I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-REF.UN) today, as I have not reviewed it since I received the annual report for the end of December 2008. I bought this stock in September 2006 and since then I have made a return of 2.6% per year.
I looked at Insider Buying and Insider Selling for this stock. There are a couple of things I like to say about insiders. First, there has been lots of Insider Buying and almost no Insider Selling. Next, insiders own more shares than options. All the classes of insider have increased their holdings of this stock over the past year. The last thing to note is that dividends were increased for 2009. The dividend increase was just under 1%. However, this would be in line with current inflation. These are all great indicators of the confidence of insiders in this stock.
When I did ratios on this REIT, I have separated ratios based on Distributable Income (DI) from other ratios. These ratios can only be compared with other REIT stocks or income trust stock. You cannot compare, say the P/E of a stock to the P/DI of this one. You can only compare the P/DI of this stock to the P/DI of a REIT or income trust stock. I follow the RioCan stock (TSX-REI) and I see that the P/DI of this stock at 10.5 is lower than the P/DI of RioCan. RioCan’s P/DI is 12.7.
The P/E on this stock is at 18 and this close to the 5 year average on the low price. The 5 year average on the low price is 17.7. The current dividend yield is 5.6% is a bit lower than the 5 year average of 5.8%. When you look at the Price/Book Value, I find that the current P/BV is higher than the 10 year average. When I look at the Graham Price, it is 30% lower than the current price.
The problem with both the P/BV and Graham Price is that they include the Book Value. On income trust stocks and REITs, the Book Value tends not to increase because so much of the cash flow is paid out in dividends or distributions. None of these ratios, nor is the Graham Price point to a particularly good price. Except for the Graham price however, they point out that the current price is reasonable.
When I look at the analysts’ recommendations, I find that there are lots of Hold ratings on this stock, and some Strong Buys and a few Buys. The mean rating would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) The reason the consensus recommendation is a Buy when there are lots of Hold ratings is because there some Strong Buys for this stock and there are no ratings lower than a Hold.
The reason this stock is liked is because of its stable and strong cash flow. Most of their real estate is industrial and they have long term and stable tenants. Also, they are paying out less of their distributable income, which is at 60%, than other REITs. For example, RioCan is currently paying out close to all their distributable income.
Currently, I am holding on to what shares I have in this company. I like REITs as the distributions are good. However, the increase in distributions tends to only keep up with inflation. This balances other shares I own that have low dividend yields, but increase their dividends at a much higher rate. However, I only have 3% of my portfolio in REITs and only 5% in real estate in total.
This is an equity real estate trust, which acquires and owns a portfolio of income-producing properties. It specializes in the acquisition and ownership of community shopping centers, industrial and office properties across Canada. This company owns office, industrial, retail properties and some miscellaneous items such as apartment buildings. Its web site is www.creit.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ref.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.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Canadian Real Estate Inv.
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-REF.UN) today as I have not yet reviewed it since September 2008 and the 2008 year end annual statement has came in. I bought this stock in September 2006 and since then I have made a return of 2.6% per year. When I last talk about this stock in September 2008, I had made a return of 11.3%. This stock still has not done as badly as the TSX. It did not go as low as the TSX and it has also made a good recovery from its low.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, some are good, some mediocre and others not very good at all. The 5 and 10 year growth for revenue at 11% and 12% are good. However, if you look at the revenue per share, the growth is only 7.4% and 5.4%. If you look at the Distributable Income the 5 and 10 year growth is good at 11% and 7%, but the earnings growth is almost non-existent at 0% and 1% for these periods. The growth in Book Value is non-existent also. However, this is to be expected as this company is paying out in dividends more than the cash flow.
As with other REIT stock, there is no reporting on current assets and current liability, so there is no liquidity ratio on this stock. The Asset/Liability ratio has a long term average of 1.71. At the end of 2008, it was 1.40 and this is a little low, but for the quarter ending at June 2009, this ratio is 1.50. I would prefer that this ratio be 1.50.
The Return on Equity (ROE) at the end of 2008 was 10.9% and the 5 year running average was 10.5%. Both these ROE figures are good. The ROE on this stock runs at 9% and 10% and this is good. A few times in the past, it has dipped to 7% and 8%.
Currently I will hold on to my shares. We are in a recession that is especially hitting Real Estate. I expect this stock will do well in the long term.
This is an equity real estate trust, which acquires and owns a portfolio of income-producing properties. It specializes in the acquisition and ownership of community shopping centers, industrial and office properties across Canada. This company owns office, industrial, retail properties and some miscellaneous items such as apartment buildings. Its web site is www.creit.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ref.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.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, some are good, some mediocre and others not very good at all. The 5 and 10 year growth for revenue at 11% and 12% are good. However, if you look at the revenue per share, the growth is only 7.4% and 5.4%. If you look at the Distributable Income the 5 and 10 year growth is good at 11% and 7%, but the earnings growth is almost non-existent at 0% and 1% for these periods. The growth in Book Value is non-existent also. However, this is to be expected as this company is paying out in dividends more than the cash flow.
As with other REIT stock, there is no reporting on current assets and current liability, so there is no liquidity ratio on this stock. The Asset/Liability ratio has a long term average of 1.71. At the end of 2008, it was 1.40 and this is a little low, but for the quarter ending at June 2009, this ratio is 1.50. I would prefer that this ratio be 1.50.
The Return on Equity (ROE) at the end of 2008 was 10.9% and the 5 year running average was 10.5%. Both these ROE figures are good. The ROE on this stock runs at 9% and 10% and this is good. A few times in the past, it has dipped to 7% and 8%.
Currently I will hold on to my shares. We are in a recession that is especially hitting Real Estate. I expect this stock will do well in the long term.
This is an equity real estate trust, which acquires and owns a portfolio of income-producing properties. It specializes in the acquisition and ownership of community shopping centers, industrial and office properties across Canada. This company owns office, industrial, retail properties and some miscellaneous items such as apartment buildings. Its web site is www.creit.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ref.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.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Power Financial Corp 2
I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-PWF) today as I have not yet reviewed it and the 2008 year end annual statement has came in. I also own this stock. I have had this stock since December of 2001 and I have earned 9% return per year on this stock, including dividends.
When I look at insider selling it all seems to be by one director, Robert Gratton and this occurred prior to April 2009. It looks like a lot at 85M in insider selling, but this is about ½ of 1% of the outstanding stock. So the bottom line is that what appears to be high net selling is not a problem that I can see.
I had updated my spreadsheet for the 2nd quarterly report of this company dated June 2009. For 2009, I have a P/E of 14 based on earnings estimates. Others have it lower. Mine is lower than the 5 year average. Others are lower than the 5 year low average of 12. The dividend yield 4.7% is higher than the 5 year average of 3.2%. The Price/Book Value ratio is only 60% of the 10 year average. The current stock price is about the Graham Price.
All the above items point to a relatively good current price. The Accrual Ratio is low, so this is not a problem. The only problem I see is the lack of good earnings growth, and this is expected to improve over the next couple of years. Unfortunately, the expected earnings for this year are not expected to be great, but it is expected to be better than for 2008.
In looking at the charts, this stock has done as well as the TSX Financial Index over the long term and better than the TSX over the long term. As this is a dividend paying stock, the dividends have added an extra 3% per year on to the returns of this stock. Over the short term, this stock has not done as well as either of these indexes, but it is close to them.
There are a number of analysts that follow this stock. However, their recommendations are spread over the 3 categories of from Strong Buy to Hold. So the mean recommendation would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Personally, I am current going to hold on to my shares as I feel this is one of my core holdings.
Controlling shareholder of Power Corp of Canada is Paul Demarais. They have 30.1%, but they have 64.6% voting control. This company is a holding and management company. Its operations provide a range of individual and corporate financial and fiduciary services in North America and Europe. Subsidiaries of Power Financial include Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial, London Insurance Group, Canada Life Financial, Putnam Invest., LLC Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial Corporation, and its affiliate Pargesa Holding SA. The Pargesa Group holds significant positions in five large companies based in Europe of Total (energy), Suez (energy, water, and waste services), Imerys (specialty minerals), Lafarge (cement and building materials and Pernod Ricard (Wines and Spirits). Its web site is www.powerfinancial.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/pwf.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.
When I look at insider selling it all seems to be by one director, Robert Gratton and this occurred prior to April 2009. It looks like a lot at 85M in insider selling, but this is about ½ of 1% of the outstanding stock. So the bottom line is that what appears to be high net selling is not a problem that I can see.
I had updated my spreadsheet for the 2nd quarterly report of this company dated June 2009. For 2009, I have a P/E of 14 based on earnings estimates. Others have it lower. Mine is lower than the 5 year average. Others are lower than the 5 year low average of 12. The dividend yield 4.7% is higher than the 5 year average of 3.2%. The Price/Book Value ratio is only 60% of the 10 year average. The current stock price is about the Graham Price.
All the above items point to a relatively good current price. The Accrual Ratio is low, so this is not a problem. The only problem I see is the lack of good earnings growth, and this is expected to improve over the next couple of years. Unfortunately, the expected earnings for this year are not expected to be great, but it is expected to be better than for 2008.
In looking at the charts, this stock has done as well as the TSX Financial Index over the long term and better than the TSX over the long term. As this is a dividend paying stock, the dividends have added an extra 3% per year on to the returns of this stock. Over the short term, this stock has not done as well as either of these indexes, but it is close to them.
There are a number of analysts that follow this stock. However, their recommendations are spread over the 3 categories of from Strong Buy to Hold. So the mean recommendation would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Personally, I am current going to hold on to my shares as I feel this is one of my core holdings.
Controlling shareholder of Power Corp of Canada is Paul Demarais. They have 30.1%, but they have 64.6% voting control. This company is a holding and management company. Its operations provide a range of individual and corporate financial and fiduciary services in North America and Europe. Subsidiaries of Power Financial include Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial, London Insurance Group, Canada Life Financial, Putnam Invest., LLC Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial Corporation, and its affiliate Pargesa Holding SA. The Pargesa Group holds significant positions in five large companies based in Europe of Total (energy), Suez (energy, water, and waste services), Imerys (specialty minerals), Lafarge (cement and building materials and Pernod Ricard (Wines and Spirits). Its web site is www.powerfinancial.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/pwf.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.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Power Financial Corp
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-PWF) today as I have not yet reviewed it and the 2008 year end annual statement has came in. I own this stock. I first bought this stock in December of 2001 and I purchased some more in August of 2004. I have earned 9% return per year on this stock, including dividends.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are good except for earnings and stock price. The earnings dipped in the last bear market and they have done the same in this one. The stock price growth has not been as good in the last 10 year and 5 year periods as it was prior to this. However, revenues, book value and cash flow growth as been good. Personally, I like this stock better than Power Corp, but then I do tend to be partial to financial stock.
As with most financial stock, there is no reporting on current assets and current liability, so there is no liquidity ratio on this stock. The Asset/Liability ratio has a long term average of 1.17. At the end of 2008 and for the quarter ending at June 2009, this ratio is 1.18. This is a typical ratio for a financial stock.
All in all, I am pleased with this stock and I will continue to hold my shares. I expect that this stock will do well for me in the long term.
Controlling shareholder of Power Corp of Canada is Paul Demarais. They have 30.1%, but they have 64.6% voting control. This company is a holding and management company. Its operations provide a range of individual and corporate financial and fiduciary services in North America and Europe. Subsidiaries of Power Financial include Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial, London Insurance Group, Canada Life Financial, Putnam Invest., LLC Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial Corporation, and its affiliate Pargesa Holding SA. The Pargesa Group holds significant positions in five large companies based in Europe of Total (energy), Suez (energy, water, and waste services), Imerys (specialty minerals), Lafarge (cement and building materials and Pernod Ricard (Wines and Spirits). Its web site is www.powerfinancial.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/pwf.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.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are good except for earnings and stock price. The earnings dipped in the last bear market and they have done the same in this one. The stock price growth has not been as good in the last 10 year and 5 year periods as it was prior to this. However, revenues, book value and cash flow growth as been good. Personally, I like this stock better than Power Corp, but then I do tend to be partial to financial stock.
As with most financial stock, there is no reporting on current assets and current liability, so there is no liquidity ratio on this stock. The Asset/Liability ratio has a long term average of 1.17. At the end of 2008 and for the quarter ending at June 2009, this ratio is 1.18. This is a typical ratio for a financial stock.
All in all, I am pleased with this stock and I will continue to hold my shares. I expect that this stock will do well for me in the long term.
Controlling shareholder of Power Corp of Canada is Paul Demarais. They have 30.1%, but they have 64.6% voting control. This company is a holding and management company. Its operations provide a range of individual and corporate financial and fiduciary services in North America and Europe. Subsidiaries of Power Financial include Great-West Lifeco, IGM Financial, London Insurance Group, Canada Life Financial, Putnam Invest., LLC Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial Corporation, and its affiliate Pargesa Holding SA. The Pargesa Group holds significant positions in five large companies based in Europe of Total (energy), Suez (energy, water, and waste services), Imerys (specialty minerals), Lafarge (cement and building materials and Pernod Ricard (Wines and Spirits). Its web site is www.powerfinancial.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/pwf.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.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Thomson Reuters Corp 2
I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-TRI, NYSE-TRI, LSE-TRIL) today as I have not yet reviewed it and the 2008 year end annual statement has came in. I also own this stock. I bought this stock in 1985. I have made a return of 7.4% per year, including dividends. This stock has gone though a lot of changes since I first bought it. Note that this company is sold on the Toronto, New York and London stock exchanges.
Now, first I will look at the Insider Buying and Insider Selling information. This information seems to say that insider sold $20M net in shares. What actually happened was that the company sold TRI shares and bought the same number of TRIL shares. Because of the price differential, they made $30M and retained the same stake in the company. The UK shares were simply cheaper. Both TRI and TRIL shares are treated the same by the company. So the bottom line is that what appears to be high net selling is not and is not a problem.
I had updated my spreadsheet for the 2nd quarterly report of this company. All my ratios are based on CDN currency. This company has done better in US currency. For 2009, I have a P/E of 18 based on earnings estimates. Others have it around 16 based on earnings over the last 12 months. Both of these P/E ratios are lower than the 5 year average of 22 or 5 year low average of 19. The dividend yield 3.5% is higher than the 5 year average of 2.5%. The Price/Book Value ratio is only 55% of the 10 year average. The current stock price is about the Graham Price.
All the above items point to a relatively good current price. The other good thing is the Accrual Ratio is negative. This Ratio is currently -1.4%. This particular ratio does not depend on the currency, as it is the same no matter what currency you use.
In looking at the charts, this stock has not done as well as the TSX over the long term. The problem, as I mentioned yesterday was it had not recovered from the last bear market, let alone this one. It never boomed as the TSX did starting in 2002. It also never fell as much as the TSX did starting in 2008. It also has not recovered as well as the TSX has recently.
Now, I shall go on to the analysts’ recommendations. There are a lot of analysts following this stock, both here and in the US. However, their recommendations are spread over the 5 categories of from Strong Buy to Sell. So the mean recommendation would be a Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) But it is very obvious from looking at the recommendations that there is a very wide divergent of views on this company. Personally, I am current going to hold on to my shares, but I am keeping an eye on this stock.
Thomson Reuters Corp is the leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. They combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision-makers. Through more than 50,000 people in over 100 countries, they deliver this must-have insight to the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. They derive the majority of our revenues from selling electronic content and services to professionals, primarily on a subscription basis. Thomson and Reuters amalgamated in 2008. Its web site is www.thomsonreuters.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/tri.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.
Now, first I will look at the Insider Buying and Insider Selling information. This information seems to say that insider sold $20M net in shares. What actually happened was that the company sold TRI shares and bought the same number of TRIL shares. Because of the price differential, they made $30M and retained the same stake in the company. The UK shares were simply cheaper. Both TRI and TRIL shares are treated the same by the company. So the bottom line is that what appears to be high net selling is not and is not a problem.
I had updated my spreadsheet for the 2nd quarterly report of this company. All my ratios are based on CDN currency. This company has done better in US currency. For 2009, I have a P/E of 18 based on earnings estimates. Others have it around 16 based on earnings over the last 12 months. Both of these P/E ratios are lower than the 5 year average of 22 or 5 year low average of 19. The dividend yield 3.5% is higher than the 5 year average of 2.5%. The Price/Book Value ratio is only 55% of the 10 year average. The current stock price is about the Graham Price.
All the above items point to a relatively good current price. The other good thing is the Accrual Ratio is negative. This Ratio is currently -1.4%. This particular ratio does not depend on the currency, as it is the same no matter what currency you use.
In looking at the charts, this stock has not done as well as the TSX over the long term. The problem, as I mentioned yesterday was it had not recovered from the last bear market, let alone this one. It never boomed as the TSX did starting in 2002. It also never fell as much as the TSX did starting in 2008. It also has not recovered as well as the TSX has recently.
Now, I shall go on to the analysts’ recommendations. There are a lot of analysts following this stock, both here and in the US. However, their recommendations are spread over the 5 categories of from Strong Buy to Sell. So the mean recommendation would be a Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) But it is very obvious from looking at the recommendations that there is a very wide divergent of views on this company. Personally, I am current going to hold on to my shares, but I am keeping an eye on this stock.
Thomson Reuters Corp is the leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. They combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision-makers. Through more than 50,000 people in over 100 countries, they deliver this must-have insight to the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. They derive the majority of our revenues from selling electronic content and services to professionals, primarily on a subscription basis. Thomson and Reuters amalgamated in 2008. Its web site is www.thomsonreuters.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/tri.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.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Pareto Corp
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-PTO) today I got an offer from the company to buy my shares for a price from $.70 to $1.00. The company wants to purchase up to 1/3 of the outstanding shares for up to $10M cash. Since they announced this, the stock has been around $.80 per share.
I only bought this stock in June 2009. I was trying out small caps with dividends. This announcement is not bad for me, as the share price has gone up as it had been trading in the $.60 range. The company made this offer to provide liquidity for the shareholders and because they do not think that, the current price properly reflects the value of the shares.
Nothing much has changed since I reviewed this stock in June 2009. I have updated my spreadsheet for the 2nd quarterly report of June 2009. Most of the ratios are good, as they were in the last review. The accrual ratio has come down a bit and is now under 5% and this is good. The liquidity ratio has come up a bit and it is now 1.10. The stock is still trading at over 30% lower than the Graham Price. The P/E ratio is quite low at around 8 or 9, when anything at 10 or below is a strong buy signal. The dividend yield is still quite high at 7.5%.
I have no intentions of selling my shares. I do not have much and I usually buy for the long term. Since this is a small cap, I will keep an eye on it. Tomorrow I will finish Thomson Reuters Corp.
Pareto is a Canadian marketing services and execution company committed to helping clients sell more. They service Canada’s most successful businesses through our network of services; Retail Merchandising, In-Retail Messaging, Direct Marketing, and Incentives. Its web site is www.pareto.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/pto.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.
I only bought this stock in June 2009. I was trying out small caps with dividends. This announcement is not bad for me, as the share price has gone up as it had been trading in the $.60 range. The company made this offer to provide liquidity for the shareholders and because they do not think that, the current price properly reflects the value of the shares.
Nothing much has changed since I reviewed this stock in June 2009. I have updated my spreadsheet for the 2nd quarterly report of June 2009. Most of the ratios are good, as they were in the last review. The accrual ratio has come down a bit and is now under 5% and this is good. The liquidity ratio has come up a bit and it is now 1.10. The stock is still trading at over 30% lower than the Graham Price. The P/E ratio is quite low at around 8 or 9, when anything at 10 or below is a strong buy signal. The dividend yield is still quite high at 7.5%.
I have no intentions of selling my shares. I do not have much and I usually buy for the long term. Since this is a small cap, I will keep an eye on it. Tomorrow I will finish Thomson Reuters Corp.
Pareto is a Canadian marketing services and execution company committed to helping clients sell more. They service Canada’s most successful businesses through our network of services; Retail Merchandising, In-Retail Messaging, Direct Marketing, and Incentives. Its web site is www.pareto.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/pto.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.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thomson Reuters Corp
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-TRI, NYSE-TRI) today as I have not yet reviewed it and the 2008 year end annual statement has came in. I also own this stock. I bought this stock in 1985. I have made a return of 7.4% per year, including dividends. I usually consider 8% return to be the appropriate long term return on a stock. This stock is close and it usually does show this sort of return. However, we are in a recession, or a bear market, or whatever, so this is not surprising that the long term return is currently a bit low. This stock has gone though a lot of changes since I first bought it.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly in the not bad area for the last 5 and 10 year periods. The worst is the increase in stock price. However, the cash flow is nothing to write home about neither. It has not done much in the last 5 years. The dividend yield is good and generally runs around 3%. The average increase in dividends over the last 10 years is much better in US$ terms than in CDN$ terms. They report in US$. From a Canadian perspective, the dividend increases have just kept pace with inflation, nothing more.
On my spreadsheet, I am showing mostly CDN$ figures. More and more Canadian companies are reporting in US$, and this is especially true of ones who do a lot of business in the US. When it comes to such things as Asset/Liability Ratios and Accrual Ratios, these are the same no matter what currency you look at. For other ratios and growth figures, the values between CDN$ and US$ figures can vary greatly.
The liquidity ratio on this stock often runs just below 1.00. From the end of 2008 to the present time, it has improved from 0.80 to 0.93. The Asset/Liability ratio has always been good and is usually over 2.00. I prefer to see these ratios at 1.50 or better. 1.00 to 1.50 is acceptable. The accrual ratio was very high at 22% at the end of 2008. However, it has since become negative and this is a good sign.
I do not think that this stock has really recovered from the last bear market. However, the amalgamated with Reuters is generally thought of as a good move, and many analysts think is will be a good long-term buy for stock gains and rising dividends. I intend to hold on to my shares at the present time. However, I keep an eye on this stock.
Thomson Reuters Corp is the leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. They combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision-makers. Through more than 50,000 people in over 100 countries, they deliver this must-have insight to the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. They derive the majority of our revenues from selling electronic content and services to professionals, primarily on a subscription basis. Thomson and Reuters amalgamated in 2008. Its web site is www.thomsonreuters.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/tri.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.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly in the not bad area for the last 5 and 10 year periods. The worst is the increase in stock price. However, the cash flow is nothing to write home about neither. It has not done much in the last 5 years. The dividend yield is good and generally runs around 3%. The average increase in dividends over the last 10 years is much better in US$ terms than in CDN$ terms. They report in US$. From a Canadian perspective, the dividend increases have just kept pace with inflation, nothing more.
On my spreadsheet, I am showing mostly CDN$ figures. More and more Canadian companies are reporting in US$, and this is especially true of ones who do a lot of business in the US. When it comes to such things as Asset/Liability Ratios and Accrual Ratios, these are the same no matter what currency you look at. For other ratios and growth figures, the values between CDN$ and US$ figures can vary greatly.
The liquidity ratio on this stock often runs just below 1.00. From the end of 2008 to the present time, it has improved from 0.80 to 0.93. The Asset/Liability ratio has always been good and is usually over 2.00. I prefer to see these ratios at 1.50 or better. 1.00 to 1.50 is acceptable. The accrual ratio was very high at 22% at the end of 2008. However, it has since become negative and this is a good sign.
I do not think that this stock has really recovered from the last bear market. However, the amalgamated with Reuters is generally thought of as a good move, and many analysts think is will be a good long-term buy for stock gains and rising dividends. I intend to hold on to my shares at the present time. However, I keep an eye on this stock.
Thomson Reuters Corp is the leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. They combine industry expertise with innovative technology to deliver critical information to leading decision-makers. Through more than 50,000 people in over 100 countries, they deliver this must-have insight to the financial, legal, tax and accounting, healthcare and science and media markets, powered by the world’s most trusted news organization. They derive the majority of our revenues from selling electronic content and services to professionals, primarily on a subscription basis. Thomson and Reuters amalgamated in 2008. Its web site is www.thomsonreuters.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/tri.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.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Fortis Inc 2
I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-FTS) today as I have not reviewed it since July 2008 and the 2008 year end annual statement came in later. I have had this stock 1987 and I have made a return of 13% per year, including dividends. All in all, this has been a great stock for me.
Looking at Insider Buying and Insider Selling, I see that there is a bit of both, with more Insider Selling. There are no main stockholder (i.e. no person or family who owns this company). The CEO has the most shares of insiders, but most insiders own more options than shares. The insider buying is the most recent and it has been at $24 or less. This does not shed any light on this stock.
Most sites are giving this stock a current P/E ratio of 15 or 16. The 5 year average on close stock price is 19 and the 5 year average on the low stock price is 15. The dividend yield at 4% is good compared to the 5 year average, which is about 3%. The current price is just below the Graham Price and any price at or below the Graham Price is good. Also, the Price/Book Value ratio is about 80% of the 10 year average P/BV ratio. The accrual ratio is not bad at 2%. So this points to a relatively low current stock price.
When I look at analyst recommendations, I find that there are lots of Strong Buys ratings, lots of Buy ratings, plus some Holds and Underperform recommendations. The consensus recommendation would be a buy. There are lots of analysts following this stock. It is also considered to be a high quality stock. The Globe Investor site gives this stock 4 star rating.
If you look at the charts, this stock has done better than both the TSX Index and the Utilities Index for terms longer than 1 year. For lesser terms, this stock has done better than the Utilities Index, but not as well as the TSX Index.
Fortis is a diversified, international distribution utility holding company. This company provides gas and electricity to customers across Canada, through regulated holdings, which include a natural gas utility in British Columbia, and electric utilities in 5 provinces in Canada, and 3 Caribbean countries. It owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets across Canada and in Belize and upper New York State. It also owns and operates hotels in eight Canadian provinces as well as commercial real estate in Atlantic Canada. Its web site is www.fortisinc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/fts.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.
Looking at Insider Buying and Insider Selling, I see that there is a bit of both, with more Insider Selling. There are no main stockholder (i.e. no person or family who owns this company). The CEO has the most shares of insiders, but most insiders own more options than shares. The insider buying is the most recent and it has been at $24 or less. This does not shed any light on this stock.
Most sites are giving this stock a current P/E ratio of 15 or 16. The 5 year average on close stock price is 19 and the 5 year average on the low stock price is 15. The dividend yield at 4% is good compared to the 5 year average, which is about 3%. The current price is just below the Graham Price and any price at or below the Graham Price is good. Also, the Price/Book Value ratio is about 80% of the 10 year average P/BV ratio. The accrual ratio is not bad at 2%. So this points to a relatively low current stock price.
When I look at analyst recommendations, I find that there are lots of Strong Buys ratings, lots of Buy ratings, plus some Holds and Underperform recommendations. The consensus recommendation would be a buy. There are lots of analysts following this stock. It is also considered to be a high quality stock. The Globe Investor site gives this stock 4 star rating.
If you look at the charts, this stock has done better than both the TSX Index and the Utilities Index for terms longer than 1 year. For lesser terms, this stock has done better than the Utilities Index, but not as well as the TSX Index.
Fortis is a diversified, international distribution utility holding company. This company provides gas and electricity to customers across Canada, through regulated holdings, which include a natural gas utility in British Columbia, and electric utilities in 5 provinces in Canada, and 3 Caribbean countries. It owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets across Canada and in Belize and upper New York State. It also owns and operates hotels in eight Canadian provinces as well as commercial real estate in Atlantic Canada. Its web site is www.fortisinc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/fts.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.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Fortis Inc
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-FTS) today as I have not reviewed it since July 2008 and the 2008 year end annual statement came in later. I bought this stock in November 1987 and make another purchase in November 1995 and another purchase in March 1998. I sold some stock in April 2005. I have made a return of 13% per year, including dividends. All in all, this has been a great stock for me.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are all good. The dividend yield is good and generally runs around 3%. The average increase in dividends over the last 10 years is 8% and the last 5 years is 14%. They pay out a reasonable proportion of the cash flow, around 25%.
When looking at the liquidity ratios, they are lower than 1.50, where I would like to see them. However, the Asset/Liability Ratio is at least over 1.00. The liquidity ratios are always low and the average for the last 5 and 10 years are 0.64 and 0.57. The Return on Equity has is reasonable with the 5 year running average at 8.4% and the 2008 year end at 7.2%.
I currently have every intention of holding on to this stock. It is doing what I expect it to do. It pays a reasonable dividend and the stock continues to increase. If you were into dividend paying stock, this would be a great one.
Fortis is a diversified, international distribution utility holding company. This company provides gas and electricity to customers across Canada, through regulated holdings, which include a natural gas utility in British Columbia, and electric utilities in 5 provinces in Canada, and 3 Caribbean countries. It owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets across Canada and in Belize and upper New York State. It also owns and operates hotels in eight Canadian provinces as well as commercial real estate in Atlantic Canada. Its web site is www.fortisinc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/fts.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.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are all good. The dividend yield is good and generally runs around 3%. The average increase in dividends over the last 10 years is 8% and the last 5 years is 14%. They pay out a reasonable proportion of the cash flow, around 25%.
When looking at the liquidity ratios, they are lower than 1.50, where I would like to see them. However, the Asset/Liability Ratio is at least over 1.00. The liquidity ratios are always low and the average for the last 5 and 10 years are 0.64 and 0.57. The Return on Equity has is reasonable with the 5 year running average at 8.4% and the 2008 year end at 7.2%.
I currently have every intention of holding on to this stock. It is doing what I expect it to do. It pays a reasonable dividend and the stock continues to increase. If you were into dividend paying stock, this would be a great one.
Fortis is a diversified, international distribution utility holding company. This company provides gas and electricity to customers across Canada, through regulated holdings, which include a natural gas utility in British Columbia, and electric utilities in 5 provinces in Canada, and 3 Caribbean countries. It owns non-regulated hydroelectric generation assets across Canada and in Belize and upper New York State. It also owns and operates hotels in eight Canadian provinces as well as commercial real estate in Atlantic Canada. Its web site is www.fortisinc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/fts.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.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Emera Inc 2
I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-EMA) today as I have not reviewed it since September 2008 and the 2008 year end annual statement came in later. I bought this stock in July 2005 and I have made a return of 7.5% per year, including dividends.
First, I am looking at Insider Buying and Insider Selling. There is some insider selling that went on at the end of 2008. I do not think this is significant. What I feel is significant is that this company upped their dividend this year. This shows that the people running this company have faith that the company will make a reasonable return in 2009.
In looking at spreadsheet ratios, I first find that the estimated P/E at 14.5 is lower than average 5 year P/E on close of 18 and the 5 year average P/E on the low stock price at 15. A P/E of 14.5 is not a bad P/E ratio. The dividend yield is at 4.86% is better than the 5 year average of 4.24%. The current stock price is at the Graham Price. The current Price/Book Value is about 90% of the 10 year average P/BV. All these ratios point to a good current price. It is not a great price, but it is a reasonable one. This is often the best you can hope do.
When I looked for analyst recommendations on this stock all I seem to find is Strong Buys and Hold. The mean rating would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) There is some concern about its purchasing a stake in Algonquin Power (TSX-APF.UN), however, others feel that it will do very well in the future.
I intend to keep my stock in this company as I feel that it is a good stable stock that will return good dividends and some stock growth.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.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.
First, I am looking at Insider Buying and Insider Selling. There is some insider selling that went on at the end of 2008. I do not think this is significant. What I feel is significant is that this company upped their dividend this year. This shows that the people running this company have faith that the company will make a reasonable return in 2009.
In looking at spreadsheet ratios, I first find that the estimated P/E at 14.5 is lower than average 5 year P/E on close of 18 and the 5 year average P/E on the low stock price at 15. A P/E of 14.5 is not a bad P/E ratio. The dividend yield is at 4.86% is better than the 5 year average of 4.24%. The current stock price is at the Graham Price. The current Price/Book Value is about 90% of the 10 year average P/BV. All these ratios point to a good current price. It is not a great price, but it is a reasonable one. This is often the best you can hope do.
When I looked for analyst recommendations on this stock all I seem to find is Strong Buys and Hold. The mean rating would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) There is some concern about its purchasing a stake in Algonquin Power (TSX-APF.UN), however, others feel that it will do very well in the future.
I intend to keep my stock in this company as I feel that it is a good stable stock that will return good dividends and some stock growth.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.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.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Emera Inc
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-EMA) today as I have not reviewed it since September 2008 and the 2008 year end annual statement came in later. I bought this stock in July 2005 and I have made a return of 7.5% per year, including dividends.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they basically range from ok to poor. The growth in stock price for the last 5 year period is the best figure at 9% per year. The increase in dividends is low, but they pay out a fairly high proportion of their earnings and cash flow. They have also increased their dividends this year. This shows the company has faith that they will make a decent amount of money this year to pay for it.
When looking at the liquidity ratios, they are lower than 1.50, where I would like to see them. However, the Asset/Liability Ratio is at least over 1.00 and is not much below 1.50 at 1.43. The Return on Equity has been fairly good with the 5 year running average at 10% and the 2008 year end at 9.4%.
I currently have every intention of holding on to this stock. It is doing what I expect it to do. It is a slow plotter and stable stock with a good dividend yield. The yield over the long term is in the 4 and 5% range.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.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.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they basically range from ok to poor. The growth in stock price for the last 5 year period is the best figure at 9% per year. The increase in dividends is low, but they pay out a fairly high proportion of their earnings and cash flow. They have also increased their dividends this year. This shows the company has faith that they will make a decent amount of money this year to pay for it.
When looking at the liquidity ratios, they are lower than 1.50, where I would like to see them. However, the Asset/Liability Ratio is at least over 1.00 and is not much below 1.50 at 1.43. The Return on Equity has been fairly good with the 5 year running average at 10% and the 2008 year end at 9.4%.
I currently have every intention of holding on to this stock. It is doing what I expect it to do. It is a slow plotter and stable stock with a good dividend yield. The yield over the long term is in the 4 and 5% range.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.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.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Astral Media Inc 2
I am continuing my review of this stock (TSX-ACM.A) today as I just read a review on this stock suggesting it is a good long term buy for raising dividends and increasing value. Ironically, this stock has not raised their dividends this year and they are holding it at last years rate.
I first checked the Insider Buying and Insider Selling stuff. For this stock, there is net Insider Selling to the tune of over $5M. However, some 63% of this company is owned, in voting shares, by the Greenberg family. Also, Paul Bronfman owns a lot of shares, and these people are not selling. A lot of the selling is in options as a number of insiders have lots more options than shares. I do not thing the insider selling is a problem.
The current P/E ratio is coming in low at just under 11. The P/E ratio for August 2008 was also low at just under 11. The 5 year average P/E low is about 14 and the 5 year average high is 18. So the current P/E ratio is good. The dividend yield at 1.7% is higher than the 5 year average of .8%. As I said yesterday, the dividend yield is usually quite low on this stock.
When I look at the Price/Book Value ratio, the ratio for August 2008 is about 72% of the 10 year average, and the current ratio is about 62% of the 10 year average. Also, even the current Price/Revenue Ratio at 1.84 is lower than both the 5 year average of 3.03 and the 10 year average of 2.82. The last thing to look at is the Graham Price and this price is some 25% above the current stock price.
If you look at all these ratios and at the Graham Price, the only conclusion is that the current price is very good indeed for this stock. This is also a dividend paying growth stock as Shoppers Drug Mart is. However, on this stock the current stock price is showing as a relatively great deal.
There are a few Strong Buys, Buys and Holds on this stock. The mean rating would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Some analysts feel that this stock is a good long term buy for growth and raising dividends.
At the moment, I have no intentions of buying this stock. However, the review was good and I thought I would do a spreadsheet on it. It is the sort of stock I like, a growing stock with dividends. One thing I do not like is that the yield is very low, and it is generally below 1%. The good thing is that the stock price has held up in this recession. If you had the stock for 5 years, you would have made about 6.8% average annual return. A lot of stocks have not held up as well as this one has.
Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company, reaching people through a combination of highly targeted media properties in television, radio, outdoor advertising, and interactive media. Its web site is www.astralmedia.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/acm.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.
I first checked the Insider Buying and Insider Selling stuff. For this stock, there is net Insider Selling to the tune of over $5M. However, some 63% of this company is owned, in voting shares, by the Greenberg family. Also, Paul Bronfman owns a lot of shares, and these people are not selling. A lot of the selling is in options as a number of insiders have lots more options than shares. I do not thing the insider selling is a problem.
The current P/E ratio is coming in low at just under 11. The P/E ratio for August 2008 was also low at just under 11. The 5 year average P/E low is about 14 and the 5 year average high is 18. So the current P/E ratio is good. The dividend yield at 1.7% is higher than the 5 year average of .8%. As I said yesterday, the dividend yield is usually quite low on this stock.
When I look at the Price/Book Value ratio, the ratio for August 2008 is about 72% of the 10 year average, and the current ratio is about 62% of the 10 year average. Also, even the current Price/Revenue Ratio at 1.84 is lower than both the 5 year average of 3.03 and the 10 year average of 2.82. The last thing to look at is the Graham Price and this price is some 25% above the current stock price.
If you look at all these ratios and at the Graham Price, the only conclusion is that the current price is very good indeed for this stock. This is also a dividend paying growth stock as Shoppers Drug Mart is. However, on this stock the current stock price is showing as a relatively great deal.
There are a few Strong Buys, Buys and Holds on this stock. The mean rating would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Some analysts feel that this stock is a good long term buy for growth and raising dividends.
At the moment, I have no intentions of buying this stock. However, the review was good and I thought I would do a spreadsheet on it. It is the sort of stock I like, a growing stock with dividends. One thing I do not like is that the yield is very low, and it is generally below 1%. The good thing is that the stock price has held up in this recession. If you had the stock for 5 years, you would have made about 6.8% average annual return. A lot of stocks have not held up as well as this one has.
Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company, reaching people through a combination of highly targeted media properties in television, radio, outdoor advertising, and interactive media. Its web site is www.astralmedia.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/acm.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.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Astral Media Inc
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-ACM.A) today as I just read a review on this stock suggesting it is a good long term buy for dividends and increasing value.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are very good. The growth in stock price for the last 5 year period is rather low, but we are still in a recession. Also low is the growth in revenue per share, and for the 10 year period this is only 3%. There has been periods of time when this company was selling shares and the average increase in number of shares over the last 10 is almost 8% per year. However, the increase in revenue per shares for the last 5 years has been much better at 12% per year.
When looking at the liquidity ratios, they are lower than 1.50, where I would like to see them. However, in the last 5 years they have been, at least, over l. 00. A ratio of 1.00 is ok, but leaves little margin of current assets over current liabilities. I find the A/L Ratio high and it has an average over the last 5 and 10 years of at least 2.50. Anything for this ratio at 1.50 and above is good.
The one really sour note on this stock is the Accrual Ratio that was extraordinarily high at 33% for the year ending August 2008. Using the last 12 months of figures, this ratio has been negative and this is a good sign. Problem was that they spent a lot in the 12 months to August 2008 on investments. The difference between the net income and the cash flow from operations was negative, so they really had no room for this spending.
At the moment, I have no intentions of buying this stock. However, the review was good and I thought I would do a spreadsheet on it. It is the sort of stock I like, a growing stock with dividends. One thing I do not like is that the yield is very low, and it is generally below 1%. The payout ratio from cash flow is low at 14%.
Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company, reaching people through a combination of highly targeted media properties in television, radio, outdoor advertising, and interactive media. Its web site is www.astralmedia.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/acm.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.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are very good. The growth in stock price for the last 5 year period is rather low, but we are still in a recession. Also low is the growth in revenue per share, and for the 10 year period this is only 3%. There has been periods of time when this company was selling shares and the average increase in number of shares over the last 10 is almost 8% per year. However, the increase in revenue per shares for the last 5 years has been much better at 12% per year.
When looking at the liquidity ratios, they are lower than 1.50, where I would like to see them. However, in the last 5 years they have been, at least, over l. 00. A ratio of 1.00 is ok, but leaves little margin of current assets over current liabilities. I find the A/L Ratio high and it has an average over the last 5 and 10 years of at least 2.50. Anything for this ratio at 1.50 and above is good.
The one really sour note on this stock is the Accrual Ratio that was extraordinarily high at 33% for the year ending August 2008. Using the last 12 months of figures, this ratio has been negative and this is a good sign. Problem was that they spent a lot in the 12 months to August 2008 on investments. The difference between the net income and the cash flow from operations was negative, so they really had no room for this spending.
At the moment, I have no intentions of buying this stock. However, the review was good and I thought I would do a spreadsheet on it. It is the sort of stock I like, a growing stock with dividends. One thing I do not like is that the yield is very low, and it is generally below 1%. The payout ratio from cash flow is low at 14%.
Astral Media is a leading Canadian media company, reaching people through a combination of highly targeted media properties in television, radio, outdoor advertising, and interactive media. Its web site is www.astralmedia.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/acm.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.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Shoppers Drug Mart 2
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-SC) today as I have not reviewed it since January 2009 and the 2008 year end annual statement came in later. I bought this stock for my new Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) in January 2009. To date, including dividends, I have made some 24% return.
I find that the amount of Insider Selling is a concern. This selling is by the CFO and other Officers. The CEO does not appear to be selling, but he owns few shares. The Directors, who own a more substantial amount of shares, do not appear to be selling either. A lot of the selling is of options. Insiders seem to own an awful lot of options and little amounts of shares. There is no Insider Buying at all. The insider selling is huge, amounting to over $15 Million over the past year.
I know of investors who would never invest in any company with insider selling. I realize that you know insiders feel confident in a stock they are buying and you never know why people are selling. People sell stocks for a lot of reasons that can be unconnected to the stock. They could just need the money. However, with this stock, you got to wonder if the insiders have any confidence in the future of the company when they are selling so much.
With the insider selling being dealt with, I want to look at what the spreadsheet ratios and the Graham Price is telling us. First, the P/E ratio is relatively low at 14. This is also low for this stock, which has a 5 year average low of 20. The dividend yield at 1.8% is a bit higher than the 4 year average of 1.3%. However, this is a low yield. The other thing is that this company did not raise its dividends in 2009, which it has done every other year since it started to pay dividends. The lack of a dividend increase is a negative.
The current price is more than 30% higher than the Graham Price. On growth stocks, which this is, the Graham Price is often quite lower than the stock price. On growth stocks the stock price seldom, if ever hits the Graham Price. With this stock, the difference between the stock price and the Graham Price is less than usual, so it points to a relatively good price, but not an absolutely good price.
The only ratio that looks good is the Price/Book Value Ratio. This ratio is about 85% of the 10 year average. I think a buy signal would show this ratio at 80% of the 10 year average, but 85% is not bad. The other thing is with that the Accrual Ratio for the 2nd quarter is now negative and this is a good sign. I think that all this stuff points to a reasonable stock price. However, it does not point to a great stock price.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, the consensus is a Buy. There are quite a few analysts that follow this stock. There are many Strong Buys and Buys and a few Holds on this stock. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) No analysts’ reports I reviewed expressed concern with the amount of insider selling going on.
If you look at the charts, this stock has done as well as or better than the TSX index in periods of 5 years and less. Plus you would get a little extra with their dividend. If you look at the 8 years that this stock has been in the TSX, it has done much better than the TSX.
I am retaining my stock for the moment. This purchase was to try out this stock and since it was for my TFSA account, I did not buy much. I am still concern about the amount of insider selling. When I put more money into the TFSA for 2010, I will have to make a decision on this stock. Buy more or take my profits and go into some other stock.
Shoppers Drug Mart is a licensor of Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada and Pharmaprix in Quebec. The company owns and operates Shoppers Home Health Care stores. It also owns MediSystem Technologies Inc. and the new Murale Stores. Its web site is www.sc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/sc.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.
I find that the amount of Insider Selling is a concern. This selling is by the CFO and other Officers. The CEO does not appear to be selling, but he owns few shares. The Directors, who own a more substantial amount of shares, do not appear to be selling either. A lot of the selling is of options. Insiders seem to own an awful lot of options and little amounts of shares. There is no Insider Buying at all. The insider selling is huge, amounting to over $15 Million over the past year.
I know of investors who would never invest in any company with insider selling. I realize that you know insiders feel confident in a stock they are buying and you never know why people are selling. People sell stocks for a lot of reasons that can be unconnected to the stock. They could just need the money. However, with this stock, you got to wonder if the insiders have any confidence in the future of the company when they are selling so much.
With the insider selling being dealt with, I want to look at what the spreadsheet ratios and the Graham Price is telling us. First, the P/E ratio is relatively low at 14. This is also low for this stock, which has a 5 year average low of 20. The dividend yield at 1.8% is a bit higher than the 4 year average of 1.3%. However, this is a low yield. The other thing is that this company did not raise its dividends in 2009, which it has done every other year since it started to pay dividends. The lack of a dividend increase is a negative.
The current price is more than 30% higher than the Graham Price. On growth stocks, which this is, the Graham Price is often quite lower than the stock price. On growth stocks the stock price seldom, if ever hits the Graham Price. With this stock, the difference between the stock price and the Graham Price is less than usual, so it points to a relatively good price, but not an absolutely good price.
The only ratio that looks good is the Price/Book Value Ratio. This ratio is about 85% of the 10 year average. I think a buy signal would show this ratio at 80% of the 10 year average, but 85% is not bad. The other thing is with that the Accrual Ratio for the 2nd quarter is now negative and this is a good sign. I think that all this stuff points to a reasonable stock price. However, it does not point to a great stock price.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, the consensus is a Buy. There are quite a few analysts that follow this stock. There are many Strong Buys and Buys and a few Holds on this stock. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) No analysts’ reports I reviewed expressed concern with the amount of insider selling going on.
If you look at the charts, this stock has done as well as or better than the TSX index in periods of 5 years and less. Plus you would get a little extra with their dividend. If you look at the 8 years that this stock has been in the TSX, it has done much better than the TSX.
I am retaining my stock for the moment. This purchase was to try out this stock and since it was for my TFSA account, I did not buy much. I am still concern about the amount of insider selling. When I put more money into the TFSA for 2010, I will have to make a decision on this stock. Buy more or take my profits and go into some other stock.
Shoppers Drug Mart is a licensor of Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada and Pharmaprix in Quebec. The company owns and operates Shoppers Home Health Care stores. It also owns MediSystem Technologies Inc. and the new Murale Stores. Its web site is www.sc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/sc.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.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Shoppers Drug Mart
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-SC) today as I have not reviewed it since January 2009 and the 2008 year end annual statement came in later. I bought this stock for my new Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA) in January 2009. To date, including dividends, I have made some 24% return.
When I looked at this stock in January 2009, I got earnings estimates of $2.61 and earnings came in almost spot on at $2.60. However, the estimate cash flow per share I got was $3.00 and the cash flow came in much lower at $2.20.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly good. The growth in cash flows are the lowest and they are coming in at 5% growth. This is a little low. I would like to see this at 8% or above. The other thing I worry about is the accrual ratio, which has usually been above 5%. This is a worry because it can point to quality of earnings. That is the earnings are not as good as they appear to be.
Now I will move on to look at the Asset/Liability Ratios. I find the A/L Ratio high and it has an average over 2.00, where anything at 1.50 and above is good. The liquidity ratio is a bit different. It is often low, but over 1.00. However, when I did this calculation for the 2nd quarter of 2009, this ratio is 1.60. Here again what you want to see is a ratio of 1.50 and above. A ratio of 1.00 is ok, but leaves little margin of current assets over current liabilities.
At the moment, I intend to hold on to my shares. The spreadsheet shows that this company has done well since it was shoved out on its own in February 2000. However, I am concerned about the amount of insider selling. I will talk more about this tomorrow.
Shoppers Drug Mart is a licensor of Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada and Pharmaprix in Quebec. The company owns and operates Shoppers Home Health Care stores. It also owns MediSystem Technologies Inc. and the new Murale Stores. Its web site is www.sc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/sc.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.
When I looked at this stock in January 2009, I got earnings estimates of $2.61 and earnings came in almost spot on at $2.60. However, the estimate cash flow per share I got was $3.00 and the cash flow came in much lower at $2.20.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly good. The growth in cash flows are the lowest and they are coming in at 5% growth. This is a little low. I would like to see this at 8% or above. The other thing I worry about is the accrual ratio, which has usually been above 5%. This is a worry because it can point to quality of earnings. That is the earnings are not as good as they appear to be.
Now I will move on to look at the Asset/Liability Ratios. I find the A/L Ratio high and it has an average over 2.00, where anything at 1.50 and above is good. The liquidity ratio is a bit different. It is often low, but over 1.00. However, when I did this calculation for the 2nd quarter of 2009, this ratio is 1.60. Here again what you want to see is a ratio of 1.50 and above. A ratio of 1.00 is ok, but leaves little margin of current assets over current liabilities.
At the moment, I intend to hold on to my shares. The spreadsheet shows that this company has done well since it was shoved out on its own in February 2000. However, I am concerned about the amount of insider selling. I will talk more about this tomorrow.
Shoppers Drug Mart is a licensor of Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada and Pharmaprix in Quebec. The company owns and operates Shoppers Home Health Care stores. It also owns MediSystem Technologies Inc. and the new Murale Stores. Its web site is www.sc.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/sc.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.
Monday, August 10, 2009
What will Happen in the Fall
What I have been doing today is updating my index to stocks I have blogged on since I first started this investment blog. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/indexport.htm.
I have added a couple more columns to this index. These have to do with the analysts’ consensus recommendations for stock. See my site for information on analyst ratings. The first new column is called “Recom”
And it contains the consensus recommendation. The next two columns cover the date of that consensus recommendation in month and year format. You need to know when the consensus recommendation was made as the market can change over time.
Why was I interested in updating this spreadsheet with this information? Well, the fall is not far away now, and almost 9 years out of 10 years, the market takes a tumble in the fall, especially in either November or October. However, these tumbles can come as early as September. I want to be ready. I have not been doing any buying lately, because I am holding back to see what the fall brings. If you buying stocks, you should pay attention to the seasonality of the market. Most of the time, the best time to buy stocks is in the fall. If you do this, you will be right more often than not.
I track quite a number of stocks and I also own quite a number. I felt that the consensus recommendations and the date of these recommendations would be a good addition to my spreadsheet. Just that a bit more information to help me more efficiently and effectively find a stock I might want to buy.
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.
I have added a couple more columns to this index. These have to do with the analysts’ consensus recommendations for stock. See my site for information on analyst ratings. The first new column is called “Recom”
And it contains the consensus recommendation. The next two columns cover the date of that consensus recommendation in month and year format. You need to know when the consensus recommendation was made as the market can change over time.
Why was I interested in updating this spreadsheet with this information? Well, the fall is not far away now, and almost 9 years out of 10 years, the market takes a tumble in the fall, especially in either November or October. However, these tumbles can come as early as September. I want to be ready. I have not been doing any buying lately, because I am holding back to see what the fall brings. If you buying stocks, you should pay attention to the seasonality of the market. Most of the time, the best time to buy stocks is in the fall. If you do this, you will be right more often than not.
I track quite a number of stocks and I also own quite a number. I felt that the consensus recommendations and the date of these recommendations would be a good addition to my spreadsheet. Just that a bit more information to help me more efficiently and effectively find a stock I might want to buy.
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.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Manulife Financial Corp
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-MFC) today, as this is a stock I have and I follow. I also for a short time worked for this company in Toronto. When I was working, I only worked for Life Insurance Companies. I last reviewed this stock in April 2009 after I updated my spreadsheet because of the 2008 Annual report. The reason for the review is that Manulife has just announced a dividend decrease of 50%.
I first bought this company in May 2005. On this purchase, to date including dividends I have lost less than 2%. I also purchased more stock in July and August 2006, to date, I have lost some 5.7% on this stock. The price of this stock is higher now that at the end of 2008. According to my spreadsheet, if anyone held this stock for 5 years to 2008 they would have made over 3% return per year and if they had held it for 10 years to 2008, they would have made over 11% per year. This is what occurs on good stock over the long term, no matter what crazy stuff happens in the stock market.
Since the dividend decrease is taking place after two dividend payment for 2009, the full extent of the decrease will not come into effect for the stockholders until 2010. Some analysts were expecting this, and some were not. Some analyst think that this dividend cut was unnecessary and other feel that it was the right move. Some think it is a brave move as most Canadian financial corporations, especially banks, would not do the same thing in the same circumstance.
I looked at Insider Buying and Insider Selling on this company and there was significant selling at the end of 2008 and very little has happened since. There was some insider selling on August 6, 2009, but this was concerning less than 6,000 shares and is therefore insignificant. Of course, you never know why people sell.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, the consensus is a Buy. There are about as many Strong Buys as there are Holds. There are fewer Buys. The consensus therefore ends up as a Buy, half way between Strong Buy and Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Even analysts that were surprised by the dividend decrease continue to rate this stock a buy. There are not rating that I can find lower than a Hold. So, this stock is still very well thought of.
I notice since I last looked at this stock in April 2009, that all the analysts have down graded their earning estimates. I have updated my spreadsheet with the new estimates and updated it with some figures from the 1st quarterly report. Some figures for the 2nd quarterly report are out, but the company has yet to publish a complete set of financial statements.
Even with the downgraded earning estimates, this stock is about at the Graham Price. The Price/Book Value is less than 60% of the 10 year average for this ratio. These both point to a current good price. However, the current P/E is about 17 and this point to an acceptable, rather than a great price. Personally, I will continue to hold my shares and unless this stock falls greatly, I will not buy anymore.
This is a life insurance company in the financial services business. It offers financial protection products (e.g. Life Insurance) and wealth management services (i.e. segregated funds, mutual funds and pension products). They sell products to individuals and business. They are an international company, selling in Canada, US and Asia. This company is listed on Canadian, US, Hong Kong and Philippines Stock Exchanges. Its web site is www.manulife.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/mfc.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.
I first bought this company in May 2005. On this purchase, to date including dividends I have lost less than 2%. I also purchased more stock in July and August 2006, to date, I have lost some 5.7% on this stock. The price of this stock is higher now that at the end of 2008. According to my spreadsheet, if anyone held this stock for 5 years to 2008 they would have made over 3% return per year and if they had held it for 10 years to 2008, they would have made over 11% per year. This is what occurs on good stock over the long term, no matter what crazy stuff happens in the stock market.
Since the dividend decrease is taking place after two dividend payment for 2009, the full extent of the decrease will not come into effect for the stockholders until 2010. Some analysts were expecting this, and some were not. Some analyst think that this dividend cut was unnecessary and other feel that it was the right move. Some think it is a brave move as most Canadian financial corporations, especially banks, would not do the same thing in the same circumstance.
I looked at Insider Buying and Insider Selling on this company and there was significant selling at the end of 2008 and very little has happened since. There was some insider selling on August 6, 2009, but this was concerning less than 6,000 shares and is therefore insignificant. Of course, you never know why people sell.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, the consensus is a Buy. There are about as many Strong Buys as there are Holds. There are fewer Buys. The consensus therefore ends up as a Buy, half way between Strong Buy and Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Even analysts that were surprised by the dividend decrease continue to rate this stock a buy. There are not rating that I can find lower than a Hold. So, this stock is still very well thought of.
I notice since I last looked at this stock in April 2009, that all the analysts have down graded their earning estimates. I have updated my spreadsheet with the new estimates and updated it with some figures from the 1st quarterly report. Some figures for the 2nd quarterly report are out, but the company has yet to publish a complete set of financial statements.
Even with the downgraded earning estimates, this stock is about at the Graham Price. The Price/Book Value is less than 60% of the 10 year average for this ratio. These both point to a current good price. However, the current P/E is about 17 and this point to an acceptable, rather than a great price. Personally, I will continue to hold my shares and unless this stock falls greatly, I will not buy anymore.
This is a life insurance company in the financial services business. It offers financial protection products (e.g. Life Insurance) and wealth management services (i.e. segregated funds, mutual funds and pension products). They sell products to individuals and business. They are an international company, selling in Canada, US and Asia. This company is listed on Canadian, US, Hong Kong and Philippines Stock Exchanges. Its web site is www.manulife.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/mfc.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.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
RioCan Real Estate 2
I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-REI.UN) today, as I have not reviewed it since I received the annual report for the end of December 2008. I first bought this stock in January 1998 and then purchased some more in April 2000, January 2002 and finally in June 2006. To date I have made a return on this stock of 14.5% per year.
In looking at Insider Buying and Insider Selling, I find that there is a fair bit of Insider Buying. The CEO, CFO, Directors and Officers of this company have all increased their investments in the company. They are not big increases proportionate to what they own, but it show that they do have faith in the company.
When looking at spreadsheet ratios, I find that the P/E is quite high at 30 for 2009 based on the earnings estimate. Even the Trailing P/E is high at 24. The P/Distributable Income is more reasonable at 13 and 11 for this ratio and its trailing number, but as I said yesterday, it is hard to compare Distributable Income ratios with past years, as it is only recently that this calculating has been standardized. Even when looking at the low averages for P/DI, the current ratios are fairly close. Using P/DI, it would suggest that the price is reasonable, but not exceeding good.
When looking at the Graham Price, I find that the stock price is quite a bit above the Graham Price. The Graham Price for this stock has often been below the stock price. If you look at the Premium/Discount figure for Graham Price and stock price, you will find that the current premium on the stock price, compared to the Graham Price is a lot higher than the 10 year average and just below the 5 year average. This does not point to a current cheap stock price.
The last thing I want to talk about is the analysts’ recommend. There are lots of Hold ratings on this stock, and a few Strong Buys and some Buys. The mean rating would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) The reason the consensus recommendation is a Buy when there are lots of Hold ratings is because there some Strong Buys for this stock and there are no ratings lower than a Hold.
The reason that there are many holds is that the stock price has increased quite a bit lately and some analysts feel that the distribution may be unsustainable. No one thinks that the whole distribution is in jeopardy. The company may continue the current distribution for a few years and not increase it has it has done for quite a few years now.
I am holding on to what I have now. I will also not be adding to my current shares. I have reloaded my spreadsheet. The stock price has gone up over 1% between yesterday and today. I have also made a few other changes.
This is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada. Its web site is www.riocan.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/rei.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.
In looking at Insider Buying and Insider Selling, I find that there is a fair bit of Insider Buying. The CEO, CFO, Directors and Officers of this company have all increased their investments in the company. They are not big increases proportionate to what they own, but it show that they do have faith in the company.
When looking at spreadsheet ratios, I find that the P/E is quite high at 30 for 2009 based on the earnings estimate. Even the Trailing P/E is high at 24. The P/Distributable Income is more reasonable at 13 and 11 for this ratio and its trailing number, but as I said yesterday, it is hard to compare Distributable Income ratios with past years, as it is only recently that this calculating has been standardized. Even when looking at the low averages for P/DI, the current ratios are fairly close. Using P/DI, it would suggest that the price is reasonable, but not exceeding good.
When looking at the Graham Price, I find that the stock price is quite a bit above the Graham Price. The Graham Price for this stock has often been below the stock price. If you look at the Premium/Discount figure for Graham Price and stock price, you will find that the current premium on the stock price, compared to the Graham Price is a lot higher than the 10 year average and just below the 5 year average. This does not point to a current cheap stock price.
The last thing I want to talk about is the analysts’ recommend. There are lots of Hold ratings on this stock, and a few Strong Buys and some Buys. The mean rating would be a Buy. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) The reason the consensus recommendation is a Buy when there are lots of Hold ratings is because there some Strong Buys for this stock and there are no ratings lower than a Hold.
The reason that there are many holds is that the stock price has increased quite a bit lately and some analysts feel that the distribution may be unsustainable. No one thinks that the whole distribution is in jeopardy. The company may continue the current distribution for a few years and not increase it has it has done for quite a few years now.
I am holding on to what I have now. I will also not be adding to my current shares. I have reloaded my spreadsheet. The stock price has gone up over 1% between yesterday and today. I have also made a few other changes.
This is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada. Its web site is www.riocan.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/rei.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.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
RioCan Real Estate
I am reviewing this stock (TSX-REI.UN) today as I have not reviewed it since I received the annual report for the end of December 2008. I first bought this stock in January 1998 and then purchased some more in April 2000, January 2002 and finally in June 2006. To date I have made a return on this stock of 14.5% per year. It is only on that purchased in June 2006 that I have not made a return on these shares. We are in a recession and the stock price has come down from the top made in 2006.
Since I last looked at this stock in April 2009 when I updated the spreadsheet for the annual report, the earnings estimates and the Distributable Cash estimates have come down. Some even currently feel that the distribution is at risk, while others believe that the distributions for 2009 and 2010 will remain at the 2008 level. I have updated my spreadsheet for the June 2009 quarterly report.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly good. The only negative growth has been in earnings. There has been some growth in Distributable Cash over the last 5 and 10 years of 3% and 4.5% respectively. .Many people feel that Distributable Cash is the more important figure for income trusts.
However, the beauty of looking at earnings is that, even though it is a rather fake figure, you can compare companies across many different sectors with this figure, as there are rules for how to calculate it. The problem with the Distributable Cash figures is that we have only recently has gotten rules to calculating this figure. When you try to get the growth of this value, you might not know if the growth figures you get are any good. Until recently, every company had their own way of calculating this figure. I look at both Distributable Cash and Earnings. Whether or not anyone else agrees with me, I do my spreadsheets for me. I am just willing to share them and I am not willing change how I do things unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
Now I will move on to look at the Asset/Liability Ratio. I find the A/L Ratio low at 1.47. It is over 1.00, I know, but I prefer it to be at least 1.50. This stock just misses on this ratio. The Return on Equity (ROE) on this stock has not been bad. For 2008, it was low at only 8.4%. However, the 5 running average ROE to December 2008 was even better at 9.3%. The ROE for the second quarter of 2009 was low and it comes in only at 6.4%; however, the year is just half way through.
I plan to hold on to this stock. The current yield is over 8% and it has a 5 year average yield of 6.7%. I have done well with this stock. I expect, because it is in the Real Estate sector that this stock will not do as well in the next little while but underperformance because of economic conditions is no reason to sell.
This is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada. Its web site is www.riocan.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/rei.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.
Since I last looked at this stock in April 2009 when I updated the spreadsheet for the annual report, the earnings estimates and the Distributable Cash estimates have come down. Some even currently feel that the distribution is at risk, while others believe that the distributions for 2009 and 2010 will remain at the 2008 level. I have updated my spreadsheet for the June 2009 quarterly report.
If you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly good. The only negative growth has been in earnings. There has been some growth in Distributable Cash over the last 5 and 10 years of 3% and 4.5% respectively. .Many people feel that Distributable Cash is the more important figure for income trusts.
However, the beauty of looking at earnings is that, even though it is a rather fake figure, you can compare companies across many different sectors with this figure, as there are rules for how to calculate it. The problem with the Distributable Cash figures is that we have only recently has gotten rules to calculating this figure. When you try to get the growth of this value, you might not know if the growth figures you get are any good. Until recently, every company had their own way of calculating this figure. I look at both Distributable Cash and Earnings. Whether or not anyone else agrees with me, I do my spreadsheets for me. I am just willing to share them and I am not willing change how I do things unless there is a compelling reason to do so.
Now I will move on to look at the Asset/Liability Ratio. I find the A/L Ratio low at 1.47. It is over 1.00, I know, but I prefer it to be at least 1.50. This stock just misses on this ratio. The Return on Equity (ROE) on this stock has not been bad. For 2008, it was low at only 8.4%. However, the 5 running average ROE to December 2008 was even better at 9.3%. The ROE for the second quarter of 2009 was low and it comes in only at 6.4%; however, the year is just half way through.
I plan to hold on to this stock. The current yield is over 8% and it has a 5 year average yield of 6.7%. I have done well with this stock. I expect, because it is in the Real Estate sector that this stock will not do as well in the next little while but underperformance because of economic conditions is no reason to sell.
This is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada. Its web site is www.riocan.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/rei.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.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
IESI-BFC Ltd 2
When I went out to jog on Monday, there was no one else to be seen. I do not normally jog on weekends and holiday. I had forgotten that Monday was a holiday. This is also the reason I did not post to this blog on Monday, as I said I would, because usually I do not post on weekends and holidays.
Now on to the stock I am writing about. I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-BIN) today, as I have not reviewed it since I received the annual report for the end of December 2008. Please note that the last time I reviewed this stock, its name was BFI Canada and the stock symbol was TSX- BFC.UN. This change was effected May 27, 2009. I made a small try out investment in this stock in November 2007 and so far I have had a -28% return.
If you think that insider buying is a buy signal, then this stock is putting out that signal. However, I must admit that the insider buying seems to be over and the stock has since risen about 13%. However, the insider buying certainly points to the confidence the insiders have in this company.
The next thing to look at is spreadsheet ratios. The P/E ratio, until very recently has been extremely high. Currently, it is not bad at 17 to 18. This is by no means a low P/E; it is just much lower than it has been. However, this P/E is not particularly high either. When looking at the yield, this is not bad at just under 3.5%. However, this company has gone from an income trust to a corporation and has recently cut their dividend. So, the dividend yield is lower than it has ever been.
The one indicator that is showing a strong buying signal is the Price/Book Value ratio. The current ratio is just 60% of the 10 year average. This ratio at then end of 2008 was just 44% of the 10 year average. Also, the Price/Sales ratio is also lower than the 5 and 10 year average. This ratio was just .54 in 2008 and is expected to be about .95 for 2009. The averages for this ratio are closer to 2.00. The other good things are that the current price is below the Graham Price and the low Accrual Ratio.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, all I can find on this stock are Strong Buy and Buy recommendations. Even though analysts have lowered their earnings estimates for 2009 and 2010 since I look at this stock in May 2009, they are still recommending it. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) The other thing to mention is that Globe Investor gives this stock a 3 star rating. The Globe Investor uses a 1-5 star rating system.
I am keeping what I have of this stock currently and I have no plans to buy more. However, I really have no plans to buy any stock until the fall.
They are a full-service waste management company providing non-hazardous solid waste collection and landfill disposal services for municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers in five provinces and ten US states. Two-thirds of their business is in US. The fund operates through its subsidiaries. Its web site is www.bficanada.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bfc.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.
Now on to the stock I am writing about. I am continuing my review this stock (TSX-BIN) today, as I have not reviewed it since I received the annual report for the end of December 2008. Please note that the last time I reviewed this stock, its name was BFI Canada and the stock symbol was TSX- BFC.UN. This change was effected May 27, 2009. I made a small try out investment in this stock in November 2007 and so far I have had a -28% return.
If you think that insider buying is a buy signal, then this stock is putting out that signal. However, I must admit that the insider buying seems to be over and the stock has since risen about 13%. However, the insider buying certainly points to the confidence the insiders have in this company.
The next thing to look at is spreadsheet ratios. The P/E ratio, until very recently has been extremely high. Currently, it is not bad at 17 to 18. This is by no means a low P/E; it is just much lower than it has been. However, this P/E is not particularly high either. When looking at the yield, this is not bad at just under 3.5%. However, this company has gone from an income trust to a corporation and has recently cut their dividend. So, the dividend yield is lower than it has ever been.
The one indicator that is showing a strong buying signal is the Price/Book Value ratio. The current ratio is just 60% of the 10 year average. This ratio at then end of 2008 was just 44% of the 10 year average. Also, the Price/Sales ratio is also lower than the 5 and 10 year average. This ratio was just .54 in 2008 and is expected to be about .95 for 2009. The averages for this ratio are closer to 2.00. The other good things are that the current price is below the Graham Price and the low Accrual Ratio.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, all I can find on this stock are Strong Buy and Buy recommendations. Even though analysts have lowered their earnings estimates for 2009 and 2010 since I look at this stock in May 2009, they are still recommending it. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) The other thing to mention is that Globe Investor gives this stock a 3 star rating. The Globe Investor uses a 1-5 star rating system.
I am keeping what I have of this stock currently and I have no plans to buy more. However, I really have no plans to buy any stock until the fall.
They are a full-service waste management company providing non-hazardous solid waste collection and landfill disposal services for municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers in five provinces and ten US states. Two-thirds of their business is in US. The fund operates through its subsidiaries. Its web site is www.bficanada.com . See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bfc.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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)