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| Ben Cheng of Aston Hill Financial Ltd. | |
|---|---|
Ben Cheng | |
| Aston Hill Financial recognizes that every market situation can be an opportunity. An innovative and creative approach to business uncovers otherwise overlooked opportunities. Commitment to our team and to providing a proactive response to the changing needs of our clients are the foundation of Aston Hill. An entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to the success of our company are the hallmarks. Aston Hill Financial offers a unique range of expertise in the oil and gas industry, the income sector, the high yield market, and in structured investment products, to pension funds, institutional investors, corporations, and individuals. | |
| Ben Cheng's website |
| PAST TOP PICK | Cominar Real Estate Inv Tr | CUF.UN-T | 21.800 | (A Top Pick Jan 11/11. Up 11.78%.) | 2011-12-20 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Davis + Henderson | DH-T | 15.540 | Business for paper written cheques has been declining year-by-year but they have done a very good job to fight that. Have entered into a bunch of lending businesses, which has seen year over year increases. However physical cheque needs is going to continue to decline as we move into the Internet age. Doesn't expect the 8.1% dividend to be cut over the next 12 months. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| Comment | NAL Energy Corp | NAE-T | 7.370 | Still likes this one but is more favoured towards other names such as Crescent Point (CPG-T) and Arc Energy (ARX-T) but this one trades at a discount to the group. There are some questions as to how sustainable the oil/gas companies growth pattern is as their balance sheets become more and more restrained. Better names to own. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| Comment | Just Energy Group | JE-T | 10.720 | Just announced a buyback of 10% of outstanding shares. This is a good sign that the company feels their shares are good value. Pricing and margin environment for natural gas and electricity contracts have been very difficult because the prices have not been volatile. Have been moving more of their business towards commercial contracts, which are lower margins. Dividends are sustainable. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| Comment | Trans Canada Corp | TRP-T | 43.730 | #1 question on everybody's mind is the fate of the Xcel pipeline. With this being on hold now they have to find another route. Feels they will find another route that will be acceptable. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| TOP PICK | Vermilion Energy Inc | VET-T | 44.100 | There may be some short-term weakness as production and reserves may be flat in the oncoming quarter but current price is great value. In time, people will realize how oily, versus gaseous, this company is. Very conservative payout ratio. Just did a tuck-in acquisition in France, which will be a wonderful pay back. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Wells Fargo | WFC-N | 26.500 | (A Top Pick Jan 11/11. Up 11%.) | 2011-12-20 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Crescent Point Energy Corp | CPG-T | 43.830 | (A Top Pick Jan 11/11. Up 6.66%.) | 2011-12-20 | ||
| Comment | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | High-yield bonds. These have a pretty decent correlation with stocks. When stocks are doing better like today's US market, usually credit spreads are tightening for high-yield bonds. The spread today, in the US, is in excess of 8% so you are getting yields of between 9% and 10% versus less than 1% for a 5 year government bond. Cdn high-yield bonds are very sparse, so in general they trade with US bonds but depends on a bond by bond basis. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| Comment | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Pipelines have been the “go to” names for investors that have been flying to safety. As volatility continues in Europe, questions about Asia and continuing questions about North America pipelines have gone to sky-high valuations. If interest rates go back up and there is a pickup in economic activity, he would expect to see a general softness for the pipelines. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| Comment | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Are REITs cyclical and do they get a pop this time of the year? They are cyclical to the degree, especially when during a downward economic environment a lot more vacancy. With no inflation fears, low mortgage reinvestment rates plus high occupancy levels Canada has pretty well skated through with no cyclical side effects. REITs such as Riocan (REI.UN-T), H&R (HR.UN-T), Canadian REI (REF.UN-T) and Dundee (D.UN-T) are very good value here. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| Comment | Indigo Books & Music Inc. | IDG-T | 7.700 | Stuck in a very tough business environment. Being affected by online businesses or you can now get books. Also a lot of tablets, where you can get online books, will make it tough for them. They were a large owner of Kobo, which was just sold so they should net $70 million-$80 million free cash which should help them sustain the dividend. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| TOP PICK | Brookfield Asset Management (A) | BAM.A-T | 27.550 | Trading at a discount to its NAV. Their renewable power, infrastructure and real estate divisions are all trading under valued relative to where this company is today. Plus, all of 3 of these divisions are seeing revenues and earnings gains into the mid teens. The only weak division has been the investment side. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Extendicare REIT | EXE.UN-T | 8.020 | Nursing homes in Canada and US. This is a very difficult business to operate in. Costs are constantly rising and moving the revenue stream higher is extremely difficult. Management has done a great job in turning this business around. Have cut costs and sold some assets. 10.5% yield is probably sustainable over the next couple of years. Doesn't expect the industry will be seeing any growth pattern over the next couple of years. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Scott's REIT | SRQ.UN-T | 4.760 | The last time he looked at this, it looked like the payout ratio versus what they are earning was very close at about 100%. Sustainability is in question. Also, having a single tenant brings out some of the riskiness in the business itself. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| BUY | Annaly Capital Management Inc. | NLY-N | 16.610 | Yield is quite high because they employ a tremendous amount of leverage. It is typically anywhere from 5X leverage to10 or 12 times leverage. Currently at about 7X. Mortgages they invest in are all backed by the US government. A very decent place to have some money today. Yield of nearly 14%. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| TOP PICK | Parallel Energy Trust | PLT.UN-T | 7.650 | Jurisdiction is solely in the US, which is why it can be an income trust. Trading at just about its NAV. Has the ability to grow its reserves next year by about 10%-12%. Yield of 12%-13%. | 2011-12-20 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Contrans Group Inc | CSS-T | 8.950 | (A Top Pick May 12/10. Down 3.88%.) | 2011-07-14 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Dollarma Inc. | DOL-T | 32.950 | (A Top Pick May 12/10. Up 34.64%.) | 2011-07-14 | ||
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| BUY | Inter Pipeline Fund | IPL.UN-T | 15.930 | Great company to own. Have some growth projects that will continue to add substantial numbers to their bottom line. Very dependable pipeline company. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| BUY | RioCan Real Estate Investment | REI.UN-T | 25.930 | One of Canada’s largest retail mall operator. The industry has literally plummeted off the table in the US and they are buying property there at bargain basement prices. Good balance sheet. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Rogers Sugar Inc | RSI-T | 5.410 | Prospects should be fantastic as the world continues a never-ending growth pattern of more sugar however are subject to higher operating costs, especially raw sugar prices. This has hurt them. Have a partial hedge as they have a major beet plant in Alberta giving them a source for sugar. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| BUY | Shaw Communication (B) | SJR.B-T | 21.640 | Likes the cablecos. They are all trading at reasonable valuations in the neighbourhood of 5.5-6 times EBITDA cash flow. Has a track record of increasing dividends. Going forward there is growth in more products that they can bring on to the cable and wireless sides as well as products for the internet. Would also own some Bell (BCE-T) and Rogers (RCI.B-T). | 2011-07-14 | ||
| TOP PICK | Crescent Point Energy Corp | CPG-T | 40.770 | (A Top Pick May 12/10. Up 4.94%.) Has been a lot of pressure on them recently as there has been a tremendous amount of rain out West. Thinks this is been overblown. There may not be substantial drilling until the4th quarter but this has not changed the fundamentals. Expects oil prices to remain steady or go higher. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| TOP PICK | Cineplex Inc | CGX-T | 25.450 | This is one of those names that points to the quality of management. Have a good platform and a substantial market share in the number of screens. This should continue with one good quarter after another. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| Comment | Retrocom Mid-Market REIT | RMM.UN-T | 5.830 | New management has done a great job re-organizing and growing this REIT. Most analysts are fairly positive on the story. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| HOLD | Daylight Energy Ltd | DAY-T (Dead) | 9.040 | There are several good things happening here. Appetite for risk has pulled back substantially, so good companies like this have pulled back even though the commodity prices have held in well. Worth substantially more than what it is trading at now. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| TOP PICK | Air Canada (B) | AC.B-T | 2.340 | 9.25% Bond maturing Aug 1/15. Market is critical of airline stocks in general because it has been tough to make money off them through the years. Company has moved down its debt to a little more than$2 billion and generating well north of $400 million of free cash flow. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| BUY | Pure Industrial Real Estatetrust Trust | AAR.UN-X | 4.230 | They continue to do good things. Internalizing management that was formerly run by another company. Have done a good job of building up the number of properties and making it a more substantial REIT. You should expect dependable, but not spectacular growth. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| BUY | TransGlobe Apartment REIT | TGA.UN-T | 11.370 | One of the larger apartment owners/managers in Canada. Good management. On an acquisition path, so will be back to the market for stock. This is a good thing. | 2011-07-14 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Arc Resources Ltd | ARX-T | 25.590 | (A Top Pick Feb 12/10. Up 22.38%.) Still a Buy. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Bonavista Energy Corp | BNP-T | 28.850 | (A Top Pick Feb 12/10. Up 27.75%.) Still a Buy. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Canadian Apartment Properties | CAR.UN-T | 17.290 | Very large apartment REIT. Has performed very well over the last year but as the economy recovers there won’t be a lot of pick up in performance. Prefers others. Good management. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| TOP PICK | Cominar Real Estate Inv Tr | CUF.UN-T | 20.910 | Management has a significant stake in the company. Planning on expanding their footprint in Atlantic Canada, which the market is not giving them credit for. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| BUY | Davis + Henderson | DH-T | 20.370 | Good management. One of the true monopolies in that they control cheques and can increase pricing when needed. Tremendous amount of cash flow. Expect they will diversify away from cheques. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| BUY | H&R Real Estate Inv Trust | HR.UN-T | 19.750 | Expecting surprises on the upside with performance in the neighbourhood of 15%-20% over the next 12 months. BOW tower in Calgary makes up a good deal of the gross leasable area. Will probably continue to make acquisitions and possibly partner with someone on the Bow Tower.. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| TOP PICK | Wells Fargo | WFC-N | 31.400 | 7.5% Preferred Share. (Can’t find the symbol for this preferred but the premium is about $1,000. New issue?) Good Risk/reward. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Yellow Media Inc | YLO-T | 6.120 | (A Top Pick Feb 12/10. Up 28.86%.) Took profits late 2010. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| TOP PICK | Crescent Point Energy Corp | CPG-T | 42.800 | Fulfilled its projections/promises over the last few years in terms of the Bakken properties in Saskatchewan and hoping to do the same with their Alberta Bakkens. Talented management. | 2011-01-11 | ||
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| Comment | Penn West Petroleum | PWT-T | 24.280 | Company expects 3%-5% production growth this year. Involved in some very attractive properties but investors are a little sceptical that management can fulfill its promises. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| Comment | Morneau Shepell Inc | MSI-T | 10.400 | Recession resistant and had fairly consistent numbers during the pull back in the economy. Would prefer names that have more influence in terms of the actual recovery. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| Comment | Bell Aliant | BA-T | 26.780 | Recession resistant and had fairly consistent numbers during the pull back in the economy. Would prefer names that have more influence in terms of the actual recovery. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| Comment | Artis Real Estate Investment Trust | AX.UN-T | 13.450 | Expect the REIT market is going to return about 15% over the next year. There are larger and safer names like Riocan (REI.UN-T), H&R (HR.UN-T) and Cominar (CUF.UN-T). Has done a fantastic job growing their business over the last couple of years but is a perpetual issuer of capital, which affects the performance on the market. (See Top Picks.) | 2011-01-11 | ||
| DON'T BUY | iShares US High Yield Bond Index ETF | XHY-T | 20.830 | US High Yield Bond Index Fund ETF. As government interest rates go up, high yield bonds will be affected. You also have to consider actual spread of the bonds versus the treasury index. Doesn’t think this will continue to provide the performance we have had over the last 2 years. Would prefer being in equities. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| BUY | Leisureworld Senior Care Corp | LW-T | 10.700 | Nursing homes operator in Ontario and probably one of the best operational teams out there. Revenues and increases in pricing completely controlled by the Ontario government. | 2011-01-11 | ||
| TOP PICK | Brookfield Properties | BPO-T | 16.400 | Have come under a lot of pressure since they announced the acquisition of the Australian office properties but he likes the prospects in North America and Australia. Have the best quality Class A office properties. 2.65% yield. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| Comment | Enbridge Income Fund Holdings | ENF-T | 15.400 | Will be converting to a corp. and will be taxed accordingly. A lot of Saskatchewan assets are doing quite well and will see the full benefit of the pipeline in 2011. Expects to see pressures on tolls on the main pipeline, which will be an issue for them in the longer run. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Macys Inc. (formerly Federated Department Stores) | M-N | 22.130 | (A Top Pick July 13/09. Up 55%.) 7% US$ bond maturing Feb 15/28. Currently trading at a slight premium. The long-duration worrisome little bit. We are go to | 2010-09-20 | ||
| BUY | NAL Energy Corp | NAE-T | 11.350 | Results out of Cardium wells have created a spike in stock prices. Still undervalued. Fair value would be $14-$15. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Precision Drilling | PD-T | 6.440 | Cardium, Monte frac and US frac plays have been very active but unfortunately, conventional wells have not been doing as well. Will depend on the commodity price. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| Comment | Westshore Terminals Inc. | WTE.UN-T | 19.670 | Will be converting. As part of distributions, you will get a share plus $5 of long-term debt due 2024. Fundamentals have not changed. If you own, you might want to check to see how taxation will affect you in 2011. Likes this one but feels it is fully priced. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Crescent Point Energy Corp | CPG-T | 37.390 | (A Top Pick July 13/09. Up 27.65%.) Major play in the Bakken region. Rolling through their water flood operations now. Through the testing period now and this will increase production. About 7% yield. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| BUY on WEAKNESS | Cineplex Inc | CGX-T | 20.960 | (A Top Pick July 13/09. Up 37.8%.) Major theatre/distributor across Canada with over 70% market share. The big revenue lift for them has been their advertising as well as 3-D films. A 3%-5% pullback would be a good entry point. 6% yield. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| BUY | DirectCash Payments Inc | DCI-T | 19.800 | ATMs in convenience stores, shopping malls, etc. Expect that to continue to grow at about 5%-10% over the next few years. 6.9% yield. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| BUY | New Flyer Industries Inc. | NFI.UN-T | 11.900 | A top 3 municipal bus manufacturer in North America. Difficult to make a call on future growth because it depends on different governments that are short of cash. However backlog looks very healthy. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| TOP PICK | Pengrowth Energy | PGF-T | 10.840 | Have a couple of great carbonate plays at Beaver Hill Lake and Swan Hills region that the market doesn't fully appreciate. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| Comment | Artis Real Estate Investment Trust | AX.UN-T | 13.490 | Have done a very good job. Grown mostly through acquisitions. Seem to be a perpetual issuer of capital so very difficult to get a clean look at their financial statements. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| TOP PICK | Dollar General Corp. | DG-N | 27.800 | Likes both stocks and bonds. Similar to Dollarama in Canada but there is no relationship. One of the largest deep discount retailers in the US. Same store sales growth has been growing at about 5%-7%. Have also been growing their footprint in the stores by the same amount. | 2010-09-20 | ||
| TOP PICK | Contrans Group Inc | CSS-T | 9.600 | Just did an issue. Less than truckload and truckload and volume is starting to pick up. This company is right in the middle of that improvement. 3.3% dividend. | 2010-05-12 | ||
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| TOP PICK | Dollarma Inc. | DOL-T | 24.600 | Very successful retail story in Canada. Have ability to expand customer base by moving their price point from $2 to $4 or $6. Increasing their floor base by almost 10% per year and same store sales growth is 5%-10% per year. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| Comment | Veresen Inc | VSN-T | 10.180 | Joint owner in the Alliance Pipeline. Only concern is exposure to the Aux Sable fractionation plant. Frac spreads are wonderful right now so they are making a tremendous amount of money but if gas prices come back more in line with oil prices, frac spreads should reduce. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| BUY | Inter Pipeline Fund | IPL.UN-T | 11.510 | Very good business. Have 3 major projects including the Corridor pipeline and the Kerl expansion. This will help them maintain their distributions. If you own it outside of your RRSP, you will be able to claim dividends when they convert. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Pembina Pipeline Corp | PPL-T | 18.380 | Management team has done a very good job but he is a little bit cautious because of their gas marketing side, which is coming under some pressure. There is probably better growth in other pipeline trusts like Inter Pipeline (IPL.UN-T), which has three pipelines that are coming on stream. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| BUY | RioCan Real Estate Investment | REI.UN-T | 19.850 | One of the closest proxies we have two the US real estate index. Have always had a very high payout ratio. Good management. Retail spending is increasing. Would like to see it at $18. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| BUY | Just Energy Group | JE-T | 13.050 | Had a weak quarter, but moving forward he expects to see earnings and revenues move back into a positive direction again. Their US competition has been very badly beaten up and he expects growth will be better than most analysts expect. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| BUY | Superior Plus Corp | SPB-T | 13.250 | Have several businesses. Weakness in the stock is because of the mild winter, which affected their propane business. The business tends to have a slow decline of about 2%-3% per year but there could be a big swing factor if we had a colder winter in the Western provinces. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| TOP PICK | Crescent Point Energy Corp | CPG-T | 41.970 | Likes oil over natural gas. At $75-$80 oil they are making a lot of money. The major player in the Bakken area. Water flood pilot projects are being tested, which could add another level of growth to their production. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| DON'T BUY | CML Healthcare | CLC-T | 10.440 | This trust was used as a platform to expand into the US, which has been a little problematic for them. Also the move of the Cdn$ back towards par is putting pressure on them. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Cineplex Inc | CGX-T | 20.990 | (A Top Pick April 27/09. Up 62%.) | 2010-05-12 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Opti Canada Inc. | OPC-T (Dead) | 2.270 | (A Top Pick April 27/09. Up 67.6%.) 8.25% Bonds due Dec 15/2014. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| Comment | Crombie Real Estate Investment Trust | CRR.UN-T | 11.330 | Very solid balance sheet and good management. Try to expand out west through acquisitions. Should be growth further down the pipe but flat for the next couple of years. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| Comment | Bell Aliant | BA-T | 26.070 | Had concerns that payout ratio was too high so he sold. Announced they are reducing their payout ratio and converting to a corp. New payout ratio will probably be 70%-75%. Also have issues with their subscribers being taken away by cable operators and this will be a constant grind on their business. If you are looking for a little bit of growth, this would not be his 1st pick. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Yellow Pages Preferred B | YPG.B-T | 0.010 | (A Top Pick April 27/09. Up 52.09%.) Series 2 preferred shares 17%, $25 in 2016. Sold this and is now buying the Yellow Pages income trust. | 2010-05-12 | ||
| TOP PICK | Arc Resources Ltd | ARX-T | 21.560 | It remains run by one of the smartest management teams out there. They have great properties. It’s an unconventional gas play. An above average growth pattern. Commodity prices are the biggest risk. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| TOP PICK | Bonavista Energy Corp | BNP-T | 24.180 | Solid management team. Very, very good set of assets. Above average growth trajectory. They are getting involved with unconventional plays, which is a risk. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| BUY | Veresen Inc | VSN-T | 10.210 | Things are looking good for them. It looks more like a sustainable bond. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| BUY | Inter Pipeline Fund | IPL.UN-T | 11.450 | There is some inherent, stable growth. It is external management but there are clauses to protect investors. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| BUY | Just Energy Group | JE-T | 14.300 | The company is doing the right thing to convert to the common share format before the December 31 deadline. Their competitors, especially in the US have fallen on hard times and as such you should see much better growth, especially out of their US division. Distribution is sustainable, but he thinks a cut would be appropriate, but not a negative. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| BUY | Westshore Terminals Inc. | WTE.UN-T | 14.920 | Good quality infrastructure play. Should gut the distribution 30-40% during conversion. | 2010-02-12 | ||
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| TOP PICK | Yellow Media Inc | YLO-T | 5.670 | He likes it when the analysts collectively hate something. It is a simple business that is tied to the growth of our economy. As the Canadian economy does better, this stock will benefit. Online business is being ignored too much and it is growing at 20%. Yield will be cut when they convert. Distribution will drop to $0.65 and the extra capital will be used to pay down debt. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Cineplex Inc | CGX-T | 18.130 | (Top Pick Apr 27/09, Up 30.32%) | 2010-02-12 | ||
| N/A | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Thinks the Precision Drilling conversion to a corporation makes a lot of sense. The drillers had a little experiment in converting to the income trust structure and done simply for a multiple premium, but in the longer run it makes a lot more sense for them to be a common share format. Change to an income trust was the right thing to do at the time. Bond spreads have really widened out in the last little bit, but he has migrated half of the bonds over to bank loans. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| BUY | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | H & R REIT Bond – 7 Years. They do a good job of matching the assets to the bonds. The tenants in their buildings are long-term tenants. He wouldn’t recommend a bond from a hotel REIT because the tenancy is for over night. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| SELL | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | CIBC Tier one bond 10%. Good certainty that the bond will get called so then you loose the extra value the bond has gained. It is less attractive than a year ago. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Bonds of Opti-Canada. 8.25% Dec 15/2014 (Top Pick Apr 27/09, Up 69%) | 2010-02-12 | ||
| BUY | Allied Properties REIT | AP.UN-T | 19.080 | CEO will be aggressive in growing the company over the next years. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| WAIT | Daylight Energy Ltd | DAY-T (Dead) | 11.270 | Just completed acquisition of High Pine. They are now considering a conversion to a common share format. You can’t consider this until they vote on it. Hold if you have it. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Yellow Pages Preferred B | YPG.B-T | 0.010 | (Top Pick Apr 27/09, Up 58.7%) Sold to buy the common. | 2010-02-12 | ||
| TOP PICK | Dollarma Inc. | DOL-T | 20.200 | Discount retailer where you can buy anything under $10. Growing their store base by about 10% and same-store sales. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | H&R Real Estate Inv Trust | HR.UN-T | 13.580 | (A Top Pick Dec 8/08. Up 62.69%.) | 2009-11-20 | ||
| BUY | Inter Pipeline Fund | IPL.UN-T | 10.590 | Possibly will be able to retain distributions after 2011. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| BUY | Keyera Corp | KEY-T | 22.790 | Possibly will be able to retain distributions after 2011. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| BUY | Superior Plus Corp | SPB-T | 12.820 | Almost 13% dividend, which should be sustainable. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| DON'T BUY | The Brick Ltd | BRK-T | 1.380 | Appliance/furniture retailer. Sales have fallen. Had more liquidity pumped into it, primarily from Fairfax Financial (FFH-T) including a recent $25 million line of credit giving more breathing space. Housing starts/recovery in Canada seems to go against what is happening in the US, which gives him pause. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Liquor Stores N. A. | LIQ-T | 15.090 | Have a more aggressive payout policy so he is a little concerned about post-2011. Also concerned about the Alberta economy, which is 70% natural gas and is still very weak. Also making acquisitions in the US. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| SELL | Student Transport of America Ltd. | STB-T | 4.360 | Had several issues in the past dealing with debt but have recently resolved some of that. Worries about some of the US states that have laid off 53,000 teachers. Cutbacks could also occur in bussing. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Groupe Aeroplan Inc | AIM-T | 10.250 | (A Top Pick Dec 8/08. Up 31.93%.) | 2009-11-20 | ||
| Comment | Canfor Pulp Products | CFX-T | 6.960 | 49.8% stake in 3 pulp mills in BC. Stronger pulp prices for the last 6 to 9 months have helped them. Thinks that trend will continue. Conservative payout ratio at about 70%. | 2009-11-20 | ||
| TOP PICK | Brookfield Infrastructure LP | BIP-N | 15.830 | About 73% of cash flow comes from regulated revenue streams. 6.7% dividend yield. | 2009-11-20 | ||
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| PAST TOP PICK | YPG Holdings | YPG.PR.A-T (Dea | 23.250 | (A Top Pick Dec 8/08. Sold at $22 so he was Up 31.3%.) | 2009-11-20 |
