Financial Jungle

Hey FJ,

Nice picks just wondering if you’ve been buying any of your top 3 picks at these levels.

MCM

MCM - I had been buying BNS and BPT.un at these levels a while back. At the moment, I’m conserving my severance pay while looking for work.

What’re your BNN top 3 picks?

I guess my top 3 picks —BNN style would be (in no particular order). XRE, HD, BNS

I don’t currently own any of them but am keeping a close eye on them.

FJ,

If you have time I would love to see your analysis of BPT.UN. This post has gotten me interested in the name and I’ve been doing a little bit of preliminary research. At first blush it looks like this trust is facing some major headwinds. Their Q4 generation numbers were significantly lower than the previous year and their CAPX was higher. They are still having problems obtaining a stable biomass supply due to the depressed lumber market in Quebec. I think their recent dividend cut was a positive as they are at least now paying out less than 100% (although just slightly). They are a small player with a capacity of only about 190MW but sport a 14% yield. I guess my question is why do you prefer BPT.UN over a larger name such as EP.UN which has an 11.5% yield but significantly less risk. I’m interested in this name and am going to do some more work because I think there might be some long term value hidden here but would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Interesting post… My three top picks would be:

1) Citigroup- Yes, it looks bad now, but I bet in three years we’ll all be kicking ourselves for not buying at these levels

2) Pfizer- Succulent dividend paid while you wait for the drugs in the pipeline to deliver

3) Loblaws- Trading at barely above the value of their real estate? The business isn’t that bad. It’ll recover.

And yes, I have been buying at these levels.

MCM - You can find my analysis on Boralex here:
http://financialjungle.com/?s=boralex&x=0&y=0

In hindsight based on how the stocks have performed, I should have chosen EP.UN. All of Boralex Income’s plants are located in the Quebec and New York regions, and that space is crowded with other big players as well. Brookfield Asset Management and TransCanada are there if I remember correctly, except that Boralex is a pure play.

I like the stock because it is significantly undervalued relative to others, although I wouldn’t bet my entire farm on it preciously because, as you said, it’s a small cap.

Thanks FJ. This is one I’m now seriously considering.

Too bad you didn’t ask as of Jan 1st since my two of my three picks have had significant moves in the past few months. But count me in as of April 16th anyways:

Euroseas - ESEA
Wabash - WNC
Boston Pizza - BPF.UN

1) Scotiabank- my largest holding. International growth will give them above average earnings in the banking sector. Trading at attractive levels, fat dividend yield.

2) Philip Morris International- Tobacco above and beyond have the best profit margins in the world. Smoking is actually growing in some countries. Loser political and legal sanctions makes it harder to launch lawsuits. Combine that with an emerging middle class and you have revenues and profits of the 1970 and 1980’s in North America.

3) Visa: Get a processing fee for transactions. Risk of consumer default lie on the banks. Increasing use of plastic and innovative ways of paying beyond the traditional need to swipe a machine (check cards, etc) makes this an increasingly attractive stock going forward.

Very nice, guys. But you know, my BNN picks will shred yours to pieces.

Take it from me: Artis REIT looks good on paper, but it’s a frustrating REIT to own.