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| Veronika Hirsch of BluMont Capital |
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| TOP PICK | BCE Inc. | BCE-T | 26.760 | Fantastic yield of 6%. Doesn't think the stock will go down. Not a growth story but a dividend growth story. Also looks OK on the technicals. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| TOP PICK | Manulife Financial | MFC-T | 21.120 | A contrarian call. Last quarter was horrible. Cut the dividend in half. Thinks all the bad news is in the stock. Sooner or later they are going to have a decent quarter. The business benefits by both the stock market and bond market doing well. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| TOP PICK | Centamin Egypt | CEE-T | 1.700 | Gold. Just coming into production. Good management team. Could probably quadruple the production from the reserves that they have and she bets that over the next 10 to 20 years that they will. Inexpensive. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Metro Inc (A) | MRU.A-T | 35.770 | (A Top Pick Nov 21/08. Up 16.13%.) Grocers. Likes the management. Beat estimates in the last 2 quarters. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | CASH | CASH | 0.000 | (A Top Pick Nov 21/08. N/A.) Her cash varies between 20% and 30%. If there is a correction Sept/Oct she is hoping to get it down to 5%-10%. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Paladin Resources | PDN-T | 4.150 | (A Top Pick Nov 21/08. Up 146.4%.) Uranium. Incredible management. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| HOLD | Lake Shore Gold | LSG-T | 3.110 | Merger with West Timmins Mining (WTM-T) makes sense as it consolidates the camp. In the right location. Incredible infrastructure. Good position for both expanding production and drilling. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| HOLD | Nexen Inc | NXY-T | 20.950 | Has always been a lot of talk about them being acquired so she hopes that one day it will be. An overhang is the start-up of the joint venture with Opti Canada (OPC-T) oil sands project. Technical issues are resolvable but taking a long time so people are soured on it. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| BUY | Biovail Corp. | BVF-T | 13.620 | One of their new drugs has not had good results. However, it was only 4% of the money they had spent on acquisitions so not meaningful. Ridiculously cheap at 8X earnings. Not much Canadian competition. If it had a good run, she would be taking profits on it. Good management team. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| Comment | Sherritt International Corp. | S-T | 7.100 | Why isn't moving up? 2 drivers, exposure to nickel and exposure to Cuba. Nothing has been happening with nickel but US has been making some efforts to normalize relationships with Cuba. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| HOLD | Osisko Exploration Ltd. | OSK-T | 7.480 | Goldcorp (G-T) owns 21%. Takeover candidate. Likes gold. This is probably as good a place to be in gold. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| HOLD | Mercator Minerals Ltd. | ML-T | 2.370 | Molybdenum and copper. All the metals stocks had corrections but this was beaten up because it had financial issues. These have now been resolved. Expect it will be acquired in the next 2 or 3 years. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| BUY | Bankers Petroleum | BNK-T | 3.820 | Heavy oil in Albania. Good management has proven their expertise in heavy oil by how they have developed the assets in Egypt. Some of their wells are producing better than expected. Takeover possibility. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| Comment | HBP NYMEX Nat'l Gas Bull+ | HNU-T | 1.950 | Natural Gas Bull+ ETF. There is a glut of natural gas in storage because of a cool summer, additional production out of new gas fields in the US and industrial cutback. If economic conditions improve and there is a cold winter there will probably be a gas price that surprises. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| Comment | Bank of Nova Scotia | BNS-T | 42.970 | Probably the one of the good banks that the analysts as a whole like the least because of their international exposure. Thinks the banks will trade very close to each other in terms of multiples and performances. Wouldn't be her favourite. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | CM-T | 60.220 | She has a Short position on this bank. Her least favourite financial. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| HOLD | Crescent Point Energy Corp | CPG-T | 35.670 | Fantastic management. A favourite of everybody's so the stock is not cheap by any stretch. No gas exposure. Good dividend. An incredibly good solid holding. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Hudbay Minerals Inc. | HBM-T | 8.430 | New management and there is a change of strategies. She is not clear what the strategy is. There are better names available. Very cheap. | 2009-09-02 | ||
| Comment | A Comment -- General Comments From an Expert | A Commentary | 0.020 | Oil. Isn’t looking for it to go higher this year. If there is a good correction this fall, and the economy recovers, you could be looking at $95 oil next year. | 2009-09-02 | ||
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| TOP PICK | Potash One Inc. | KCL-T | 2.800 | Rumours of an acquisition of Mosaic (MOS-N) pushed prices up. This one has the property adjacent to their Saskatchewan one. Has a great project and is in a great location. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| TOP PICK | BCE Inc. | BCE-T | 24.220 | Has under performed the banks, which is a surprise. 6.3% yield. For people who are really uncomfortable with the market. Some day it will get a bit more respect. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| TOP PICK | Centamin Egypt | CEE-T | 1.680 | Egyptian gold project is coming into production with 200,000 ounces and will use the cash flow to expand into 500,000. Have a fairly large amount of prospective exploration land. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | TSX Group | X-T | 34.750 | (A Top Pick July 17/08. Up 5.79%.) Her favourite stock in the financial sector because it doesn't have the credit risks of the others. Also benefits from the recovery in the stock market. Expecting far better numbers next quarter because of all the new issues. Trading at very cheap multiples. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Phoenix Technology Income Fund | PHX.UN-T | 7.870 | (A Top Pick July 17/08. Down 44.9%.) The guys you need when drilling shale plays and where the future in Canada will be. Perfectly positioned but currently there is too much competition. Should do well in 2 years down the road. 12% distribution. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | SPDR Gold E.T.F. | GLD-N | 91.930 | (A Top Pick July 17/08. Down 2.17%.) Has been disappointing that gold has not gone through $1000. Seasonally we are in a weak period. Expecting a pretty clear go from the fall and into spring. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Niko Resources | NKO-T | 78.650 | Oil/gas in India. Great exploration assets. It is expected to continue to outperform. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Aecon Group Inc | ARE-T | 10.800 | Will benefit from infrastructure plays, especially in the 4th quarter. A 2nd half story with cash flow showing up next year. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Gran Tierra Energy Inc. | GTE-T | 4.190 | Been running up lately but hasn’t participated to the same extent with the rest of the internationals. Incredibly strong balance sheet and good prospects. Hasn’t drilled anything exciting but this should change over the next little while. Can see another $1 without drilling success but if they have success there could be another $2. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Peyto Energy Trust | PEY.UN-T | 9.100 | Not crazy about gas. Would prefer an oilier name or a gas name outside of North America. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Petrobank Energy and Resources | PBG-T | 34.010 | Involved in Saskatchewan Bakken and is a very successful play for them. Also have an oil sands project, which is having start-up issues that will eventually get resolved. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Talisman Energy | TLM-T | 16.930 | New management team has done an incredibly good job. It's just a matter of time before it trades with its peers. Inexpensive. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| Comment | Storm Exploration Inc. | SEO-T | 11.900 | Natural gas stocks. Seems to be a favourite name on the street. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Birchcliff Energy Ltd. | BIR-T | 6.210 | Not crazy about gas. Also not crazy about their balance sheet. Recently did an issue that alleviates this but still doesn't have the pristine balance sheet that she would prefer. Have an attractive land package and good prospects ahead of them but they need a better gas price. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Detour Gold | DGC-T | 9.350 | Gold. Did a small issue, which she thinks is a good strategy. Now have lots of cash to keep drilling. Will be delivering a feasibility study. Probably an eventual takeover. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| SELL | Penn West Energy Trust | PWT.UN-T | 14.130 | There has to be 100 better names. Doesn't have an exciting prospect. 12.7% yield. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| SELL | Suncor Energy Inc | SU-T | 33.950 | Quality name. If you own, consider taking a quick profit. Over the summer you will have other opportunities to get it at a lower price. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Quadra Mining Ltd | QUA-T | 8.130 | Excellent leverage to Copper. Just announced a couple of problems and stock probably reacted negatively to this. Might not be a bad place to start Buying. Thinks both problems are fixable. Great growth profile. Good management. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Nexen Inc | NXY-T | 22.100 | 2nd quarter profit tumbled 95%. The worst the numbers are and the less they deliver the better it is for the eventual takeover, which is what everybody is waiting for. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| HOLD | Manulife Financial | MFC-T | 21.820 | Basically this has become a call on the general market and really doesn't have much to do with insurance at this time. Wouldn't Buy but would continue to Hold. 4.8% yield. | 2009-07-17 | ||
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| Comment | Canadian Natural Rsrcs | CNQ-T | 63.010 | Very high quality name. Fantastic assets and management. If you are a trader, try to buy in the $50's and take profits in the $70's. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Opti Canada Inc. | OPC-T | 1.570 | Not a fan. Think they will eventually resolve start-up issues but if you want to play on the resolution of the start-up issues, why not play through Nexen (NXY-T), which owns half of the oil sands project along with their other assets. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| HOLD | Osisko Exploration Ltd. | OSK-T | 6.790 | Gold. Got their environmental study done and are now waiting for their permitting. Possible takeover. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| SELL | Yellow Pages Income Fund | YLO.UN-T | 5.000 | (Market Call Minute.) Bad advertising market. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| HOLD | Silver Wheaton | SLW-T | 9.470 | (Market Call Minute.) Great company. Silver probably has a high beta to gold. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| Comment | Canadian National R.R. | CNR-T | 48.880 | (Market Call Minute.) Prefers this to Canadian Pacific (CP-T) any day. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| BUY | Bankers Petroleum | BNK-T | 2.400 | (Market Call Minute.) Great management team. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| Comment | Telus Corp | T-T | 30.560 | (Market Call Minute.) Good yield at 6.2%. Not much excitement over the next year. If you want yield, Buy. If you want capital gains don't bother. | 2009-07-17 | ||
| TOP PICK | SPDR Gold E.T.F. | GLD-N | 88.800 | (A Top Pick July 17/08. Down 3.4%.) Bullion in this environment can do well on many different scenarios. Good hedge against inflation, deflation, further financial disruption, etc. Hopes to be out of the position by the end of this year. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| TOP PICK | BCE Inc. | BCE-T | 26.720 | Doesn't have phenomenal growth ahead of it but has new management, which will surely find a whole bunch of cost cutting available. Has bought back a lot of stock. Could make a strategic move to become a stronger player. 5.8% yield. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| TOP PICK | CF Industries Holdings Inc. | CF-N | 72.670 | Agrium (AGU-T) is trying to acquire but has been refused to date because the prices too low. She is betting they will improve the bid by $10. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | TSX Group | X-T | 37.500 | (A Top Pick July 17/08. Up 9.3%.) Likes the stock. Yield of 4%, great management and it is a near monopoly. Trading at 14X earnings. Still not ridiculously expensive, but getting there. Buy below $30. A Hold. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Phoenix Technology Income Fund | PHX.UN-T | 7.010 | (A Top Pick July 17/08. Down 54.7%.) Horizontal driller. Decline in drilling has been more substantial among the regular drillers than on the multi-frac drilling. A lagging indicator, especially going into a slower season. She Shorted Precision Drilling (PD.UN-T) against it. Treat as a Hold. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| HOLD | Paladin Resources | PDN-T | 3.270 | Uranium has been correcting lately but thinks this is coming to an end. Best suite of assets, including in Australia and Africa. Management has good technical and strategic abilities. Uses this as a partial Pair trade by shorting some Denison Mines (DML-T) at the same time. Consider Buying between $2 and $3. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Osisko Exploration Ltd. | OSK-T | 5.670 | Has the feeling that the gold stocks have really run ahead of themselves. Not a huge fan of gold stocks at this time but does like this name. Looking for a seasonal correction this summer. (See Top Picks.) | 2009-04-02 | ||
| PARTIAL SELL | Nexen Inc | NXY-T | 23.280 | Every month or two, the next rumour comes around and she has been able to trade around this. Now getting to the point where she is slowly taking profits. Trading range is $20-$25. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| HOLD | Trinidad Drilling | TDG-T | 2.850 | Drilling component of the energy sector has under performed everything else. There will still be 2 quarters of really horrible earnings, cash flows, etc. Too late to sell any of these stocks but there is no rush. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| BUY | Detour Gold | DGC-T | 11.000 | Drilling has been successful and they are delineating larger resources. The open pit has grown substantially. A good name to own. Hopefully it will be taken over one day. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| SELL | Kingsway Financial Services | KFS-T | 2.640 | Not a well managed company. She has shorted this one in the past. Have the lumpiest quarters on the planet. Every year there is always one quarter where they hugely disappoint. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| WAIT | Talisman Energy | TLM-T | 14.280 | On a 3-year horizon it is not too late to own the stock. New management team has been getting credit for delivering on what they have promised. Divesting some assets and concentrating on resource plays, which is a fantastic strategy. Would wait for a day when oil is down. | 2009-04-02 | ||
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| BUY | Bankers Petroleum | BNK-T | 1.880 | Management has a great track record and company is incredibly well managed. Have a loan where money is released contingent on oil prices. As oil prices gets over $50 they will be open to start drilling again. Speculative. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| Comment | Agrium | AGU-T | 47.190 | Trying to acquire CF Industries (CF-N), who in turn are trying to merge with Terra Industries (TRA-N). Thinks CF shareholders would rather get the premium rather than acquiring Terra. Likes the geographic synergies. (See Top Picks.) | 2009-04-02 | ||
| HOLD | Opti Canada Inc. | OPC-T | 1.170 | Kind of an option on oil sands with something good happening between Suncor (SU-T) and PetroCanada (PCA-T) and people chasing after Nexen (NXY-T). | 2009-04-02 | ||
| WAIT | Thompson Creek Metals | TCM-T | 5.430 | Exposure to molybdenum only, which is currently in a funk. Only buyers around seem to be the Chinese. Likes management and assets. Will the Chinese be buying long enough before the real economy kicks in and is there enough demand for molybdenum to turn the price around? Wait another quarter before buying. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| HOLD | Royal Bank | RY-T | 37.970 | (Market Call Minute.) One of the favourites of analysts. Has had a huge move off the bottom. Has a premium to other banks and not sure it deserves it. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| HOLD | Russel Metals | RUS-T | 10.970 | (Market Call Minute.) Has been beaten up. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| Comment | TriStar Oil & Gas | TOG-T | 10.000 | (Market Call Minute.) Oily so a buy if you think oil is going higher. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| Comment | Vermilion Energy Trust | VET.UN-T | 27.990 | (Market Call Minute.) Oily so a buy if you think oil is going higher. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| DON'T BUY | CanWest Global Comm. | CGS-X | 0.305 | (Market Call Minute.) Dead issue, big time. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| BUY | Canadian National R.R. | CNR-T | 47.250 | (Market Call Minute.) Buy for a long-term hold. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| WAIT | Research In Motion | RIM-T | 60.990 | (Market Call Minute.) Wait to see what the earnings are tonight. | 2009-04-02 | ||
| TOP PICK | Metro Inc (A) | MRU.A-T | 38.160 | Inexpensive. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| TOP PICK | CASH | CASH | 0.000 | This gives flexibility to react to the market. Her fund is 74% cash but the average portfolio should be 25%. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| TOP PICK | Viterra Inc | VT-T | 10.000 | Likes it seasonally. Weather was very wet last fall and a lot of fertilizer application did not happen. Also looking for a record crop this year. Expecting growth in China and Latin America meeting grain prices will go up and more international demand for Canadian grain. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Petrobank Energy and Resources | PBG-T | 19.390 | (A Top Pick Oct 31/07. Down 59.8%.) Looks like it has been thrashed enough. The only issue she has is that you want to own companies that are squeaky clean. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Detour Gold | DGC-T | 8.860 | (A Top Pick Oct 31/07. Down 3.2%.) Thinks it will eventually get taken over as it is in a safe jurisdiction. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| PAST TOP PICK | Hanfeng Evergreen | HF-T | 6.800 | (A Top Pick Oct 31/07. Down 56.9%.) Thinks it is down because it is a small cap and is located in China. She has moved on to a larger cap name. Thinks this is a buying opportunity but she prefers the safety of a Large cap. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Northgate Minerals Corp. | NGX-T | 1.720 | Short reserve life. There is no good outcome for this. Have a couple projects but they need financing for them. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | UEX Corp. | UEX-T | 0.850 | Uranium has one of the better fundamentals. A US bank has gone bankrupt and their uranium holdings had to be liquidated so uranium has dropped short-term. Expects it to start edging up again. This is not a favourite. She would prefer Paladin (PDN-T). | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Uranium One Inc. | UUU-T | 2.010 | Uranium has one of the better fundamentals. A US bank has gone bankrupt and their uranium holdings had to be liquidated so uranium has dropped. Short-term and expects it to start edging up again. This is not a favourite. She would prefer Paladin (PDN-T). | 2009-02-05 | ||
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| BUY | Paladin Resources | PDN-T | 2.440 | Uranium has one of the better fundamentals. A bankrupt US bank had to liquidate their uranium holdings so uranium has dropped short-term. Strong management and a good reserve life. Would be a good Pair trade going long this one and short Denison (DML-T). | 2009-02-05 | ||
| SHORT | Denison Mines Corp | DML-T | 1.420 | Uranium has one of the better fundamentals. A bankrupt US bank had to liquidate their uranium holdings so uranium has dropped short-term. This company has not delivered. Would be a good Pair trade going long Paladin (PLD-T) and short this one. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| BUY | Agrium | AGU-T | 44.880 | Likes fertilizer stocks. Very inexpensive. Seasonality is good here. Canadian crops look good. China and Latin America are having droughts. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| BUY | Labrador Iron Ore | LIF.UN-T | 25.900 | Iron ore inventory seems to be clearing up now, which will bode well for the iron ore price negotiations. Good safe dividend. No balance sheet issues. 7.75% yield. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Methanex Corp | MX-T | 7.610 | Numbers were not good. Ethanol is economically sensitive. No balance sheet issues but it is sensitive to oil prices. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Bank of Montreal | BMO-T | 32.000 | Doesn't like any financials. You don't know what these banks have on their books that could be tied to one of the US banks. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| Comment | Toronto Dominion | TD-T | 39.170 | Doesn't like any financials. A Pairs trade could be very attractive if you own one. The Short would be on one of the US banks or an ETF. 6.25% yield. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Royal Bank | RY-T | 31.240 | Doesn't like any financials. If there is that news on one of the big US banks, it could spill over into Canada. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| BUY | Bell Aliant | BA.UN-T | 25.310 | Just reported good numbers. Attractive yield. Slight possibility that Bell Canada (BCE-T) at some point buys it. Safe. No financial issues. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| BUY | BCE Inc. | BCE-T | 24.800 | With the new management, she is hoping they will make some changes that will increase the dividends over time and more cost cutting. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Saputo Inc. | SAP-T | 21.310 | Management has done an incredible job. Have consolidated the industry. Facing declining prices of their major product. On the other hand, declining cheese prices could give them opportunities to acquire weaker companies. Likes it for the long run but would wait until the price of cheese turns. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| DON'T BUY | Teck Resources Ltd. (B) | TCK.B-T | 5.000 | Very good company with very good assets has got themselves into problems with the balance sheet. Have a bridge loan that has to be refinanced. Until it's done, the market is not giving them any benefit of the doubt. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| SELL | Manulife Financial | MFC-T | 20.410 | (Market Call Minute.) Doesn't like financials. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| HOLD | Kinross Gold | K-T | 22.240 | (Market Call Minute.) Not crazy about them being in Russia. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| HOLD | Open Text | OTC-T | 43.350 | (Market Call Minute.) Great numbers. Expensive. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| BUY | Osisko Exploration Ltd. | OSK-T | 4.530 | (Market Call Minute.) Has an attractive large Canadian asset so could be a takeover target. Exposure to gold. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| SELL | Precision Drilling Corp. | PD.UN-T | 4.600 | (Market Call Minute.) Balance sheet issue. Need to refinance. | 2009-02-05 | ||
| TOP PICK | Paladin Resources | PDN-T | 1.680 | Uranium looks like it is bottoming. They are in production and are cash flowing. Keeps increasing its reserves on its 2 projects. Planned production increases for their existing mine. Would be a fantastic fit for Cameco (CCO-T). | 2008-11-21 | ||
| TOP PICK | CASH | CASH | 0.000 | Because of high volatility, there are days when there are buying opportunities. You don't want to be in a position where you have to sell something in order to buy something else. 25% to 30% would be a good holding. | 2008-11-21 | ||
| TOP PICK | Metro Inc (A) | MRU.A-T | 31.490 | A well-managed defensive name. Doesn't have financial issues. Margins are improving. Not popular with analysts, which has kept it down. Has 20% of Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD.B-T), which is not included in the valuation and convenience stores have been improving. | 2008-11-21 | ||
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| PAST TOP PICK | Petrobank Energy and Resources | PBG-T | 21.750 | (A Top Pick Oct 31/07. Down 63%.) Sold when she started turning negative on oils. Don't own any stocks that have question marks hanging over it now. Market is saying “show me” on their Thai technology. | 2008-11-21 |