It is a well-run company. They will get a dividend at some point.

2011-06-23

BUY

26.530

Srikanth Iyer

Made a good initiative going into emerging markets 8, 9 years ago. That has kept the stock a reasonable premium. Pays a pretty strong yield. Trades at a reasonable multiple compared to global telcos. Some of the largest emerging-market plays, especially India, in its asset mix. You won't hit a home run but a good steady income growth in the next few years.

2011-06-22

BUY

28.420

The major cell phone supplier globally. Share price has been flat over the last few months but the big thought is with Deutsch Telecom selling T-Mobile in the US, so what happens to their 40% stake in Verizon Mobile? Has been branching into India, Turkey, South Africa.

2011-05-20

Comment

27.930

David Baskin

An interesting thing he is seeing in mobile devices is the increased use of band widths and these companies get into the business of reselling this. He is a believer in this space.

2011-05-05

PAST TOP PICK

28.320

(A Top Pick March 31/10. Up 33.28%.) Still likes and would Buy on a pull back. Have muscle and ability in emerging markets. Yield of over 4.5%.

2011-04-21

BUY

29.300

Likes this one a lot. In some countries they own 100% but in others have minority positions. Looking to sell their minority positions and using the money to pay down debt, buy back shares and enhance shareholder value.

2011-04-06

TOP PICK

28.620

Leading global wireless player. Very valuable 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. 5% dividend. Assets all over Asia, Africa, North America. VOIP is a threat but he thinks it is a small one.

2011-03-24

STRONG BUY

27.760

Srikanth Iyer

Likes it quite a bit. Growth profile makes it one of the best-positioned stocks. Own a large chunk of Verizon. A lot of the income they get is paid out. Have a large emerging market and Indian exposure

2011-03-18

PAST TOP PICK

28.800

(A Top Pick March 31/10. Up 30.99%.) Largest cell operator globally. Aggressive in the emerging markets, which he likes. Looks solid and has a reasonable yield of over 4%.

2011-02-07

BUY

26.640

More of European play. Has done very well with their recent restructuring. Also owns about 48% of Verizon Wireless (VZ-N) and expecting a big dividend payment..

2010-12-23

TOP PICK

26.570

Good yield of about 5%. Likes to get paid while he waits. Lots of growth in this field in the emerging markets. They are in Turkey, Egypt, South Africa, India, which are all 2 or 3 times as big as Canada is. Cell phones are equivalent to land lines there. They have a big interest in Verizon in the US as well.

2010-12-16

BUY

25.980

World’s 2nd largest cellular provider with about 250 million subscribers globally. About 25% of business is in emerging markets. Have a relationship with Verizon (VZ-N) and the big question is if Verizon will pay a good size dividend to them.

2010-11-23

BUY

26.940

Karl Berger

Dividend yield of over 6% (?) is probably sustainable. Very interesting utility. Good geographic footprint and diversification.

2010-11-19

TOP PICK

24.460

45% owner in Verizon. This is a world Jewel. Wireless operations in the UK, the developing world and in the US through Verizon. Verizon should pay VOD a huge dividend next year and with this they will pay down debt and raise their dividend.

2010-09-07

DON'T BUY

23.060

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Some inroads in China and India but stuck in an awkward situation with their joint deal with Verizon (VZ-N). Grew in Europe but didn't substantially grow in other parts of the world. 7.5% yield.

2010-08-26

BUY

24.090

Chart shows a breakout from its range of $23. Can't see any resistance until $28 and then $33. 7.25% dividend.

2010-08-18

TOP PICK

23.570

One of the largest mobile companies. Very strong wireless business globally. Own 45% of Verizon (VZ-N), which at Some point there will be a catalyst for them to either sell their stake or for a dividend to be paid to them. Would result in significant cash flow. 7.4% yield.

2010-07-27

DON'T BUY

22.330

Likes telcos. Haven't participated in the rally and many high quality ones are available at 4-5 times cash flow and dividend yields well north of 6%. Knock on this one is that it operates in markets that are very competitive and doesn't consistently have a wire line in the different countries. Would suggest Telefonica (TEF-N), which 2/5 operating profits are out of Brazil with a yield in excess of 7%.

2010-04-29

TOP PICK

23.310

Has lots of growth in Asia and the 3rd world. Great yield of 3.7%. Looking for it to be a big winner in 1 to 3 years out.

2010-03-31

PAST TOP PICK

22.470

(Top Pick Feb 27/09, Up 27%) Margins are starting to come back and you get a good dividend out of it.

2010-03-09

SELL

22.290

Cheap on valuation but they face some difficult things. They under spent on capital expenditure. This hurt them because data is becoming an important part of their business. Capacity is a problem on their network. It probably wont hurt the dividend.

2010-02-18

DON'T BUY

22.090

Trades about 8% on PE and about 12%-13% on a free cash flow yield so it looks cheap. One of the headwinds it faces is their stake in Verizon (VZ-N), which just gives them a dividend and doesn't help them to grow. Have maintained low levels of CapX and although they have lots of cost savings, which hurts them going forward.

2010-01-18

BUY

22.830

Wireless provider based in the UK with worldwide operations. Owns half of Verizon Wireless, which he likes. Dropped quite a bit because cell phone usage globally was curtailed during the recession as well as heavier competition in India, but things are getting better.

2009-12-23

TOP PICK

22.910

English-based worldwide wireless carrier. Own 50% of Verizon wireless, which is a huge revenue spinner. May increase dividend or buyback a lot of stock. Wireless business is stabilizing

2009-12-08

DON'T BUY

22.140

Like a lot of the telcos there is a very good yield (6.5%) and over the years it has brought down its debt to a reasonable level. One of its problems finding growth. There is more competition. One of their US franchises is part of Verizon (VZ-N), which they can't separate out to get the benefit.

2009-10-08

TOP PICK

21.720

Willem Hanskamp

European telecoms have not done very well over the last year and have not participated in the recent rally yet their numbers have started to come in reasonably positive and above expectations. Trading at about 8X earnings with the dividend of almost 6%. Technically it looks like it could break out.

2009-08-31

BUY

18.190

Michael Yoshikami

Wireless company without problems that AT&T has with collapsing land-line margins. Very appealing stock. Dividend is probably reasonably safe.

2009-04-24

TOP PICK

18.190

Michael Yoshikami

Helped that some of the low cost providers are getting squeezed by the economy.

2009-04-24

PAST TOP PICK

16.600

(A Top Pick April 10/08. Down 44.6%.) Could see more competition coming for major Canadian players. Cell phones are more prevalent in emerging markets than wire lines.

2009-03-30

TOP PICK

17.750

English teleco in Europe & developing world. Also owns 50% of Verizon Wireless (VZ-N) that is expected to start paying dividends in 2011. Stock has been hurt because of rising competition in some markets and high capital expenditures. Competition is starting to wane as economy deteriorates. 2 markets are very important for them, India and Turkey. Yield of about 6.5%.

2009-02-27

Comment

19.760

Duncan Stewart

Would probably be one of the global carriers that he would look at. A solid company. Enough different fingers in enough different pies that it could be considered a core holding in the telecom space.

2008-12-30

BUY

19.390

2nd largest wireless globally. They keep adding to their stable of subscribers. Breaking ground in some emerging countries.

2008-12-10

BUY

19.330

Duncan Stewart

(Market Call Minute.) Defensive going forward.

2008-11-18

BUY

17.870

English-based global wireless company. Mostly in Europe and the developing world. Owns about 50% of Verizon Communications (VZ-N), and enormously profitable great asset. Very nice dividend of 11.2%.

2008-11-11

Comment

22.300

Global wireless provider. Hasn't been working out in the short run but for the long run, it has a good yield and in the best part of the phone business. In a lot of high-growth countries.

2008-09-24

PAST TOP PICK

31.870

(A Top Pick May 18/07. Up 15%.) English-based international wireless firm. In some good growth, developing markets. Good yield. Still a Buy.

2008-05-12

TOP PICK

31.360

English-based (an ADR) wireless carrier globally. Big presence in Europe, presence in the developing world and own part of Verizon (VZ-N). Yield of 5%-6%. There were some European regulatory issues that held the stock back that have basically gone away. Sees some good upside.

2008-04-10

BUY

33.510

Unlike most stocks, it is at an all-time high and combines a very nice dividend of over 5% with it. This is a play on wireless growth in the developing world. It's a partner in Verizon Wireless whose value keeps going up.

2007-09-11

TOP PICK

32.120

Based in England, but international. Mostly wireless, with great representation in emerging markets. Expects great growth in wireless to continue in those markets. Huge position in Verizon Communications (VZ-N), which should start paying dividends in the

2007-08-29

BUY

33.460

Good wireless.

2007-07-12

BUY

20.730

Basically a utility and generates a great yield. Has a lot of cash flow. Not a growth company, but if you're looking for something stable that’s going to increase its cash flow with a growing dividend, this is interesting.

2006-08-22

BUY

24.170

Prefers European Telco's as they don't have the same competition from cable, VoIP, wireless, etc. Expects with this you'll see higher dividends and not as much capital expediture. Trades at a pretty low multiple.

2005-06-30

DON'T BUY

24.440

David Driscoll

A little pricey. Telefonica (TAR-N) is their global telephone of choice which has better growth opportunities. Vodafone stumbled along the way and really hasn't recovered. Very high debt.

2005-06-28

HOLD

26.680

Had a very strong move about 3 or 4 years ago and the stock backed off to around a pound (U.K.) 6/8 months ago which is when he got in. Has been an excellent telco.

2005-04-12

TOP PICK

24.820

William Wilby

The largest wireless company in the world. About 18 months ahead of competition in 3rd generation wireless.

2004-10-15

BUY

21.080