Jennifer Dowty wrote a column Dividend Paying stocks that I found very interesting. Jennifer is Associate Vice President and Portfolio Manager MFC Global Investment Management of Manulife. See her Bio. The title of the article in Investor’s Digest was Dividend Stocks: Buy, Hold and Collect. The Investor’s Digest is a publication of MPL Communications. See publications on their site.
Her picks were stocks that not only increased their dividends, but also have special dividends. She said she screened over 600 companies to come up with 12 picks. There are only 3 on this list that I know about and have reviewed. Over the next while, I will be doing spreadsheets on these stocks and reviewing them.
Special dividends are great, because they can add considerably to the return you receive on a stock. However, there can be problems with them. The first is that you cannot depend on them. The problem maybe just as you really need them, they are not paid. Special dividends are only paid if a company can afford to pay them. Therefore, the chances they will not be paid in a recession are quite large.
The following were Jennifer’s picks: Armtec Infrastructure Income Fund (TSX-ARF.UN), Computer Modelling Group Ltd. (TSX-CMG), First National Financial Income Fund (TSX- FN.UN), Genivar Income Fund (TSX-GNV.UN), Gluskin Sheff + Associates Inc. (TSX- GS), Keyera Facilities Income Fund (TSX-KEY.UN), Le Chateau Inc (TSX-CTU.A), MCAN Mortgage Corporation (TSX-MKP), McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd (TSX-MHR), North West Company Fund (TSX-NWF.UN), and ShawCor Ltd. TSX-(SCL.A).
Dividends are often paid based on earnings or cash flow. For example, a company decides to pay out a certain percentage of its earnings. This can cause dividends to rise quite substantially in good times. The problem also is that in bad times, the increases are lower or non-existent. Dividends could also be lowered or stopped. If you have been following my blog, you would have seen dividends in the first year of our current trouble increase still quite well. However, in 2009, dividends increases were much fewer and some of my company’s lowered or temporarily stopped their dividends.
Other things can affect dividend payouts as well. The most common is the Asset/Liability Ratios being too low. Often when companies borrow money, they sign debt covenants. Basically, they agree to have A/L ratios at a particular level. That preferred ratio is usually 1.50, but it could also be at another ratio. That is why I show Liquidity (Current Asset/Current Liability) and Asset/Liability Ratios on my spreadsheets. A low ratio can affect the payment of dividends.
Another thing that could affect dividends or their increases is that the company needs money for some reason. It could be that they want to expand their business or they might want to update or need to repair some existing facilities. If you are depending on dividends you should paid some attention to a company’s announcements and also read some of their annual statements that refer to future intentions.
It is great to review someone else’s picks. You never know what gems might appear. Besides, the world continuously changes. In 50 years time, what are great stocks now might no longer exist. Same as the stocks of 50 years ago, few are around or are the same anymore.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
BCE Inc 2
I am today reviewing this stock, (TSX-BCE) because it has published its fourth quarterly results. I am using their unaudited statements for December 31, 2009. BCE was one of the first stocks I bought. This stock is hard to get a long term rate of growth. The main problem is that in 2000 they split off their investment in Nortel. At that time, Nortel’s and also BCE’s stock price was very high. I sold off half of Nortel at a very good price and half at a very low price. If I put BCE and Nortel together in Quicken, I get a long term return of 12.7% per year since 1987. 1987 is the year I started to track my investments on Quicken.
The most encourage thing is there is insider buying. Over this last year, Insider Buying totaled just over $1M. There is also Insider Buying under the company’s ownership plan. There is no Insider Selling that I could see. The other think that shows the company has faith in the immediate future of this company is the rise in dividends. Around the time that this company was to go private in 2008, there was a decrease in total dividends as only two dividends, instead of 4 were paid in 2008. However, since that time there has been two dividend increases. This is certainly better than a lot of other company’s have managed during our recent difficulties.
When I look at the 5 year average P/E low, I get a ratio of 12 and for the 5 year average P/E high, I get 18. Currently, the P/E is 11, based on expected earnings for 2010. Sites that base current P/E on the latest 12 months earnings get a P/E of 14. I feel that a P/E of 11 is both good from an absolute view and from a relative view. When I look at the Price/Book Value ratio, I see that it is less than 70% of the long term average. Also at 1.34, it is low.
Next, I want to look at dividend yield. The current yield is 5.9% and the 5 year average is 4.6%. So on this basis, the current yield is good. The last thing I like to check is the Graham Price. I get a current Graham Price of $36.28. The current price of $29.18 is some 24% below this Graham Price. I probably should point out, again, that the P/E and Graham Price are based on an estimate of 2010 earnings. Estimates can be wrong. Both the P/BV and the dividend yield are based on actual current values and therefore are more reliable. If you look at all this stuff, it would appear the current stock price is good.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, I find them at Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Underperform and Sell. So, analysts’ thoughts about this stock run the whole gamete. There are lots of Strong Buys, Buys and Holds. I only find a couple of Underperform and one Sell. The consensus is probably a Buy, but I do not think that you can ignore the large amount of Hold recommendations, nor the huge diversity of opinion on this stock.
What a lot of analysts like is the dividend. They believe that now the buyout is done with, BCE will go back to the practice of raising their dividends on a regular basis. People really seem to like George Cope and feel that BCE will very well under him. The main problem cited is wireless competition, both for BCE’s landlines and current or possibly future wireless rivals.
BCE is Canada's largest communications company, providing the most comprehensive and innovative suite of communication services to residential and business customers in Canada. Operating under the Bell and Bell Aliant brands, the Company's services include Bell Home phone local and long distance services, Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile and Solo Mobile wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite and VDSL television, IP-broadband services and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Its web site is www.bce.ca/. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bce.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
The most encourage thing is there is insider buying. Over this last year, Insider Buying totaled just over $1M. There is also Insider Buying under the company’s ownership plan. There is no Insider Selling that I could see. The other think that shows the company has faith in the immediate future of this company is the rise in dividends. Around the time that this company was to go private in 2008, there was a decrease in total dividends as only two dividends, instead of 4 were paid in 2008. However, since that time there has been two dividend increases. This is certainly better than a lot of other company’s have managed during our recent difficulties.
When I look at the 5 year average P/E low, I get a ratio of 12 and for the 5 year average P/E high, I get 18. Currently, the P/E is 11, based on expected earnings for 2010. Sites that base current P/E on the latest 12 months earnings get a P/E of 14. I feel that a P/E of 11 is both good from an absolute view and from a relative view. When I look at the Price/Book Value ratio, I see that it is less than 70% of the long term average. Also at 1.34, it is low.
Next, I want to look at dividend yield. The current yield is 5.9% and the 5 year average is 4.6%. So on this basis, the current yield is good. The last thing I like to check is the Graham Price. I get a current Graham Price of $36.28. The current price of $29.18 is some 24% below this Graham Price. I probably should point out, again, that the P/E and Graham Price are based on an estimate of 2010 earnings. Estimates can be wrong. Both the P/BV and the dividend yield are based on actual current values and therefore are more reliable. If you look at all this stuff, it would appear the current stock price is good.
When I look at analysts’ recommendations, I find them at Strong Buy, Buy, Hold, Underperform and Sell. So, analysts’ thoughts about this stock run the whole gamete. There are lots of Strong Buys, Buys and Holds. I only find a couple of Underperform and one Sell. The consensus is probably a Buy, but I do not think that you can ignore the large amount of Hold recommendations, nor the huge diversity of opinion on this stock.
What a lot of analysts like is the dividend. They believe that now the buyout is done with, BCE will go back to the practice of raising their dividends on a regular basis. People really seem to like George Cope and feel that BCE will very well under him. The main problem cited is wireless competition, both for BCE’s landlines and current or possibly future wireless rivals.
BCE is Canada's largest communications company, providing the most comprehensive and innovative suite of communication services to residential and business customers in Canada. Operating under the Bell and Bell Aliant brands, the Company's services include Bell Home phone local and long distance services, Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile and Solo Mobile wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite and VDSL television, IP-broadband services and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Its web site is www.bce.ca/. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bce.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
BCE Inc
I am today reviewing this stock, (TSX-BCE) because it has published its fourth quarterly results. I am using their unaudited statements for December 31, 2009. The problem with unaudited statements, such as with BCE’s, is that they do not always put them into the normal format. I could not find everything I wanted. There are items in the spreadsheets that are in purple, and this is because I am unsure of my data.
BCE was one of the first stocks I bought. This stock is hard to get a long term rate of growth. The main problem is that in 2000 they split off their investment in Nortel. At that time, Nortel’s and also BCE’s stock price was very high. I sold off half of Nortel at a very good price and half at a very low price. If I put BCE and Nortel together in Quicken, I get a long term return of 12.7% per year. However, this stock has certainly not performed well over the last 5 and 10 years. My spreadsheet shows return of just 3.5% per year over the last 10 years and 4.5% per year over the past 5 years. This is probably very realistic. BCE will probably do better in the next while. They have just announced a dividend increase of over 7%.
A lot of the growth figures are really bad. The bright point is that the dividends growth for the 5 years ending in 2009 was 5.7%, and the book value growth for the same period is over 10% per year. George Cope is the CEO of BCE and many feel that he will do a very good job. There is a news item that Report on Business is doing an article on BCE in their March 2010 issue due to be on the stands on February 26th, 2010.
The Liquidity Ratio is low at 0.69, but this is typical of this company and other retail stocks. The Asset/Liability ratio is very health at 1.90. I also get a negative Accrual Ratio and this is good. The thing about the Accrual Ratio is that I am not sure of some of the figures I got from the unaudited report. I guess the last thing to talk about is the Return on Equity. The ROE came in at 9.5% for 2009 and this is not bad. It is better than the one for 2008, which was 6.5%. The 5 year average for the ROE is 15% and it is expected that 2010 will be a better year.
BCE is currently less than 1% of by portfolio, so it does not count for much. I used to have more money in telecommunications stocks, but I currently wonder about the long term profitability of this sector. We, in Canada, currently have very high rates for cell phones and cable and I wonder if there is not going to be problems for these companies in the future. I will continue to hold the BCE stock I own. Tomorrow, I will talk about what the analysts say about this stock and if the current stock price is good.
BCE is Canada's largest communications company, providing the most comprehensive and innovative suite of communication services to residential and business customers in Canada. Operating under the Bell and Bell Aliant brands, the Company's services include Bell Home phone local and long distance services, Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile and Solo Mobile wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite and VDSL television, IP-broadband services and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Its web site is www.bce.ca/. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bce.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
BCE was one of the first stocks I bought. This stock is hard to get a long term rate of growth. The main problem is that in 2000 they split off their investment in Nortel. At that time, Nortel’s and also BCE’s stock price was very high. I sold off half of Nortel at a very good price and half at a very low price. If I put BCE and Nortel together in Quicken, I get a long term return of 12.7% per year. However, this stock has certainly not performed well over the last 5 and 10 years. My spreadsheet shows return of just 3.5% per year over the last 10 years and 4.5% per year over the past 5 years. This is probably very realistic. BCE will probably do better in the next while. They have just announced a dividend increase of over 7%.
A lot of the growth figures are really bad. The bright point is that the dividends growth for the 5 years ending in 2009 was 5.7%, and the book value growth for the same period is over 10% per year. George Cope is the CEO of BCE and many feel that he will do a very good job. There is a news item that Report on Business is doing an article on BCE in their March 2010 issue due to be on the stands on February 26th, 2010.
The Liquidity Ratio is low at 0.69, but this is typical of this company and other retail stocks. The Asset/Liability ratio is very health at 1.90. I also get a negative Accrual Ratio and this is good. The thing about the Accrual Ratio is that I am not sure of some of the figures I got from the unaudited report. I guess the last thing to talk about is the Return on Equity. The ROE came in at 9.5% for 2009 and this is not bad. It is better than the one for 2008, which was 6.5%. The 5 year average for the ROE is 15% and it is expected that 2010 will be a better year.
BCE is currently less than 1% of by portfolio, so it does not count for much. I used to have more money in telecommunications stocks, but I currently wonder about the long term profitability of this sector. We, in Canada, currently have very high rates for cell phones and cable and I wonder if there is not going to be problems for these companies in the future. I will continue to hold the BCE stock I own. Tomorrow, I will talk about what the analysts say about this stock and if the current stock price is good.
BCE is Canada's largest communications company, providing the most comprehensive and innovative suite of communication services to residential and business customers in Canada. Operating under the Bell and Bell Aliant brands, the Company's services include Bell Home phone local and long distance services, Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile and Solo Mobile wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite and VDSL television, IP-broadband services and information and communications technology (ICT) services. Its web site is www.bce.ca/. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bce.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Organic Resource Management
I am today reviewing of Organic Resource Management (CVE-ORI) as I have not reviewed this stock since October 2008. This is a small cap stock I bought after I had read an article about buying small cap stocks. The theory in the article being that you should buy a basket of small caps of at least 5 stocks. If you had 2 winners and 3 losers, you could do well. Stocks can only lose the money you pay for them, but their gains can be, theoretically, unlimited. I do not have much left from the stocks I bought.
I still have this one because it is worth only amount $30.00 and I have less than a board lot of these shares. The reason I have below 100 shares is because they did a 20 to 1 reverse split. This sounded like a good industry to be in when I bought this stock in 1997, but I have lost some 22% per year on this stock. Good job I did not invest much. This stock made money in 1997 and only in two years since then. They made money in 1999 and 2009. It looks like they will make money this year also. Last year’s earnings of $.37 were only that good because of the sale of assets, so this year’s earnings should be lower, but still positive.
First, I should state that the financial year for this company ends June 30th each year. To talk about growth figures on this stock would not go any where. However, between 2008 and 2009, there was growth in Revenues, Earnings, Cash Flow and Book Value. This is positive. There is also expected to be growth in all these items except earnings between 2009 and 2010. See the above paragraph for remarks on earnings.
One positive item on this stock is that there has been steady insider buying of this stock over the past year. There are also other things. For instance, the Liquidity Ratio and the Asset/Liability Ratio are both above 1.50. The Liquidity Ratio is now 1.79 and the Asset/Liability Ratio is 2.76. This means that there is no problem with the assets covering their liabilities. Also, I get a Graham Price of $2.44, which is almost 50% above the current price and the Accrual Ratio is a great -13%.
Would I recommend anyone purchasing this stock? If you are small caps, you might be interested. I have moved on from small caps and probably will not be purchasing any more. However, perhaps some day, what I have in this stock might be worthwhile to sell.
The Company’s core business is the regularly scheduled collection of non-hazardous liquid organic residuals. It collects, processes and recycles these wastes. Its web site is www.ormi.com/ormi/. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ori.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/spbrunner.
I still have this one because it is worth only amount $30.00 and I have less than a board lot of these shares. The reason I have below 100 shares is because they did a 20 to 1 reverse split. This sounded like a good industry to be in when I bought this stock in 1997, but I have lost some 22% per year on this stock. Good job I did not invest much. This stock made money in 1997 and only in two years since then. They made money in 1999 and 2009. It looks like they will make money this year also. Last year’s earnings of $.37 were only that good because of the sale of assets, so this year’s earnings should be lower, but still positive.
First, I should state that the financial year for this company ends June 30th each year. To talk about growth figures on this stock would not go any where. However, between 2008 and 2009, there was growth in Revenues, Earnings, Cash Flow and Book Value. This is positive. There is also expected to be growth in all these items except earnings between 2009 and 2010. See the above paragraph for remarks on earnings.
One positive item on this stock is that there has been steady insider buying of this stock over the past year. There are also other things. For instance, the Liquidity Ratio and the Asset/Liability Ratio are both above 1.50. The Liquidity Ratio is now 1.79 and the Asset/Liability Ratio is 2.76. This means that there is no problem with the assets covering their liabilities. Also, I get a Graham Price of $2.44, which is almost 50% above the current price and the Accrual Ratio is a great -13%.
Would I recommend anyone purchasing this stock? If you are small caps, you might be interested. I have moved on from small caps and probably will not be purchasing any more. However, perhaps some day, what I have in this stock might be worthwhile to sell.
The Company’s core business is the regularly scheduled collection of non-hazardous liquid organic residuals. It collects, processes and recycles these wastes. Its web site is www.ormi.com/ormi/. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ori.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter at http://twitter.com/spbrunner.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Investing In What You Do Not Know
Personally, I do not think that you should be investing in Mutual Funds or ETFs without an understanding of how stocks and bonds work. I would think that the best why of gaining knowledge is to invest in some stocks or bonds, even if on a very small scale. Some people can read to understand these investment vehicles of finance, but hands-on practice is still probably a necessity. There is nothing like practical experience to learn something.
It is not so much that you should not invest in what you cannot afford to lose, but what you cannot afford to lose in the short term. There is going to be fluctuations in the short term. You should plan on a 3 – 5 year period to exit a Mutual Fund or ETF portfolio. So, if you are retiring in 3 – 5 years, you should be putting into cash the money you will need at retirement. I live off my dividends, so I have cash and future dividends to last roughly 5 years. The interest on cash and MMF funds could make you cry. However, this is better than having to sell assets at a loss because you need the money to live on.
I have talked to a lot of people who have invested in Mutual Funds and ETFs because they do not understand the underlying assets. They seem to think that all gains made is due to them, but all loses are a catastrophe and are someone else’s fault. They wonder where their money has gone, but they never asked where it came from when the value of their assets went up. Markets normally fluctuate. The capitalistic market place is boom and bust. It has always been. It may have been caused by stupidity in Wall Street this time, but if it were not, the bust would have been caused by something else. This is also looking at investing in the wrong light. What you need to look at is the long term, and in the long term, equity investment is good.
And, there is nothing wrong with investing in Mutual Funds. (I would not do this personally, but that is another story.) The point is if you are not willing to do the work to properly invest the money yourself, the next best thing is to pay someone else to do your investing. What I disagree with, is for a person to allow someone else to invest for them into something they do not understanding. If they had at least some understanding, the current recession would not have been a surprise. Recessions are common. We have them all the time. With any sort of historical perspective, investors would know that.
My guess is that most people, who are complaining about losing money in this latest recession, invested in things they knew nothing about. If you cannot afford the risk of the whole market, you should be in stock that used to be called “widows and orphan” stock. I do not believe they still exist, but you can buy conservative, dividend paying stock. They would be low risk stock from well know firms that pay good dividends. These are unexciting stock and they are generally ignored, especially in bull markets. Most mutual fund companies call funds containing these stocks “Income Funds”. I do not know why, but they do.
So, please, if you are investing in Mutual Funds and ETFs, get some education about what it is you are investing in. Do no invest with no knowledge and then whine about your investment when things go wrong. It is annoying. But I guess the real problem is, I have heard this all before. Every recession it is the same whine about investments going sour.
It seems to be every decade we have a recession and every time people who have invested in what they do not understand whine about how it is not their fault they lost money, it is someone else’s fault. If investors learn nothing in this recession and do not take responsibility for their investments, I will hear the same whine in the next recession also. It is annoying.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
It is not so much that you should not invest in what you cannot afford to lose, but what you cannot afford to lose in the short term. There is going to be fluctuations in the short term. You should plan on a 3 – 5 year period to exit a Mutual Fund or ETF portfolio. So, if you are retiring in 3 – 5 years, you should be putting into cash the money you will need at retirement. I live off my dividends, so I have cash and future dividends to last roughly 5 years. The interest on cash and MMF funds could make you cry. However, this is better than having to sell assets at a loss because you need the money to live on.
I have talked to a lot of people who have invested in Mutual Funds and ETFs because they do not understand the underlying assets. They seem to think that all gains made is due to them, but all loses are a catastrophe and are someone else’s fault. They wonder where their money has gone, but they never asked where it came from when the value of their assets went up. Markets normally fluctuate. The capitalistic market place is boom and bust. It has always been. It may have been caused by stupidity in Wall Street this time, but if it were not, the bust would have been caused by something else. This is also looking at investing in the wrong light. What you need to look at is the long term, and in the long term, equity investment is good.
And, there is nothing wrong with investing in Mutual Funds. (I would not do this personally, but that is another story.) The point is if you are not willing to do the work to properly invest the money yourself, the next best thing is to pay someone else to do your investing. What I disagree with, is for a person to allow someone else to invest for them into something they do not understanding. If they had at least some understanding, the current recession would not have been a surprise. Recessions are common. We have them all the time. With any sort of historical perspective, investors would know that.
My guess is that most people, who are complaining about losing money in this latest recession, invested in things they knew nothing about. If you cannot afford the risk of the whole market, you should be in stock that used to be called “widows and orphan” stock. I do not believe they still exist, but you can buy conservative, dividend paying stock. They would be low risk stock from well know firms that pay good dividends. These are unexciting stock and they are generally ignored, especially in bull markets. Most mutual fund companies call funds containing these stocks “Income Funds”. I do not know why, but they do.
So, please, if you are investing in Mutual Funds and ETFs, get some education about what it is you are investing in. Do no invest with no knowledge and then whine about your investment when things go wrong. It is annoying. But I guess the real problem is, I have heard this all before. Every recession it is the same whine about investments going sour.
It seems to be every decade we have a recession and every time people who have invested in what they do not understand whine about how it is not their fault they lost money, it is someone else’s fault. If investors learn nothing in this recession and do not take responsibility for their investments, I will hear the same whine in the next recession also. It is annoying.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Canadian Tire Corp 2
I am today continuing my review of Canadian Tire Corp (TSX-CTC.A); because I own it and the unaudited statements for the financial year, ending January 2, 2010 has been published. I first bought this stock in February 2000. On this stock, I have made a return of 10.8% per year. I bought some more shares in June 2009 and on my total investment, I have made a return of 10.7% per year.
The first thing I always check is the Insider Buying and Insider Selling on the stock. The good news is that in the past year there has been some $4M of Insider Buying. However, there also has been some Insider Selling of some $8M of shares. The selling seems to be basically by two officers of the company, so this selling probably does not mean much.
The next thing to look at is the P/E ratio. I get a current one of 11.5. The 5 year average low is 12 and the 5 year average high is 16. It shows a good price if the current one is below the 5 year average low and 11.5 is a fairly low ratio in itself. For the sites that use the last 12 months earnings, the P/E is around 12.5. When I look at the Price/Book Value Ratio, I get a current one of 1.21 and this is about 82% of the long term average of 1.48. This also shows a relatively good price.
I get a current Graham Price of $67.05, so a current stock price of $52.69 is some 21% below. This says that the current stock price is good. Also, when I look at the past history of this stock, it seems that buying it below the Graham Price is when you get the best returns for this company. The last thing to look at is the dividend yield. The current yield is 1.6% and the 5 year average is 1.2%. This also shows a good current price.
When I look at the analysts recommendations, I find Buy, Hold and Underperform recommendations. I can find no analyst that is excited by this stock. Some feel it is undervalued and therefore rate it a Buy. Others are not pleased that the stock came in with lower earnings than expected and there seems to be a lot of Hold ratings because of this. There are also concerns about the Credit Card write-offs by this company. The other thing is that consumer stocks seem to be out of favor. The stocks mostly favored at this time seem to be resource and material stocks.
Certainly, no one will ever make a big score by investing in this stock. However, if you are a long term investor and want to diversify your portfolio into Consumer stocks, then this would be a good stock to buy. As you can see from my return on this stock, I have made good solid returns, but nothing flashy. It would appear that this stock is selling at a good current price. At the moment, I am happy with the amount of stock I have in this company, so I am not personally in the market for more.
They engaged in retail sales, financial services and petroleum sales. They own Canadian Tire Store, Gas Outlets, Parts Source Stores and Mark's Work Warehouse. The Canadian Tire stores offer a unique range of automotive, sports and leisure and home products. The company is controlled by the Billes family who own most of the voting shares. Its web site is www.corp.canadiantire.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ctc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
The first thing I always check is the Insider Buying and Insider Selling on the stock. The good news is that in the past year there has been some $4M of Insider Buying. However, there also has been some Insider Selling of some $8M of shares. The selling seems to be basically by two officers of the company, so this selling probably does not mean much.
The next thing to look at is the P/E ratio. I get a current one of 11.5. The 5 year average low is 12 and the 5 year average high is 16. It shows a good price if the current one is below the 5 year average low and 11.5 is a fairly low ratio in itself. For the sites that use the last 12 months earnings, the P/E is around 12.5. When I look at the Price/Book Value Ratio, I get a current one of 1.21 and this is about 82% of the long term average of 1.48. This also shows a relatively good price.
I get a current Graham Price of $67.05, so a current stock price of $52.69 is some 21% below. This says that the current stock price is good. Also, when I look at the past history of this stock, it seems that buying it below the Graham Price is when you get the best returns for this company. The last thing to look at is the dividend yield. The current yield is 1.6% and the 5 year average is 1.2%. This also shows a good current price.
When I look at the analysts recommendations, I find Buy, Hold and Underperform recommendations. I can find no analyst that is excited by this stock. Some feel it is undervalued and therefore rate it a Buy. Others are not pleased that the stock came in with lower earnings than expected and there seems to be a lot of Hold ratings because of this. There are also concerns about the Credit Card write-offs by this company. The other thing is that consumer stocks seem to be out of favor. The stocks mostly favored at this time seem to be resource and material stocks.
Certainly, no one will ever make a big score by investing in this stock. However, if you are a long term investor and want to diversify your portfolio into Consumer stocks, then this would be a good stock to buy. As you can see from my return on this stock, I have made good solid returns, but nothing flashy. It would appear that this stock is selling at a good current price. At the moment, I am happy with the amount of stock I have in this company, so I am not personally in the market for more.
They engaged in retail sales, financial services and petroleum sales. They own Canadian Tire Store, Gas Outlets, Parts Source Stores and Mark's Work Warehouse. The Canadian Tire stores offer a unique range of automotive, sports and leisure and home products. The company is controlled by the Billes family who own most of the voting shares. Its web site is www.corp.canadiantire.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ctc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Canadian Tire Corp
I am today reviewing Canadian Tire Corp (TSX-CTC.A); because I own it and the unaudited statements for the financial year, ending January 2, 2010 has been published. I first bought this stock in February 2000. On this stock, I have made a return of 10.8% per year. I bought some more shares in June 2009 and on my total investment, I have made a return of 10.7% per year.
If you look at my spreadsheet, you will see that an investment made 10 years ago, that is in 1999, would have made just 6.6% and one made 5 years ago in 2005 would have gain just 1.7%. When I bought this stock in both 2000 and 2006, I did not get it at the absolute lowest price, but I did get the stock at a reasonable price. In 1999 and in 2005, the stock had hit peaks or had a very good run up in price. What is important is to not buy stocks at their peaks. (Although, I must admit, this might be easier said than done.)
This is a retail stock. The dividends are not great coming in at an average yield of 1.2%. However, this stock has a decent record of dividend increases. Over the past 5 years, the dividend has increased at a rate of 11% per year. The 10 year growth in dividend is lower at 7.7%. Both are good figures. I did my original investment some 9 years ago and on my original money, I am making a 3.8% return in dividends.
For this stock, since it did not do very well last year, the growth figures are by and large not very good. Retail stocks tend to get hit hard by recessions. The best growth rates are, after dividend growth, the growth in Book Value. The 5 and 10 year growth figures are 7.7% per year and 10.2% per year. The Growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow were not good.
The last thing I want to talk about today is the Liquidity and Asset/Liability Ratios. Both these ratios are very good. The current Liquidity Ratio is 1.99 and the A/L Ratio is 1.72. These ratios have 5 year averages of 1.73 and 1.85. Let’s face it, the main reason people lose money on a long term investment is if the company goes bankrupt. This company has a solid balance sheet. However, I should mention that they do have their own credit card business, and this can cause problems for a company, especially in recessions.
I am happy with stock and I plan to continue to hold my Canadian Tire shares. Tomorrow, I will talk about whether or not this is a good time to buy shares in this company and what stock analysts say about it.
They engaged in retail sales, financial services and petroleum sales. They own Canadian Tire Store, Gas Outlets, Parts Source Stores and Mark's Work Warehouse. The Canadian Tire stores offer a unique range of automotive, sports and leisure and home products. Its web site is www.corp.canadiantire.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ctc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
If you look at my spreadsheet, you will see that an investment made 10 years ago, that is in 1999, would have made just 6.6% and one made 5 years ago in 2005 would have gain just 1.7%. When I bought this stock in both 2000 and 2006, I did not get it at the absolute lowest price, but I did get the stock at a reasonable price. In 1999 and in 2005, the stock had hit peaks or had a very good run up in price. What is important is to not buy stocks at their peaks. (Although, I must admit, this might be easier said than done.)
This is a retail stock. The dividends are not great coming in at an average yield of 1.2%. However, this stock has a decent record of dividend increases. Over the past 5 years, the dividend has increased at a rate of 11% per year. The 10 year growth in dividend is lower at 7.7%. Both are good figures. I did my original investment some 9 years ago and on my original money, I am making a 3.8% return in dividends.
For this stock, since it did not do very well last year, the growth figures are by and large not very good. Retail stocks tend to get hit hard by recessions. The best growth rates are, after dividend growth, the growth in Book Value. The 5 and 10 year growth figures are 7.7% per year and 10.2% per year. The Growth in revenue, earnings and cash flow were not good.
The last thing I want to talk about today is the Liquidity and Asset/Liability Ratios. Both these ratios are very good. The current Liquidity Ratio is 1.99 and the A/L Ratio is 1.72. These ratios have 5 year averages of 1.73 and 1.85. Let’s face it, the main reason people lose money on a long term investment is if the company goes bankrupt. This company has a solid balance sheet. However, I should mention that they do have their own credit card business, and this can cause problems for a company, especially in recessions.
I am happy with stock and I plan to continue to hold my Canadian Tire shares. Tomorrow, I will talk about whether or not this is a good time to buy shares in this company and what stock analysts say about it.
They engaged in retail sales, financial services and petroleum sales. They own Canadian Tire Store, Gas Outlets, Parts Source Stores and Mark's Work Warehouse. The Canadian Tire stores offer a unique range of automotive, sports and leisure and home products. Its web site is www.corp.canadiantire.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ctc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
RioCan Real Estate 2
I am today reviewing RioCan REIT (TSX-REI.UN), because I own it, the annual statement (unaudited) for 2009 has just been published and the stock has had a big drop in price. The interesting thing about the drop in price on this stock is that I cannot find any analysts that are recommending a sell. I see analysts’ recommendations from Strong Buy to Buy to Hold. The consensus recommendation is a Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.)
The first thing I like to look at is the Insider Buying and the Insider Selling action. There is insider selling to the tune of around $3M, but it seems to be all by one officer of the company. As I have mentioned before, people can sell for lots of reasons. We are in a recession, and maybe this officer of the company needs money. It would be more of a concern if there were lots of people selling, but this is not the case. The other thing is that there is almost no insider buying.
When I look at P/E ratio, I find that it is at 32. This is high. I get a 5 year average low of 23 and a 5 year average high of 34. Looking at these ratios, I think that absolute ratios do count. However, you do also want to look at ratios on a relative basis. This ratio is high no matter how you look at it. I know that people often give a P/FFO ratio (or on distributable income.) I get one at 12.8. This is not low either, but it is only slightly above the 5 year average low of 12.
The next thing I like to look is the Price/Book Value. Since the book value is going down rather than up, it is not surprising that the current price gives a P/BV that is some 15% above the long term average P/BV. This is not dramatically higher, but it is higher, which maybe gives this stock a reasonable type price, but not a good price. I also like to look at the Graham Price. Since the Graham Price is based on a formula that takes earnings and book value into account, it is not surprising that the Graham Price is way below the current price. I get a Graham Price of $9.83. This is over 80% below the current stock price.
The only ratio that says this stock might be at a good or reasonable price is the dividend yield. The current dividend yield is 7.7% and the 5 year average is 6.8%. So the dividend yield is high than average and this is a good sign. After having said all this, I am not selling my stock. I would go with the analysts that say it is a Hold. No one seems to expect this stock will do great over the next couple of years. Analysts seem to be thinking that the distributions will hold. It is also expected that the distributions will not grow until at least 2012.
As I have said, I will hold my stock. I do not think that price has been hammered enough to make it a really good buy. However, as I said at the beginning, some analysts disagree with this and think it is now an exceptional buy. I guess that only the future will tell who is right.
RioCan is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada and north Eastern USA. It owns and manages Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centers and owns approximately a 14% equity interest in Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on supermarket-anchored shopping centers and drug store-anchored convenience centers located predominantly in the Northeastern United States. RioCan has also agreed to acquire an 80% interest in seven grocery anchored shopping centers in the United States. 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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
The first thing I like to look at is the Insider Buying and the Insider Selling action. There is insider selling to the tune of around $3M, but it seems to be all by one officer of the company. As I have mentioned before, people can sell for lots of reasons. We are in a recession, and maybe this officer of the company needs money. It would be more of a concern if there were lots of people selling, but this is not the case. The other thing is that there is almost no insider buying.
When I look at P/E ratio, I find that it is at 32. This is high. I get a 5 year average low of 23 and a 5 year average high of 34. Looking at these ratios, I think that absolute ratios do count. However, you do also want to look at ratios on a relative basis. This ratio is high no matter how you look at it. I know that people often give a P/FFO ratio (or on distributable income.) I get one at 12.8. This is not low either, but it is only slightly above the 5 year average low of 12.
The next thing I like to look is the Price/Book Value. Since the book value is going down rather than up, it is not surprising that the current price gives a P/BV that is some 15% above the long term average P/BV. This is not dramatically higher, but it is higher, which maybe gives this stock a reasonable type price, but not a good price. I also like to look at the Graham Price. Since the Graham Price is based on a formula that takes earnings and book value into account, it is not surprising that the Graham Price is way below the current price. I get a Graham Price of $9.83. This is over 80% below the current stock price.
The only ratio that says this stock might be at a good or reasonable price is the dividend yield. The current dividend yield is 7.7% and the 5 year average is 6.8%. So the dividend yield is high than average and this is a good sign. After having said all this, I am not selling my stock. I would go with the analysts that say it is a Hold. No one seems to expect this stock will do great over the next couple of years. Analysts seem to be thinking that the distributions will hold. It is also expected that the distributions will not grow until at least 2012.
As I have said, I will hold my stock. I do not think that price has been hammered enough to make it a really good buy. However, as I said at the beginning, some analysts disagree with this and think it is now an exceptional buy. I guess that only the future will tell who is right.
RioCan is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada and north Eastern USA. It owns and manages Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centers and owns approximately a 14% equity interest in Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on supermarket-anchored shopping centers and drug store-anchored convenience centers located predominantly in the Northeastern United States. RioCan has also agreed to acquire an 80% interest in seven grocery anchored shopping centers in the United States. 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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
RioCan Real Estate
I am today reviewing RioCan REIT (TSX-REI.UN), because I own it, the annual statement for 2009 has just been published and the stock has had a big drop in price. When this sort of thing happens, you have to ask yourself, is the drop in price a true reflection of what is going on in the company currently and will happen to the company in the future? If you are invested in this company, ask yourself, “Is this company is going bankrupt”? If not, then has it been so badly damaged that it will not recover or take many years to recover?
If you are a long term investor, short term problems in a company you have invested in should not be a problem. It should not be a problem even if they decrease their distributions or dividends. If you can make good future returns on your investment, then it is worthwhile keeping your shares. To sell shares in a company as it is tanking in the stock market can sometimes be the worse possible move to make.
First, let’s talk about what is good on this stock. The dividends have increased over the last 5 and 10 years at 2.4% per year and 2.8% per year. This is higher than the rate of inflation, as current inflation is very low. The bad thing about dividends is that they were last increased in 2008 and no one seems to feel that they will be increased anytime soon again.
A good thing is total return. The return as a stockholder is the combination of stock price increased and dividends received. The total return growth for the last 5 and 10 years is 9% per year and 19% per year. The thing to remark on is that all the 10 year returns on this stock is much better than for the last 5 years. This stock has had trouble since 2008. The other thing to remark on in connection with Total Return is that the Book Value of this stock has been declining and it has declined by less than 1% over the last 10 years, but by 2.4% over the last 5 years.
As with a lot of income trusts, REITs often have negative growth in book value. Personally, I feel you should take seriously the income that is considered to be capital gain. It probably is, especially if book value is going nowhere and in a lot of cases, it is going down. When you look at growth in Revenues, Distributable Income, Earnings and Cash Flow over the last 5 years they all are in negative territory. Over the last 10 years, these figures are better and most avoid negative values, but all are low. However, analysts seem to feel that all these figures will be better starting in 2010 and continuing into 2011 and beyond.
To end on a better note, the Asset/Liability Ratio is decent. The current ratio is 1.47. I like to see this ratio at 1.50 and the 5 year average is 1.53. Nevertheless, it has been just below 1.50 for the last 3 years. With this ratio at 1.47, it means that the Assets can cover the Liabilities.
I first bought this stock in 1998, with more in 2000 and 2006. I have made a return on stock of 15.8% per year. For the stock I bought in 1998, I have made a return of 13.6% per year. For the stock I bought in 2000, I have made a return of 18% per year. For the stock I bought in 2006, I have made on 3.4% return per year. Because of the recent drop in stock price, people who have not had the stock for a long period will not have made much, but people who had it for the long term will still have done fine. Since this stock is expected to start to recover this year, long term damage to the company does not appear to have happened.
RioCan is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada and north Eastern USA. It owns and manages Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centers and owns approximately a 14% equity interest in Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on supermarket-anchored shopping centers and drug store-anchored convenience centers located predominantly in the Northeastern United States. RioCan has also agreed to acquire an 80% interest in seven grocery anchored shopping centers in the United States. 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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
If you are a long term investor, short term problems in a company you have invested in should not be a problem. It should not be a problem even if they decrease their distributions or dividends. If you can make good future returns on your investment, then it is worthwhile keeping your shares. To sell shares in a company as it is tanking in the stock market can sometimes be the worse possible move to make.
First, let’s talk about what is good on this stock. The dividends have increased over the last 5 and 10 years at 2.4% per year and 2.8% per year. This is higher than the rate of inflation, as current inflation is very low. The bad thing about dividends is that they were last increased in 2008 and no one seems to feel that they will be increased anytime soon again.
A good thing is total return. The return as a stockholder is the combination of stock price increased and dividends received. The total return growth for the last 5 and 10 years is 9% per year and 19% per year. The thing to remark on is that all the 10 year returns on this stock is much better than for the last 5 years. This stock has had trouble since 2008. The other thing to remark on in connection with Total Return is that the Book Value of this stock has been declining and it has declined by less than 1% over the last 10 years, but by 2.4% over the last 5 years.
As with a lot of income trusts, REITs often have negative growth in book value. Personally, I feel you should take seriously the income that is considered to be capital gain. It probably is, especially if book value is going nowhere and in a lot of cases, it is going down. When you look at growth in Revenues, Distributable Income, Earnings and Cash Flow over the last 5 years they all are in negative territory. Over the last 10 years, these figures are better and most avoid negative values, but all are low. However, analysts seem to feel that all these figures will be better starting in 2010 and continuing into 2011 and beyond.
To end on a better note, the Asset/Liability Ratio is decent. The current ratio is 1.47. I like to see this ratio at 1.50 and the 5 year average is 1.53. Nevertheless, it has been just below 1.50 for the last 3 years. With this ratio at 1.47, it means that the Assets can cover the Liabilities.
I first bought this stock in 1998, with more in 2000 and 2006. I have made a return on stock of 15.8% per year. For the stock I bought in 1998, I have made a return of 13.6% per year. For the stock I bought in 2000, I have made a return of 18% per year. For the stock I bought in 2006, I have made on 3.4% return per year. Because of the recent drop in stock price, people who have not had the stock for a long period will not have made much, but people who had it for the long term will still have done fine. Since this stock is expected to start to recover this year, long term damage to the company does not appear to have happened.
RioCan is an equity real estate trust, which owns a portfolio of retail properties across Canada and north Eastern USA. It owns and manages Canada's largest portfolio of shopping centers and owns approximately a 14% equity interest in Cedar Shopping Centers, Inc., a real estate investment trust focused on supermarket-anchored shopping centers and drug store-anchored convenience centers located predominantly in the Northeastern United States. RioCan has also agreed to acquire an 80% interest in seven grocery anchored shopping centers in the United States. 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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Forces of Fortune by Vali Nasr
I know the West complaints a lot about the poverty we have. We, supposedly, have people who do not have enough money to buy food; hence, we have food banks. But these same people probably also have a big screen TV at home. What we really lack is the will to use our money better. We do have money. We spend incredible amounts on Welfare and such even though we have little to show for it.
We still have poor. We have families in the fourth generation on Welfare. Nothing has changed for these families. They are still poor, or still behave poor. However, on a whole world scale, even our poorest are far better off that most of the rest of the world. We should not put up any objections to the rest of the world getting a better living standard. They are not taking anything away from us.
Our world is very unequal when it comes to living standards. So, I think it is great that India, China, and South America are now using capitalism and mercantilism to improve their people’s lots in life. I know that it is probably politically incorrect to mention it, but we had the rise of the bourgeoisie before democracy. It was the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the middle classes and then the rise of democracy, (with Individual Freedoms and the Rule of Law). We in the West do not know our history.
The West has been very unsuccessful in trying to impose democracy on peoples and countries. This has not worked at all. It seems to mainly lead to corruption and things like election fraud. This author is not the only one to point this out. See books by Paul Collier of Bottom Billion and Wars, Guns and Votes, that I have also reviewed.
This brings us back to the Middle East, the Muslims and this book. We have been unable to impose democracy in this area also. What this author thinks we should do is support the rise of the middle class in the Arab world and things will turn out better for them and for us. The full title of this book is Forces of Fortune - the rise of the new Muslim middle class and what it will mean for our world.
Vali Reza Nasr is an Iranian-American academic and scholar, as well as Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. He is on Wikipedia. For a book review see Council for Foreign Relations website. See also National public Radio for an interview. See him on YouTube.
On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Nasr. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
We still have poor. We have families in the fourth generation on Welfare. Nothing has changed for these families. They are still poor, or still behave poor. However, on a whole world scale, even our poorest are far better off that most of the rest of the world. We should not put up any objections to the rest of the world getting a better living standard. They are not taking anything away from us.
Our world is very unequal when it comes to living standards. So, I think it is great that India, China, and South America are now using capitalism and mercantilism to improve their people’s lots in life. I know that it is probably politically incorrect to mention it, but we had the rise of the bourgeoisie before democracy. It was the Industrial Revolution, the rise of the middle classes and then the rise of democracy, (with Individual Freedoms and the Rule of Law). We in the West do not know our history.
The West has been very unsuccessful in trying to impose democracy on peoples and countries. This has not worked at all. It seems to mainly lead to corruption and things like election fraud. This author is not the only one to point this out. See books by Paul Collier of Bottom Billion and Wars, Guns and Votes, that I have also reviewed.
This brings us back to the Middle East, the Muslims and this book. We have been unable to impose democracy in this area also. What this author thinks we should do is support the rise of the middle class in the Arab world and things will turn out better for them and for us. The full title of this book is Forces of Fortune - the rise of the new Muslim middle class and what it will mean for our world.
Vali Reza Nasr is an Iranian-American academic and scholar, as well as Professor of International Politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy of Tufts University. He is on Wikipedia. For a book review see Council for Foreign Relations website. See also National public Radio for an interview. See him on YouTube.
On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Nasr. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Lassonde Industries 2
I am today reviewing Lassonde Industries (TSX-LAS.A), because I read a favorable report on this company. My spreadsheet covers the financial year ending in 2008 and the 3rd quarter of 2009. I have not invested in this stock, but it is a Canadian Dividend Paying stock. It is not on the dividend lists that I follow, as the company is small, but it does consistently increase their dividends, especially of late.
The first thing I like to look at is Insider Buying and Insider Selling. For this stock there is a bit of both, with more selling than buying. Amounts are too small to worry about and the selling is by one officer. People can sell stock for lots of reasons unconnected to how they expect the stock to perform. The other ownership item to talk about is that this is a management owned business, with management owning over 57% of the outstanding shares.
The next thing to look at is the current stock price. Is the price good or reasonable? First, let’s look at the P/E Ratio. The 5 year average low is 11.4 and the 5 year average high is 14.8. I get a current P/E of 12 based on expected earnings. Sites that show P/E based on last 12 months earnings get a P/E around 12.4. So these P/E ratios are fairly close and fairly low, but a good price would be below the 5 year average. The Price/Book Value Ratio of 1.97 is higher than the 10 year average of 1.57 by some 20%, so this shows a rather high current stock price.
The next thing to talk about is the Dividend Yield. The current Dividend Yield is 1.5% and the 5 year average is 1.7%. What is preferred is the current yield to be above the 5 year average. This shows the stock price also to be high. The last thing to look at is the Graham Price. The current Graham Price is $50.89 and this is some 3% below the stock price of 52.20. So, the current stock price is not far off the Graham Price.
What most of these indicators show is that the current stock price is rather high, although the P/E and Graham Price show that the price is reasonable rather than low. When I look at what analysts say, they think that there is not much room for stock price expansion in the near term. This stock has grown some 60% since the end of last year and some 60% since the lows of March 2009. This is very good performance so, I can see why they might think it has not much room for further growth.
There are not many analysts following this stock. The only recommendations I can find are Buy, Hold and Underperform. The consensus would be Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Comments I see are that there is not much room for price expansion, that it is a good stock for the long term as in the long term both the price and dividends will rise and some see a problem with the amount of stock held by management.
I will continue to follow this stock. I think that the company has shown that they can make money and will provide a decent dividend for the shareholders. It is certainly a stock I might be interested in, in the future.
Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leading manufacturer of pure fruit juices and fruit drinks in Canada, and the largest manufacturer and distributor of apple juice in Eastern Canada. Through its subsidiaries, Lassonde is active in the processing, packaging and marketing of food products such as pure fruit juices, fruit and citrus drinks, the canning of corn on the cob for foreign markets as well as dipping sauces, fondue bouillon, meat marinades, barbecue sauces and baked beans. The Company also markets its know-how in Canada and abroad. Its web site is www.lassonde.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/las.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
The first thing I like to look at is Insider Buying and Insider Selling. For this stock there is a bit of both, with more selling than buying. Amounts are too small to worry about and the selling is by one officer. People can sell stock for lots of reasons unconnected to how they expect the stock to perform. The other ownership item to talk about is that this is a management owned business, with management owning over 57% of the outstanding shares.
The next thing to look at is the current stock price. Is the price good or reasonable? First, let’s look at the P/E Ratio. The 5 year average low is 11.4 and the 5 year average high is 14.8. I get a current P/E of 12 based on expected earnings. Sites that show P/E based on last 12 months earnings get a P/E around 12.4. So these P/E ratios are fairly close and fairly low, but a good price would be below the 5 year average. The Price/Book Value Ratio of 1.97 is higher than the 10 year average of 1.57 by some 20%, so this shows a rather high current stock price.
The next thing to talk about is the Dividend Yield. The current Dividend Yield is 1.5% and the 5 year average is 1.7%. What is preferred is the current yield to be above the 5 year average. This shows the stock price also to be high. The last thing to look at is the Graham Price. The current Graham Price is $50.89 and this is some 3% below the stock price of 52.20. So, the current stock price is not far off the Graham Price.
What most of these indicators show is that the current stock price is rather high, although the P/E and Graham Price show that the price is reasonable rather than low. When I look at what analysts say, they think that there is not much room for stock price expansion in the near term. This stock has grown some 60% since the end of last year and some 60% since the lows of March 2009. This is very good performance so, I can see why they might think it has not much room for further growth.
There are not many analysts following this stock. The only recommendations I can find are Buy, Hold and Underperform. The consensus would be Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) Comments I see are that there is not much room for price expansion, that it is a good stock for the long term as in the long term both the price and dividends will rise and some see a problem with the amount of stock held by management.
I will continue to follow this stock. I think that the company has shown that they can make money and will provide a decent dividend for the shareholders. It is certainly a stock I might be interested in, in the future.
Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leading manufacturer of pure fruit juices and fruit drinks in Canada, and the largest manufacturer and distributor of apple juice in Eastern Canada. Through its subsidiaries, Lassonde is active in the processing, packaging and marketing of food products such as pure fruit juices, fruit and citrus drinks, the canning of corn on the cob for foreign markets as well as dipping sauces, fondue bouillon, meat marinades, barbecue sauces and baked beans. The Company also markets its know-how in Canada and abroad. Its web site is www.lassonde.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/las.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Lassonde Industries
I am today reviewing Lassonde Industries (TSX-LAS.A), because I read a favorable report on this company. My spreadsheet covers the financial year ending in 2008 and the 3rd quarter of 2009. I have not invested in this stock, but it is a Canadian Dividend Paying stock. It is not on the dividend lists that I follow, as the company is small, but it does consistently increase their dividends, especially of late.
When you look at the growth figures, they are consistently great. The lowest is Total Return, but this is still very good as it is some 9.4% per year for the last 5 years and 8% per year for the last 10 years. We should take into account the fact that we are just coming through a recession. The best growth figures are for the earnings and they are 16.6% per year for the last 5 years and 17.5% per year for the last 10 years.
One of the most important growth figures is dividend growth. The 5 and 10 year figures are 16% per year and 10.5% per year. The Dividend Yield is low for this stock, but it is usually close to 1.5%. The thing is you can not have everything. This stock has been producing solid results and has been giving shareholders consistent dividends.
The other good thing about this stock is the Liquidity Ratio and the Asset/Liabilities Ratio. Both these are very good. This company has a solid balance sheet. The Liquidity Ratio for September 2009 was 2.16 and the 5 year average is 2.05. The Asset/Liabilities Ratio for September 2009 was 2.12 and the 5 year average is 2.18. What you want is these ratios to be at least 1.50, so this stock has very good ratios.
The next thing to talk about is the Return on Equity. This stock has a 5 year average ROE of 14.4% and the ROE at the end of September 2009 was 15.5%. The only fault I find is that the Accrual Ratio is rather high at the end of 2008 at 7.6%. But, I want to point out two things. First, the Cash Flow from Operations is higher than the Net Income and the Accrual Ratio for the end of September 2009 is down to .95%.
So, really, I can find little fault in this stock. This is another stock that as two classes of shareholders and one family, the Lassonde family, controls this company. I know that some people do not like companies that do this, but sometimes they are well managed and they give shareholder a good return. I note that the Globe Investor site gives this stock a 5 star rating.
Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leading manufacturer of pure fruit juices and fruit drinks in Canada, and the largest manufacturer and distributor of apple juice in Eastern Canada. Through its subsidiaries, Lassonde is active in the processing, packaging and marketing of food products such as pure fruit juices, fruit and citrus drinks, the canning of corn on the cob for foreign markets as well as dipping sauces, fondue bouillon, meat marinades, barbecue sauces and baked beans. The Company also markets its know-how in Canada and abroad. Its web site is www.lassonde.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/las.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
When you look at the growth figures, they are consistently great. The lowest is Total Return, but this is still very good as it is some 9.4% per year for the last 5 years and 8% per year for the last 10 years. We should take into account the fact that we are just coming through a recession. The best growth figures are for the earnings and they are 16.6% per year for the last 5 years and 17.5% per year for the last 10 years.
One of the most important growth figures is dividend growth. The 5 and 10 year figures are 16% per year and 10.5% per year. The Dividend Yield is low for this stock, but it is usually close to 1.5%. The thing is you can not have everything. This stock has been producing solid results and has been giving shareholders consistent dividends.
The other good thing about this stock is the Liquidity Ratio and the Asset/Liabilities Ratio. Both these are very good. This company has a solid balance sheet. The Liquidity Ratio for September 2009 was 2.16 and the 5 year average is 2.05. The Asset/Liabilities Ratio for September 2009 was 2.12 and the 5 year average is 2.18. What you want is these ratios to be at least 1.50, so this stock has very good ratios.
The next thing to talk about is the Return on Equity. This stock has a 5 year average ROE of 14.4% and the ROE at the end of September 2009 was 15.5%. The only fault I find is that the Accrual Ratio is rather high at the end of 2008 at 7.6%. But, I want to point out two things. First, the Cash Flow from Operations is higher than the Net Income and the Accrual Ratio for the end of September 2009 is down to .95%.
So, really, I can find little fault in this stock. This is another stock that as two classes of shareholders and one family, the Lassonde family, controls this company. I know that some people do not like companies that do this, but sometimes they are well managed and they give shareholder a good return. I note that the Globe Investor site gives this stock a 5 star rating.
Lassonde Industries Inc. is a leading manufacturer of pure fruit juices and fruit drinks in Canada, and the largest manufacturer and distributor of apple juice in Eastern Canada. Through its subsidiaries, Lassonde is active in the processing, packaging and marketing of food products such as pure fruit juices, fruit and citrus drinks, the canning of corn on the cob for foreign markets as well as dipping sauces, fondue bouillon, meat marinades, barbecue sauces and baked beans. The Company also markets its know-how in Canada and abroad. Its web site is www.lassonde.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/las.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Astral Media Inc 2
I am today continuing my review Astral Media Inc (TSX-ACM.A), to see if it is currently a good buy. I have not invested in this stock, but it is a Canadian Dividend Paying stock. It is not on the dividend lists that I follow, as the company does not consistently increase their dividends.
The first thing to talk about is the P/E Ratio. The 5 year average low is 11.7 and the 5 year average high is 16. For this stock, I get a current P/E Ratio of 11.5. This is a rather low ratio and it is lower than the 5 year average. So this shows a good current price. The sites that show the P/E ratio based on last 12 months earnings do not show one as the earning over the last 12 months were negative. The Price/Book Value Ratio of 1.6 is just 83% of the 10 year average. So this shows a fairly good current price.
I get a current Dividend Yield 1.45%. The 5 year average is 1.12%. The average is higher than normal, as the Dividend Yield has been higher than usual over the last couple of years. The dividend yield on this stock has often been below 1%, so this points to a particularly good stock price. The last thing to look at is the Graham Price and at $38.33, the current price is more than 10% below the Graham. This also points to a good current price.
The above was all the good stuff. What is not so great is all the current insider selling. Over the past year there was over $12m of insider selling. The CEO, CFO and officers seem to have more stock options than shares. The problem with insider selling, is that selling can be done for all sorts of reasons unrelated to how the company is performing or is expected to perform. The other thing is that they have not raised the dividends since 2008. A raise in dividends show that management has faith in the near future earnings of the company.
When I look at the analysts recommendations, I find them from Strong Buy to Hold. However, most of the recommendations are either Buy or Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) The consensus recommendation would be a Buy. The main concern is the business this company is in. No one seems to think that the company will have a swift recovery. However, it is felt that if you have patience, this might be a good time to buy this stock.
What I personally do not like about this stock is the low dividend yield, and the high Accrual Ratio (of almost 8%). The Accrual Ratio is high because the Net Earnings is considerably higher than the Operations Cash Flow. What you want to see the opposite, which is higher Operations Cash Flow than Net Earnings. Although, if you like to own this stock, you cannot do better than pay a price 10% lower than the Graham price.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
The first thing to talk about is the P/E Ratio. The 5 year average low is 11.7 and the 5 year average high is 16. For this stock, I get a current P/E Ratio of 11.5. This is a rather low ratio and it is lower than the 5 year average. So this shows a good current price. The sites that show the P/E ratio based on last 12 months earnings do not show one as the earning over the last 12 months were negative. The Price/Book Value Ratio of 1.6 is just 83% of the 10 year average. So this shows a fairly good current price.
I get a current Dividend Yield 1.45%. The 5 year average is 1.12%. The average is higher than normal, as the Dividend Yield has been higher than usual over the last couple of years. The dividend yield on this stock has often been below 1%, so this points to a particularly good stock price. The last thing to look at is the Graham Price and at $38.33, the current price is more than 10% below the Graham. This also points to a good current price.
The above was all the good stuff. What is not so great is all the current insider selling. Over the past year there was over $12m of insider selling. The CEO, CFO and officers seem to have more stock options than shares. The problem with insider selling, is that selling can be done for all sorts of reasons unrelated to how the company is performing or is expected to perform. The other thing is that they have not raised the dividends since 2008. A raise in dividends show that management has faith in the near future earnings of the company.
When I look at the analysts recommendations, I find them from Strong Buy to Hold. However, most of the recommendations are either Buy or Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.) The consensus recommendation would be a Buy. The main concern is the business this company is in. No one seems to think that the company will have a swift recovery. However, it is felt that if you have patience, this might be a good time to buy this stock.
What I personally do not like about this stock is the low dividend yield, and the high Accrual Ratio (of almost 8%). The Accrual Ratio is high because the Net Earnings is considerably higher than the Operations Cash Flow. What you want to see the opposite, which is higher Operations Cash Flow than Net Earnings. Although, if you like to own this stock, you cannot do better than pay a price 10% lower than the Graham price.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html. Follow me on twitter.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Astral Media Inc
I am today reviewing Astral Media Inc (TSX-ACM.A), because I follow it and I have updated its spreadsheet for the latest annual report of August 31, 2009. The first quarterly report is also out and I have updated my spreadsheet for this report also. I have not invested in this stock, but it is a Canadian Dividend Paying stock. It is not on the dividend lists that I follow, as the company does not consistently increase their dividends.
Most of the growth figures for this stock are very good. The worst is the Total Return growth figures. The 10 year Total Return growth is quite good at just over 10% per year. However, the 5 year Total Return growth figure is just over 4% per year. The one problem I see with this stock is the low Dividend Yield. This is often below 1% and this is low. When they have given dividend increases they have been very good, but they do not give dividend increases regularly. Also, part of the reason for the low Total Return growth is because of the recession.
When I updated the earnings for this stock, I used the earnings prior to their non-cash impairment charges for 2009. I did this, as I wanted to be able to properly value this stock and get a Graham Price. Therefore, I show earnings for the year ending in August 2009 as $3.15, when the reported earnings for this stock were really a negative $2.82. I am showing the earnings in purple on my spreadsheet to draw attention to the fact that there is a problem with them.
The good thing about the 1st quarterly report is that the Liquidity Ratio has increased favorably from 1.31 at the end of August 2009 to 1.61 at the end of September 2009. I like to see this ratio at 1.51 or higher and so this is a good improvement. The Asset/Liability Ratio has always been quite high and is currently at 2.02 and so this is very good.
The other good thing from the 1st quarterly report is that the book value has increased. The Book Value had come down for the August 2009 annual report, but has now started to increase again. The 5 year growth figure for the book value is just over 6% per year. The 10 year growth figure is much better at just over 10% per year. The book value has increase just over 5% for the first quarter, so this is good.
The Return on Equity for the 1st quarter at 21% was good, as is the 5 year average of almost 16%. (This is a correction from what I originally said on February 7th.) The problem I find with the 1st quarterly report is the increase of the Accrual Ratio to over 5%. But, the year is just beginning.
Even though this is a dividend paying stock, the dividend yield is low and most of the return is from the increase in value of this company. Because of the low dividend yield, the yield on your investment in this company, even after 10 years is not very high. You start to get a more respectable return after 15 years, but this is a long time. If the market goes flat for the next 5 years as lots of people feel it will, there may not be much to be earned in this company for the next while. Tomorrow, I will look at what the analysts say about this company.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
Most of the growth figures for this stock are very good. The worst is the Total Return growth figures. The 10 year Total Return growth is quite good at just over 10% per year. However, the 5 year Total Return growth figure is just over 4% per year. The one problem I see with this stock is the low Dividend Yield. This is often below 1% and this is low. When they have given dividend increases they have been very good, but they do not give dividend increases regularly. Also, part of the reason for the low Total Return growth is because of the recession.
When I updated the earnings for this stock, I used the earnings prior to their non-cash impairment charges for 2009. I did this, as I wanted to be able to properly value this stock and get a Graham Price. Therefore, I show earnings for the year ending in August 2009 as $3.15, when the reported earnings for this stock were really a negative $2.82. I am showing the earnings in purple on my spreadsheet to draw attention to the fact that there is a problem with them.
The good thing about the 1st quarterly report is that the Liquidity Ratio has increased favorably from 1.31 at the end of August 2009 to 1.61 at the end of September 2009. I like to see this ratio at 1.51 or higher and so this is a good improvement. The Asset/Liability Ratio has always been quite high and is currently at 2.02 and so this is very good.
The other good thing from the 1st quarterly report is that the book value has increased. The Book Value had come down for the August 2009 annual report, but has now started to increase again. The 5 year growth figure for the book value is just over 6% per year. The 10 year growth figure is much better at just over 10% per year. The book value has increase just over 5% for the first quarter, so this is good.
The Return on Equity for the 1st quarter at 21% was good, as is the 5 year average of almost 16%. (This is a correction from what I originally said on February 7th.) The problem I find with the 1st quarterly report is the increase of the Accrual Ratio to over 5%. But, the year is just beginning.
Even though this is a dividend paying stock, the dividend yield is low and most of the return is from the increase in value of this company. Because of the low dividend yield, the yield on your investment in this company, even after 10 years is not very high. You start to get a more respectable return after 15 years, but this is a long time. If the market goes flat for the next 5 years as lots of people feel it will, there may not be much to be earned in this company for the next while. Tomorrow, I will look at what the analysts say about this company.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Newfoundland Capital Corp 2
I am today continuing my review Newfoundland Capital Corp (TSX-NNC.A), that I started Thursday. I have not invested in this stock. This stock is not on any dividend list that I follow. They stop paying dividends in dividends in 2009. However, they did report dividends for 2009, as they declared dividends in 2009 to be pay in early 2010. A lot of company decreased or stopped dividends in 2009.
The first thing to look at is the P/E Ratio. The 5 year low for this ratio is 15 and the 5 year high is 19.7. The current P/E Ratio I get is very high at 34. The sites that use the last 12 months earnings get a high one also, but it is even higher at over 37. This points the stock being over price. If you look below at what the analysts say, they also say the stock is over priced.
The dividend yield on this stock is 1.5% and the 5 year average is 1.6%. So the current yield is not far off the 5 year average, but unfortunately, a good price is when the current yield is higher than the 5 year average. The next thing is the Price/Book Value Ratio. Here the current one is higher than the long term average. This also points to the current price also being too high. The last thing is the Graham Price. I get a Graham price of just $3.65. The current stock price of $6.80 is more than 86% higher. This also points to a current high price. I must say the average price is about 35% above the Graham Price, but it would still appear that the current price is too high.
When I look at the analysts’ recommendations, I find that they range from Hold to Sell, with the consensus probably being a Sell. A lot of analysts feel that the stock price is just too high and better returns on a go forward basis could be made elsewhere. At the very least, many analysts feel that you should reduce your holding in this stock. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.)
A couple of problems were noted and one of these is the Liquidity Ratio. I find it at 0.37. This means that the current assets cannot cover the current liabilities. A long term debt is coming due and it is expected that the company will sell more shares to raise capital. The analysts I looked at mentioned this low Liquidity Ratio. Another problem mentioned is that the Steele family has some 96% of the vote, but has just over 50% of the shares. This is because NCC.A shares are subordinate to the NCC.B shares owned by this family. The Steele family ownership may or may not be a problem, and this depends on how you view such ownership set ups.
The stock price is probably too high. It would appear that this might not be a good time for an investment in this stock. I do not sell off shares in companies I own simply because the shares become overpriced. However, in this case, it would appear there are some more problems than the stock is overpriced. Selling off or reducing shares in a company is always a value judgment. For this stock, no one thinks it will tank, but people do have concerns. For this stock, I am not interesting in buying it at the current time, but I will continue to track it.
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates Newcap Radio. Newcap Radio is one of Canada's leading radio broadcasters with 79 licenses across Canada. The Company reaches millions of listeners each week through a variety of formats and is a recognized industry leader in radio programming, sales and networking. The Company has 58 FM and 21 AM licenses spanning the country employing over 800 radio professionals in Canada. Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates the Glynmill Inn, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its web site is www.ncc.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ncc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
The first thing to look at is the P/E Ratio. The 5 year low for this ratio is 15 and the 5 year high is 19.7. The current P/E Ratio I get is very high at 34. The sites that use the last 12 months earnings get a high one also, but it is even higher at over 37. This points the stock being over price. If you look below at what the analysts say, they also say the stock is over priced.
The dividend yield on this stock is 1.5% and the 5 year average is 1.6%. So the current yield is not far off the 5 year average, but unfortunately, a good price is when the current yield is higher than the 5 year average. The next thing is the Price/Book Value Ratio. Here the current one is higher than the long term average. This also points to the current price also being too high. The last thing is the Graham Price. I get a Graham price of just $3.65. The current stock price of $6.80 is more than 86% higher. This also points to a current high price. I must say the average price is about 35% above the Graham Price, but it would still appear that the current price is too high.
When I look at the analysts’ recommendations, I find that they range from Hold to Sell, with the consensus probably being a Sell. A lot of analysts feel that the stock price is just too high and better returns on a go forward basis could be made elsewhere. At the very least, many analysts feel that you should reduce your holding in this stock. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.)
A couple of problems were noted and one of these is the Liquidity Ratio. I find it at 0.37. This means that the current assets cannot cover the current liabilities. A long term debt is coming due and it is expected that the company will sell more shares to raise capital. The analysts I looked at mentioned this low Liquidity Ratio. Another problem mentioned is that the Steele family has some 96% of the vote, but has just over 50% of the shares. This is because NCC.A shares are subordinate to the NCC.B shares owned by this family. The Steele family ownership may or may not be a problem, and this depends on how you view such ownership set ups.
The stock price is probably too high. It would appear that this might not be a good time for an investment in this stock. I do not sell off shares in companies I own simply because the shares become overpriced. However, in this case, it would appear there are some more problems than the stock is overpriced. Selling off or reducing shares in a company is always a value judgment. For this stock, no one thinks it will tank, but people do have concerns. For this stock, I am not interesting in buying it at the current time, but I will continue to track it.
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates Newcap Radio. Newcap Radio is one of Canada's leading radio broadcasters with 79 licenses across Canada. The Company reaches millions of listeners each week through a variety of formats and is a recognized industry leader in radio programming, sales and networking. The Company has 58 FM and 21 AM licenses spanning the country employing over 800 radio professionals in Canada. Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates the Glynmill Inn, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its web site is www.ncc.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ncc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Newfoundland Capital Corp
I am today reviewing Newfoundland Capital Corp (TSX-NNC.A), because it is a dividend paying stock that I follow. However, I have not invested in this stock. This stock is not on any dividend list that I follow. They stop paying dividends in dividends in 2009. However, they reported dividends for 2009, as they declared dividends to pay in 2010. A lot of company decreased or stopped dividends in 2009.
When you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly good. The growth in revenue is a bit mixed. The 5 year figure is the best at 9.6% per year. The 10 year figure at 6.60% is ok, but not great. Considering the recent recession, the stock has a total return over the last 5 years of just over 10% per year and the one for 2009 is likely to come in just as high. This is very good.
The dividends add only about 2% to this Total Return. There have been recent studies that show that the best returns on dividend paying stock is when the dividends are in the range of 2.5% to 4.5%. The other thing is however, you cannot argue with results, and considering the current recession, this stock has done well. The growth in Book Value and Cash Flow has also been very good over the last 5 and 10 years.
The real problem in growth is with the earnings. I do not have a figure for the year ending in 2008 because they lost money that year. If they earn what is expected for the year ending in 2009, the growth figure for the last 10 years will be good and probably over 9% per year. However, the growth in earnings for the last 5 years will still be negative.
The Liquidity Ratio is low, but it is generally over 1.00. The 5 year average is 1.19, which is ok, but not great. The Liquidity Ratio for the 9 months ending in September 2009 is just 0.37. This is low because some long term debt has just come due. There is some concern over this liquidity ratio. It is expected that the company will be selling shares to raise capital.
The Return On Equity tends not to be very high on this stock at any time. The return last year was negative because they lost money. However, ROE for the last 5 years averages 9.7% and the ROE for the end of September 2009 is about the same, but the figure for the last 5 years will move lower to 9%. This is not bad, but it is not great either.
I guess the last thing to mention is that there was a stock split for 2009 of 3 to 1. Tomorrow, I will talk about what the analysts are saying.
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates Newcap Radio. Newcap Radio is one of Canada's leading radio broadcasters with 79 licenses across Canada. The Company reaches millions of listeners each week through a variety of formats and is a recognized industry leader in radio programming, sales and networking. The Company has 58 FM and 21 AM licenses spanning the country employing over 800 radio professionals in Canada. Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates the Glynmill Inn, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its web site is www.ncc.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ncc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
When you look at the growth figures for this stock, they are mostly good. The growth in revenue is a bit mixed. The 5 year figure is the best at 9.6% per year. The 10 year figure at 6.60% is ok, but not great. Considering the recent recession, the stock has a total return over the last 5 years of just over 10% per year and the one for 2009 is likely to come in just as high. This is very good.
The dividends add only about 2% to this Total Return. There have been recent studies that show that the best returns on dividend paying stock is when the dividends are in the range of 2.5% to 4.5%. The other thing is however, you cannot argue with results, and considering the current recession, this stock has done well. The growth in Book Value and Cash Flow has also been very good over the last 5 and 10 years.
The real problem in growth is with the earnings. I do not have a figure for the year ending in 2008 because they lost money that year. If they earn what is expected for the year ending in 2009, the growth figure for the last 10 years will be good and probably over 9% per year. However, the growth in earnings for the last 5 years will still be negative.
The Liquidity Ratio is low, but it is generally over 1.00. The 5 year average is 1.19, which is ok, but not great. The Liquidity Ratio for the 9 months ending in September 2009 is just 0.37. This is low because some long term debt has just come due. There is some concern over this liquidity ratio. It is expected that the company will be selling shares to raise capital.
The Return On Equity tends not to be very high on this stock at any time. The return last year was negative because they lost money. However, ROE for the last 5 years averages 9.7% and the ROE for the end of September 2009 is about the same, but the figure for the last 5 years will move lower to 9%. This is not bad, but it is not great either.
I guess the last thing to mention is that there was a stock split for 2009 of 3 to 1. Tomorrow, I will talk about what the analysts are saying.
Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates Newcap Radio. Newcap Radio is one of Canada's leading radio broadcasters with 79 licenses across Canada. The Company reaches millions of listeners each week through a variety of formats and is a recognized industry leader in radio programming, sales and networking. The Company has 58 FM and 21 AM licenses spanning the country employing over 800 radio professionals in Canada. Newfoundland Capital Corporation Limited also owns and operates the Glynmill Inn, Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its web site is www.ncc.ca. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ncc.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
The Lost History of Christianity, Philip Jenkins
I always mean to do more book reviews. I read every morning and I read such wonderful books. Despite my good intentions, lots of time goes by before I think of reviewing a book I have read. The above book, I have just finished and it was wonderful. The full title is The Lost History of Christianity, The Thousand – Year Golden Age of the Church in the Middle East, Africa and Asia – and How it Died.
I know that it is fashionable to think of Islam as the “peaceful” religion. We pretend either that the Middle East was never Christian or that the Muslims never did anything to force their religion on the people they conquered there. We barely even acknowledge that they were conquerors. To say the Arabs conquered the Middle East, we might have to imply that there was violence involved with their take over this area.
Also, European Christians certainly did not help the Middle Eastern Christians. European Christians were mostly Catholic until fairly recently and they mostly thought the Middle Eastern Christian were heretics or worse. Perhaps if the Crusaders had not attacked Byzantium, it might not have fallen to the Turks. Perhaps, the most shocking thing of all is that the Middle Eastern Churches did survive and they are still alive today.
The Christians survived fairly well until the 12 century. The main prosecutions of Christians (and Jews) really got off the ground in the 12th century. Non-Muslims were totally wiped out in North Africa in this century. In the following centuries, there were times when Christians could live well in the Middle East and times when they could not. It varied a lot across the Middle East, depending on the time and place. The last big push in the Middle East to get rid of Christian populations was in the early 20th Century.
This is not to say that the Arabs were the worst conquerors of the Middle East. The Mongols invasions were probably more destructive. The invasion by Tamerlane was no picnic either. If you go back to bible, there was always a lot of violence and invasions in this area. In the 14th Century, the Middle East suffered because of the Black Death, Little Ice Age and war. The population dropped dramatically and this certainly did not help the Christian populations.
So, what Middle Eastern churches have survived? The main Christian churches were the Nestorians, the Jacobite (or Syrian Orthodox) and connecting Maronites, and Coptics. To find out more on the Nestorians, see The Unofficial Website of The Nestorian Church/, or the Nestorian Pages. This church does not seem to have its own website. This church is also called the Syrian Church of the East or Chaldean Catholic Church. This church is currently called Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East and is based on USA.
For the Jacobites, see their official site at Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, or Jacobite Syrian Church. The Syrian Church has lots of churches in North American. There are also churches in India, Europe and UAE. For information on the Coptic Church see Coptic Church.net or Coptic Church in Egypt.
Philip Jenkins, professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University. To see him on YouTube, see Philip Jenkins by Fora TV. To see a reviews of this book, see book review by J. Peter Pham or book review by Derek Leman.
On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Jenkins. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
I know that it is fashionable to think of Islam as the “peaceful” religion. We pretend either that the Middle East was never Christian or that the Muslims never did anything to force their religion on the people they conquered there. We barely even acknowledge that they were conquerors. To say the Arabs conquered the Middle East, we might have to imply that there was violence involved with their take over this area.
Also, European Christians certainly did not help the Middle Eastern Christians. European Christians were mostly Catholic until fairly recently and they mostly thought the Middle Eastern Christian were heretics or worse. Perhaps if the Crusaders had not attacked Byzantium, it might not have fallen to the Turks. Perhaps, the most shocking thing of all is that the Middle Eastern Churches did survive and they are still alive today.
The Christians survived fairly well until the 12 century. The main prosecutions of Christians (and Jews) really got off the ground in the 12th century. Non-Muslims were totally wiped out in North Africa in this century. In the following centuries, there were times when Christians could live well in the Middle East and times when they could not. It varied a lot across the Middle East, depending on the time and place. The last big push in the Middle East to get rid of Christian populations was in the early 20th Century.
This is not to say that the Arabs were the worst conquerors of the Middle East. The Mongols invasions were probably more destructive. The invasion by Tamerlane was no picnic either. If you go back to bible, there was always a lot of violence and invasions in this area. In the 14th Century, the Middle East suffered because of the Black Death, Little Ice Age and war. The population dropped dramatically and this certainly did not help the Christian populations.
So, what Middle Eastern churches have survived? The main Christian churches were the Nestorians, the Jacobite (or Syrian Orthodox) and connecting Maronites, and Coptics. To find out more on the Nestorians, see The Unofficial Website of The Nestorian Church/, or the Nestorian Pages. This church does not seem to have its own website. This church is also called the Syrian Church of the East or Chaldean Catholic Church. This church is currently called Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East and is based on USA.
For the Jacobites, see their official site at Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, or Jacobite Syrian Church. The Syrian Church has lots of churches in North American. There are also churches in India, Europe and UAE. For information on the Coptic Church see Coptic Church.net or Coptic Church in Egypt.
Philip Jenkins, professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University. To see him on YouTube, see Philip Jenkins by Fora TV. To see a reviews of this book, see book review by J. Peter Pham or book review by Derek Leman.
On my website is how to find this book on Amazon if you care to purchase it. See Jenkins. Also, this book review and other books I have reviewed are on my website at Book Reviews.
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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Superior Plus Corp 2
I am today continuing my review Superior Plus Corp (TSX-SPB). I have not previously reviewed this stock. I have had no investments in this stock. Superior Plus was an Income Trust that has recently changed to a corporation. Since reducing its dividend with this change, it has increased it again by just over 3%.
What I want to make clear is my statements yesterday on dividends. Yes, they do pay good dividends. And yes, the 5 year and 10 year average dividend yield is just over 10%. But the point about dividend growth is worth talking about more. Although the average dividend yield over the past 5 and 10 years was just over 10%, ironically the dividend yield on original investments after 5 years was often lower than 10% and the dividend yield on original investment after 10 years, was just over 10%, but not by much.
For example, based on the average high and low (H/L) stock price of 1996 of $13.45, in 2006 you would be making a return on this $13.45 of $1.82 in dividends. This gives a dividend yield of just 13.5% after holding the stock for 10 years. Now go forward. Based on the average high and low stock price of $14.55 in 1999, 10 years later in 2009 you will be getting a dividend of 1.62. This equals a dividend yield on your $14.55 stock price of just over 11%. In recent years, this stock has not given a great return on a long term investment.
Of course, past results do not predict future results. This stock has a lot of problems in 2005 and had to restructure. Other stock have gotten into problems and after restructuring, produced good results. However, this section of my review to talk about what analysts feel about this stock going forward, and whether or not the current price is good or not.
When I look at the P/E ratio, I find that the 5 year average low is 12.6 and the 5 year average high is 15.2. The current P/E I get is 9.8. This is based on expected earnings for 2009. Any P/E ratio of 10 or below is low. The site which base their P/E ratios on last 12 month earnings get a really high P/E of 40. Usually at this close to the reporting season for companies that have an annual year end at December 31, 2009, the estimates get pretty accurate. The estimates also do not vary much.
When I look at the Price/Book Value ratio, I find that the current one of 2.31 is higher than the 10 year average of 2.00. The problem here is that the Book Value has been declining lately. A declining Book Value is not a good sign. However, the recent decline has to do with selling more shares to cover a purchase. In this case, that may mean that the future values will be better.
The next thing to look at is the dividend yield. The current yield is 11.9% and this is higher than the 5 year average of 10.9%. It is not higher by much, but it is higher. The thing to point in the dividend yield is that this company is currently paying out some 90% of its Cash Flow. This may or may not be a problem. Some recent studies have shown that companies paying out a high percentage of it cash flow can do better than companies that do not. In the main, what this proves is that a high payout ratio may not be a problem.
The next thing to talk about is the Graham Price. The current Graham Price is $13.63. The current stock price is very close to this, so this show the stock price is indeed a good price. The last thing to talk about is what the analysts are saying. On this stock, there are Buy and Hold recommendations. However, there is far more Hold recommendations and the current consensus is a Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.)
Why there are so many Hold recommendations is that the 12 month expected stock price for the analysts is at or below the current stock price. The other thing is that the company has recently given guidance on cash flows for 2009 and 2010 and they were below what the analysts had been expecting. Also, it is not expected that the dividends declared will be increased in 2010. This stock has already climbed quite nicely from the March 2009 lows. It is up some 50% since March 2009. So, it would seem from all this that the analysts feel that now is not the time to buy this stock.
This company distributes propane, related products and services in Canada; produces sodium chlorate in Canada and U.S.; distributes specialty construction products to the walls and ceilings industry in Canada and U.S.; and provides natural gas supply services to commercial, industrial and residential markets in Ontario and Quebec. Its web site is www.superiorplus.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/spb.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
What I want to make clear is my statements yesterday on dividends. Yes, they do pay good dividends. And yes, the 5 year and 10 year average dividend yield is just over 10%. But the point about dividend growth is worth talking about more. Although the average dividend yield over the past 5 and 10 years was just over 10%, ironically the dividend yield on original investments after 5 years was often lower than 10% and the dividend yield on original investment after 10 years, was just over 10%, but not by much.
For example, based on the average high and low (H/L) stock price of 1996 of $13.45, in 2006 you would be making a return on this $13.45 of $1.82 in dividends. This gives a dividend yield of just 13.5% after holding the stock for 10 years. Now go forward. Based on the average high and low stock price of $14.55 in 1999, 10 years later in 2009 you will be getting a dividend of 1.62. This equals a dividend yield on your $14.55 stock price of just over 11%. In recent years, this stock has not given a great return on a long term investment.
Of course, past results do not predict future results. This stock has a lot of problems in 2005 and had to restructure. Other stock have gotten into problems and after restructuring, produced good results. However, this section of my review to talk about what analysts feel about this stock going forward, and whether or not the current price is good or not.
When I look at the P/E ratio, I find that the 5 year average low is 12.6 and the 5 year average high is 15.2. The current P/E I get is 9.8. This is based on expected earnings for 2009. Any P/E ratio of 10 or below is low. The site which base their P/E ratios on last 12 month earnings get a really high P/E of 40. Usually at this close to the reporting season for companies that have an annual year end at December 31, 2009, the estimates get pretty accurate. The estimates also do not vary much.
When I look at the Price/Book Value ratio, I find that the current one of 2.31 is higher than the 10 year average of 2.00. The problem here is that the Book Value has been declining lately. A declining Book Value is not a good sign. However, the recent decline has to do with selling more shares to cover a purchase. In this case, that may mean that the future values will be better.
The next thing to look at is the dividend yield. The current yield is 11.9% and this is higher than the 5 year average of 10.9%. It is not higher by much, but it is higher. The thing to point in the dividend yield is that this company is currently paying out some 90% of its Cash Flow. This may or may not be a problem. Some recent studies have shown that companies paying out a high percentage of it cash flow can do better than companies that do not. In the main, what this proves is that a high payout ratio may not be a problem.
The next thing to talk about is the Graham Price. The current Graham Price is $13.63. The current stock price is very close to this, so this show the stock price is indeed a good price. The last thing to talk about is what the analysts are saying. On this stock, there are Buy and Hold recommendations. However, there is far more Hold recommendations and the current consensus is a Hold. (See my site for information on analyst ratings.)
Why there are so many Hold recommendations is that the 12 month expected stock price for the analysts is at or below the current stock price. The other thing is that the company has recently given guidance on cash flows for 2009 and 2010 and they were below what the analysts had been expecting. Also, it is not expected that the dividends declared will be increased in 2010. This stock has already climbed quite nicely from the March 2009 lows. It is up some 50% since March 2009. So, it would seem from all this that the analysts feel that now is not the time to buy this stock.
This company distributes propane, related products and services in Canada; produces sodium chlorate in Canada and U.S.; distributes specialty construction products to the walls and ceilings industry in Canada and U.S.; and provides natural gas supply services to commercial, industrial and residential markets in Ontario and Quebec. Its web site is www.superiorplus.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/spb.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Superior Plus Corp
I am today reviewing Superior Plus Corp (TSX-SPB), because I was asked to for this stock for which I have spreadsheets. I have not previously reviewed this stock. I have had no investments in this stock. Superior Plus was an Income Trust that has recently changed to a corporation. Since reducing its dividend with this change, it has increased it again by just over 3%.
This company has always paid a good dividend; however, they have been inconsistent in changes to their dividends. They are therefore not on any dividend lists I follow. Considering the fact that they lowered their dividends to change to a corporation, they still have a 10 year growth in dividends of just under 3% per year. The 5 year growth of dividends is, of course, negative. Their 5 year and 10 year average dividend yield is just over 10%. The point is that you can get good income from this stock, but income growth is not as good.
The one good growth story is the revenue. This company has been issuing shares over the years, but even if you look at revenue growth per share, the 5 and 10 year growth figures are 9.5% per year and 12.5% per year respectively. The worse growth story is for the Book Value and both the 5 year and 10 year growth figures are negative. The Book Value also came down in 2009 due to an increase in shares. The share increase was due to a new acquisition.
The Liquidity Ratio has often been good, but it is currently at 1.28. I would prefer this to be at least 1.50, but at least the current assets can cover the current liabilities. The Asset/liability Ratio is a bit better at 1.36. Here also, I would prefer a ratio of at least 1.50. The other thing I do not like is that the Accrual Ratio is very high at 9%. This is due to recent acquisitions, but also due to low net income.
Tomorrow, I will talk about what the analyst say about this stock.
This company distributes propane, related products and services in Canada; produces sodium chlorate in Canada and U.S.; distributes specialty construction products to the walls and ceilings industry in Canada and U.S.; and provides natural gas supply services to commercial, industrial and residential markets in Ontario and Quebec. Its web site is www.superiorplus.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/spb.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
This company has always paid a good dividend; however, they have been inconsistent in changes to their dividends. They are therefore not on any dividend lists I follow. Considering the fact that they lowered their dividends to change to a corporation, they still have a 10 year growth in dividends of just under 3% per year. The 5 year growth of dividends is, of course, negative. Their 5 year and 10 year average dividend yield is just over 10%. The point is that you can get good income from this stock, but income growth is not as good.
The one good growth story is the revenue. This company has been issuing shares over the years, but even if you look at revenue growth per share, the 5 and 10 year growth figures are 9.5% per year and 12.5% per year respectively. The worse growth story is for the Book Value and both the 5 year and 10 year growth figures are negative. The Book Value also came down in 2009 due to an increase in shares. The share increase was due to a new acquisition.
The Liquidity Ratio has often been good, but it is currently at 1.28. I would prefer this to be at least 1.50, but at least the current assets can cover the current liabilities. The Asset/liability Ratio is a bit better at 1.36. Here also, I would prefer a ratio of at least 1.50. The other thing I do not like is that the Accrual Ratio is very high at 9%. This is due to recent acquisitions, but also due to low net income.
Tomorrow, I will talk about what the analyst say about this stock.
This company distributes propane, related products and services in Canada; produces sodium chlorate in Canada and U.S.; distributes specialty construction products to the walls and ceilings industry in Canada and U.S.; and provides natural gas supply services to commercial, industrial and residential markets in Ontario and Quebec. Its web site is www.superiorplus.com. See my spreadsheet at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/spb.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. Also, look at other investing notes on my website at www.spbrunner.com/investing.html.
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