CI Financial 2

Today I want to review CI Financial stock (TSX-CIX) to see what analysts are saying about it. There has been quite a bit of insider buying and selling on this stock. The curious thing is that the buying has been at a higher price than the selling. Buying has been above about $15 and selling has been below $15. However, the selling all occurred after November 2008 and the buying occurred before. The other curious thing is that the current CEO, CFO and directors have all decreased their position in this company in recent months, however, former insiders has recently increased their position in this company. I am not sure what this is telling us.

I have today updated my spreadsheet for the latest report of December 2008. This report came out between me updating my spreadsheet for the last values and now. There are lots of Hold ratings on this stock, and a few Reduce Ratings. The mean rating would be a Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) No one expect that this company will have the same earnings and cash flows for 2009 that it had for 2008. Most expect these will be down about 40%.

Are there any good buy indicators on the spreadsheet? The current price is below the Graham Price, but if the earnings are reduced as expected, this Graham Price now shows itself below the current price. The yield is down below the 5 year average, however, this is because it is now a corporation rather than an Income Trust and the dividends have been reduced. The current P/E at 14.5 is below the 5 year average of 17.7. However, 14.5 is not a particularly low P/E rating.

The good thing with the new financials is that the Accrual Rating is much lower at 1.6% than it was, but this ratio is not showing a buy signal. The growth figures on this stock are still great with the annual report for December 2008; however, since no one expects 2009 to be a good year, it makes no sense to commit to this stock at this time.

CI Financial Corp. is a diversified wealth management firm and one of Canada’s largest investment fund companies. CI is an Independent and Canadian-owned company. This company provides investment advisory services to mutual funds sold under the CI, BPI, Signature, Harbour, Synergy and Clarica banners, through independent advisors. It is 37% owned by Sun Life. CI became a public company in June 1994 and it was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. They because an Income Trust in 2006 and effective January 1, 2009, CI converted back to a corporation. Its web site is www.ci.com. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/cix.htm.

This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.