As I said yesterday, to diversify my portfolio, I have invested in some REITs. These are Real Estate Income Trusts. I have only invested in REITs that have commercial properties. This stock has been going down with the bear market, but has not done as badly as the TSX. Over the past year, 3 year, 5 year and 10 year periods, this stock has done better than both the TSX and the REIT Sub-Index.
There has been some insider buying on this stock. There has been no insider selling. In any event, insider buying is always a stronger clue as to what people think of a stock, as people buy when because they want to own the stock. When insiders sell, it can be for a lot of reasons, such as just needing some money, rather than being a clue to what they think of a stock.
The calls on this stock, from at the various analysts, range from a Strong Buy to a Hold. I must say I side with the Hold calls. The one positive thing is that they have already raised their dividend 3% for this year, which is higher than the 5 year average of 2%. The Accrual Ratio is also lower, at 3.7%, but it would be better if it was negative. The current P/E at 24.4% is higher than the 5 year average of 21.09, but the Trailing P/E (using last years EPS) is lower at 21% than the 5 year average of 22.4%.
It is not so much that I do not think that this stock is Buy, but I feel there are lot better bargains to be had. I would suggest that the stock is probably fairly priced, rather than under or over priced.
This is an equity real estate trust, which acquires and owns a portfolio of income-producing properties. It specializes in the acquisition and ownership of community shopping centres, and industrial and office properties across Canada. This company owns office, industrial, retail properties and some miscellaneous items such as apartment buildings. Its web site is www.creit.ca/. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.htm. I have reloaded by spreadsheet with the figures from the June 2008 Quarterly Report.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
CDN Real Estate
To diversify my portfolio, I have invested in some REITs. These are Real Estate Income Trusts. I have only invested in REITs that have commercial properties. I bought this stock in September 2006 and since that time I have made some 11.3% return. This includes the dividends I received. Since the beginning of the year, I have made a return of 7.7%. This stock has been going down with the bear market, but has not done as badly as the TSX.
The following values are all for the last 5 years to December 31, 2007, which is the last annual statement date. The positive features of this stock are that the revenues has been increasing at a rate of 12.3%, the Funds from Operations (FFO) has been increasing at the rate of 9.7% and the Closing Price by 24.9%. The FFO is more important than the Earnings per Share (EPS), but the EPS has only been increasing at the rate of 3.7%.
The other positives on this stock are that the Operation Profit Margin is 38% (this is higher than both the 5 year and 10 year average) and the Return on Equity (ROE) is a very good 12.9% for 2007. The negatives that I see are the Asset/Liability Ratio is 1.48 (but this is only slightly lower than the 1.50 I like to see), the Accrual Ratio is 9.8% (and anything over 5% is high) and the Asset/Book Value Ratio is high at 3.08 (but not unusual high for a REIT).
Dividend increases on this stock in the last 5 years has been at 2% per year, which is barely at the rate of inflation. However, the increase for this calendar is a better 3%. This REIT is rated STA-3M by DBRS. DBRS rate Income Trust stocks from STA-1 to STA-7, with the STA-1 rating being the best. REITs usually get a STA-2 or STA-3 rating.
This is an equity real estate trust, which acquires and owns a portfolio of income-producing properties. It specializes in the acquisition and ownership of community shopping centres, and industrial and office properties across Canada. This company owns office, industrial, retail properties and some miscellaneous items such as apartment buildings. Its web site is www.creit.ca/. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.htm.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
The following values are all for the last 5 years to December 31, 2007, which is the last annual statement date. The positive features of this stock are that the revenues has been increasing at a rate of 12.3%, the Funds from Operations (FFO) has been increasing at the rate of 9.7% and the Closing Price by 24.9%. The FFO is more important than the Earnings per Share (EPS), but the EPS has only been increasing at the rate of 3.7%.
The other positives on this stock are that the Operation Profit Margin is 38% (this is higher than both the 5 year and 10 year average) and the Return on Equity (ROE) is a very good 12.9% for 2007. The negatives that I see are the Asset/Liability Ratio is 1.48 (but this is only slightly lower than the 1.50 I like to see), the Accrual Ratio is 9.8% (and anything over 5% is high) and the Asset/Book Value Ratio is high at 3.08 (but not unusual high for a REIT).
Dividend increases on this stock in the last 5 years has been at 2% per year, which is barely at the rate of inflation. However, the increase for this calendar is a better 3%. This REIT is rated STA-3M by DBRS. DBRS rate Income Trust stocks from STA-1 to STA-7, with the STA-1 rating being the best. REITs usually get a STA-2 or STA-3 rating.
This is an equity real estate trust, which acquires and owns a portfolio of income-producing properties. It specializes in the acquisition and ownership of community shopping centres, and industrial and office properties across Canada. This company owns office, industrial, retail properties and some miscellaneous items such as apartment buildings. Its web site is www.creit.ca/. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.htm.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Emera 2
As I said yesterday, I found this company through Mike Higg’s site at http://www.dividendgrowth.org/Report.htm. Mike’s site has a spreadsheet showing Dividend Paying Canadian Growth stocks. He recommends that people investigate the stocks on his list for possible purchase when a stock shows that its yield is high compared to the stock’s historical yield. According to his spreadsheet, this stock is no bargain at a current yield of 4.34%. According to my spreadsheet, it is at the 5 year average.
This stock has just raised their annual dividend by 5.5%, which is a health raise considering past raises have usually been at just over 1%. This stock has a payout average of 76% over the past 5 years, so most of the profit made on this stock is dividend income. Dividend income has raised the returns on this stock by about 4% and this is high. The P/E at 16.2% is slightly lower than the 5 year average of 17.2%, which is good. However, this P/E ratio it is not significantly lower than the 5 year average.
Although there are a few Buy calls on this stock, most calls are for a Hold. There has been, of course, a pull back on this stock over the last few days because of the current volatility and the current bear market. It might become a good buy if the stock pulls back some more.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com/. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.htm. I have uploaded by spreadsheet with figures from the June 2008 quarterly report.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
This stock has just raised their annual dividend by 5.5%, which is a health raise considering past raises have usually been at just over 1%. This stock has a payout average of 76% over the past 5 years, so most of the profit made on this stock is dividend income. Dividend income has raised the returns on this stock by about 4% and this is high. The P/E at 16.2% is slightly lower than the 5 year average of 17.2%, which is good. However, this P/E ratio it is not significantly lower than the 5 year average.
Although there are a few Buy calls on this stock, most calls are for a Hold. There has been, of course, a pull back on this stock over the last few days because of the current volatility and the current bear market. It might become a good buy if the stock pulls back some more.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com/. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.htm. I have uploaded by spreadsheet with figures from the June 2008 quarterly report.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Emera
I found this company (TSX-EMA) through Mike Higg’s site at http://www.dividendgrowth.org/Report.htm. Mike’s site has a spreadsheet showing Dividend Paying Canadian Growth stocks. He recommends that people investigate the stocks on his list for possible purchase when a stock shows that its yield is high compared to the stock’s historical yield. This is a great Site.
I bought this stock first in July 2005 and since then, I have made an annual return, including dividends, of 12.5%. For this calendar year, I have made a return of 16.3%. This is a utility stock. The yield on this stock is quite high, over 4% and the dividends have added 5% to the return over the last 5 years.
The following values are all for the last 5 years to December 31, 2007, which is the last annual statement date. The negatives I find in this stock are that the revenues are increasing at only 1.8% per year and the dividends have increased at less than 1% per year. The Current Asset/Current Liability ratio is low at .97% and the Asset/Liability ratio is also low at 1.47%. However, these ratios are not out of line for a utility stock.
The better qualities of this stock are that the Earnings per Share (EPS) have increased by 9.2% and the Return on Equity (ROE) is not bad at 9.3%. The Graham price at December 2007 is not far from the closing price and the Accrual Ratio is 1.5%. The closing price has increased at the rate of 11.4% per year. This is different from my figures above, as my figures in the first paragraph are from Quicken and they are figures from purchase date to the present date.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com/.
See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.htm.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
I bought this stock first in July 2005 and since then, I have made an annual return, including dividends, of 12.5%. For this calendar year, I have made a return of 16.3%. This is a utility stock. The yield on this stock is quite high, over 4% and the dividends have added 5% to the return over the last 5 years.
The following values are all for the last 5 years to December 31, 2007, which is the last annual statement date. The negatives I find in this stock are that the revenues are increasing at only 1.8% per year and the dividends have increased at less than 1% per year. The Current Asset/Current Liability ratio is low at .97% and the Asset/Liability ratio is also low at 1.47%. However, these ratios are not out of line for a utility stock.
The better qualities of this stock are that the Earnings per Share (EPS) have increased by 9.2% and the Return on Equity (ROE) is not bad at 9.3%. The Graham price at December 2007 is not far from the closing price and the Accrual Ratio is 1.5%. The closing price has increased at the rate of 11.4% per year. This is different from my figures above, as my figures in the first paragraph are from Quicken and they are figures from purchase date to the present date.
Emera is a holding company in the energy sector. Its principal operating subsidiaries are Nova Scotia Power Inc. and Bangor Hydro-Electric Company. Nova Scotia Power is Nova Scotia's integrated electric utility. Bangor Hydro is an electric distribution utility in Central Maine. Emera has a few smaller operations and investments, such as a minority stake in M & NP pipeline. Its web site is www.emera.com/.
See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/ema.htm.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
Monday, September 8, 2008
BFI Income Fund
On August 18, 2008 this stock announced the conversion of it stock from an Income Trust to Dividend Paying Corporation. They also announced a decrease in the annual dividend rate of 1.82 per share, to $.50 per share. This decrease in dividend will put the stock yield in the same range as other Dividend Paying stocks, rather than the range of an Income Trust. The next day the stock dropped some 17%. The next week it recovered some 9.9% of its value. It has recently declined in line with the general market.
Part of the problem with stocks going from Income Trusts to a regular corporation is that you would have a different class of investors. Mostly people buy Income Trusts for the income. Dividend paying corporations are bought, not only for their dividends, but also for long term gain.
There is no doubt that this stock is going to see some turbulence in its price. Looking at analyst ratings, they are moving from a buy to a hold rating although some are retaining the buy rating. Personally, I do not have much of this stock as I had just started to invest in it and I usually invest slowly in a new stock. This is the first Income Trust that I have that wants to convert to a Dividend paying Corporation. There has been a bit of insider buying on this stock.
At the moment, I am going to hold on to my stock and see what happens. It might still be a good long term buy.
BFI is a full-service waste management company providing non-hazardous solid waste collection and landfill disposal services for municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers in five provinces and ten U.S. States. Note that two-thirds of their business in US. Its web site is http://www.bficanada.com. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bfc.htm. I have reloaded by spreadsheet with June 2008 Quarterly report figures.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
Part of the problem with stocks going from Income Trusts to a regular corporation is that you would have a different class of investors. Mostly people buy Income Trusts for the income. Dividend paying corporations are bought, not only for their dividends, but also for long term gain.
There is no doubt that this stock is going to see some turbulence in its price. Looking at analyst ratings, they are moving from a buy to a hold rating although some are retaining the buy rating. Personally, I do not have much of this stock as I had just started to invest in it and I usually invest slowly in a new stock. This is the first Income Trust that I have that wants to convert to a Dividend paying Corporation. There has been a bit of insider buying on this stock.
At the moment, I am going to hold on to my stock and see what happens. It might still be a good long term buy.
BFI is a full-service waste management company providing non-hazardous solid waste collection and landfill disposal services for municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers in five provinces and ten U.S. States. Note that two-thirds of their business in US. Its web site is http://www.bficanada.com. See my spreadsheet on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/bfc.htm. I have reloaded by spreadsheet with June 2008 Quarterly report figures.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
I Have Re-uploaded All My Spreadsheets
I have re-uploaded all my spreadsheets as most of them had some jumbled columns. I was saving excel spreadsheets as htm documents in order to put them on-line. I do not have much control over how excel does the htm documents, as far as I can see. However, I have made sure that the documents only covers the last 10 years of values, and this seems to help in not having some of the columns of the spreadsheets jumbled.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Leon’s Furniture 2
As I said yesterday, I have not made much on this stock (TSX-LNF), but I still have high hopes for it. There are few analysts following this stock, as it is not a very big company. However, I feel that it is a worthy investment. As far as I can see, there seems to be only one analyst following this stock, although this is hard to tell. The one analyst I found has a hold rating on this stock. I do not know why. Perhaps waiting to see sentiment if towards this stock will change. The stock peaked in the early part of this year and has only gone down since.
This stock is under the Consumer Staple Index. This index has not done as well as the TSX Index over the past year or even past 5 years. You have to go back to the last 10 years to find the Consumer Staple Sub-Index doing as well or better than the TSX Index. Leon’s over the past 1, 3 and 5 years has done about as well as the TSX Index. Over the past 10 years, this stock has done better than both the TSX Index and the TSX Consumer Staple Sub-Index.
I invest for the long term and I think this stock is fine. The one thing I think is very positive is there is insider buying on this stock. The buying is by the Leon family. This stock is a small one, with the Leon family owing some 68% of the outstanding stock. I do not necessarily find a family owned stock a negative, but I know that others do. If like family owned stock that pass on reasonable returns to minority shareholders and I think Leon’s does this.
Other positives are the yield at 2.28% is higher than the 5 year average of 2.05%, the P/E at 13.8% is lower than the 5 year average of 15.3%, and the increase in EPS is expect to be above the 5 year average of 10%. A negative is that although there is a special dividend declared for this year, the company has not raised the regular dividend rate. Also, the Accrual Ratio is too high with the June 2008 Quarterly Report. Any Accrual Ratio above 5% is high.
This company sells home furnishings, appliances and electronics through a chain of retail facilities and franchises located in Canada. Its web site is http://www.leons.ca. See my spreadsheets on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/lnf.htm. I have reloaded my spreadsheet with figures from the June 2008 Quarterly Report.
I have updated it with the figures from the June 08 quarterly report.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
This stock is under the Consumer Staple Index. This index has not done as well as the TSX Index over the past year or even past 5 years. You have to go back to the last 10 years to find the Consumer Staple Sub-Index doing as well or better than the TSX Index. Leon’s over the past 1, 3 and 5 years has done about as well as the TSX Index. Over the past 10 years, this stock has done better than both the TSX Index and the TSX Consumer Staple Sub-Index.
I invest for the long term and I think this stock is fine. The one thing I think is very positive is there is insider buying on this stock. The buying is by the Leon family. This stock is a small one, with the Leon family owing some 68% of the outstanding stock. I do not necessarily find a family owned stock a negative, but I know that others do. If like family owned stock that pass on reasonable returns to minority shareholders and I think Leon’s does this.
Other positives are the yield at 2.28% is higher than the 5 year average of 2.05%, the P/E at 13.8% is lower than the 5 year average of 15.3%, and the increase in EPS is expect to be above the 5 year average of 10%. A negative is that although there is a special dividend declared for this year, the company has not raised the regular dividend rate. Also, the Accrual Ratio is too high with the June 2008 Quarterly Report. Any Accrual Ratio above 5% is high.
This company sells home furnishings, appliances and electronics through a chain of retail facilities and franchises located in Canada. Its web site is http://www.leons.ca. See my spreadsheets on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/lnf.htm. I have reloaded my spreadsheet with figures from the June 2008 Quarterly Report.
I have updated it with the figures from the June 08 quarterly report.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on my web site.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Now for something Good and Cheap in Price, Leon’s Furniture
This stock is cheap in that that price per share is low. If you do not have much money to spend buying shares, consider Leon’s where the current share price is $12.17 (TSX-LNF). This stock is not on anyone’s list of best dividend paying stocks for TSX; however, I think it is a good stock. I first bought this stock in June of 2006 and since then I have made some 6.2% per year, including dividends. This is, of course, not great, but considering we are currently in a bear market, this is not bad.
The following values are all for the last 5 years to December 31, 2007, which is the last annual statement date. The Revenues have increased at 7.2% per year, and this is not bad. The increase in Earnings per Share (EPS) has not been bad at 10.6% per year. The increase in dividends has been a very good number at 18.7% per year for the regular dividend. The closing price has increased at the rate of 13.1% per year. This is different from my figures above, as my figures in the first paragraph are from Quicken and they are figures from purchase date to the present date.
The Current Asset/ Current Liability Ratio at 1.9 is very good. The leverage (Asset/Book Value) is also good 1.47. The Return on Equity (ROE) is good at 18.2% for 2007 and this is slightly higher than the 5 year average of 18.1%. The Accrual Ratio is not good at 7.1%, but when the financial cash flow is included, it is at a better, neutral figure of 1.7%. Dividends have raised the 5 year average return by over 2% per year.
I still expect to do well in this stock over the long term. I will therefore, not be selling it because of the current decline in price. Leon has a habit of every few years of declaring a special dividend. They have already declared a special dividend of $.12 per share in May of this year. I know that some people have been confused by their special dividend, thinking that Leon is being inconsistent in the dividend declaration.
This company sells home furnishings, appliances and electronics through a chain of retail facilities and franchises located in Canada. Its web site is http://www.leons.ca. See my spreadsheets on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/lnf.htm.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on web site.
The following values are all for the last 5 years to December 31, 2007, which is the last annual statement date. The Revenues have increased at 7.2% per year, and this is not bad. The increase in Earnings per Share (EPS) has not been bad at 10.6% per year. The increase in dividends has been a very good number at 18.7% per year for the regular dividend. The closing price has increased at the rate of 13.1% per year. This is different from my figures above, as my figures in the first paragraph are from Quicken and they are figures from purchase date to the present date.
The Current Asset/ Current Liability Ratio at 1.9 is very good. The leverage (Asset/Book Value) is also good 1.47. The Return on Equity (ROE) is good at 18.2% for 2007 and this is slightly higher than the 5 year average of 18.1%. The Accrual Ratio is not good at 7.1%, but when the financial cash flow is included, it is at a better, neutral figure of 1.7%. Dividends have raised the 5 year average return by over 2% per year.
I still expect to do well in this stock over the long term. I will therefore, not be selling it because of the current decline in price. Leon has a habit of every few years of declaring a special dividend. They have already declared a special dividend of $.12 per share in May of this year. I know that some people have been confused by their special dividend, thinking that Leon is being inconsistent in the dividend declaration.
This company sells home furnishings, appliances and electronics through a chain of retail facilities and franchises located in Canada. Its web site is http://www.leons.ca. See my spreadsheets on this company at www.spbrunner.com/stocks/lnf.htm.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on web site.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Easy Method to Buy Good Stocks
Stocks can be underpriced and they can be overpriced. The purchase price of a stock makes a big difference to how much you make on a stock, even when buying for the long term. So it is important you pay a reasonable price for a stock
What I am going to talk about is a good method for deciding on when to buy a stock. You will use a list of good stocks and then check each stock against what stock analysts say about it before buying any stock. This is not, however, foolproof system.
What you want to do is go to the Mergent's Dividend Achiever’s list of the best Canadian dividend paying companies. Their list is at
http://www.dividendachievers.com/Site/others/constituents.php?id=733&preview. To determine what stock analysts feel about each stock, check the stocks at the Globe & Mail Investor’s site at http://www.globeinvestor.com/. Enter each stock code in the “search” box, indicating it is a stock. Follow each code with a T. For Example, for AGF Management Ltd, use “AGF.B-T”. Another place to find out what stock analyst think, is to go to Daily Buy and Sell Adviser’s list at http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/special_reports/index.html and click to download the “Morning Call” report.
You will notice that the stock analysts will vary on their recommendations. Some will say Buy, and others Hold or Sell. They all have a 5 point system, and they will make a call based on what the majority of the stock analysts think.
The Globe & Mail rates stocks as Strong Buy (1), Buy (2), Hold (3), Underperform (4) and Sell (5). Morning Call rates stocks as Buy (1), Buy/Hold (2), Hold (3), Hold/Sell (4) and Sell (5). Other sites talk about Buy (1), Overweight (2), Hold (3), Underweight (4) and Sell (5).
For example, if according to Morning Call a stock has 9 analysts with 5 saying the stock is a buy, 3 saying it is a buy/hold and 1 saying it is hold. To get a collective rating, you would give the buys 1 point for each analyst (or 5 points) and buy/hold 2 points for each analyst (or 6 points) and the hold 3 points for each analyst (or 3 points) for a total of 19 points. Divide by 9 to get 1.5, which is a buy. You should consider this a buy. (Any rating over 2.5 is a buy.)
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on web site.
What I am going to talk about is a good method for deciding on when to buy a stock. You will use a list of good stocks and then check each stock against what stock analysts say about it before buying any stock. This is not, however, foolproof system.
What you want to do is go to the Mergent's Dividend Achiever’s list of the best Canadian dividend paying companies. Their list is at
http://www.dividendachievers.com/Site/others/constituents.php?id=733&preview. To determine what stock analysts feel about each stock, check the stocks at the Globe & Mail Investor’s site at http://www.globeinvestor.com/. Enter each stock code in the “search” box, indicating it is a stock. Follow each code with a T. For Example, for AGF Management Ltd, use “AGF.B-T”. Another place to find out what stock analyst think, is to go to Daily Buy and Sell Adviser’s list at http://www.dailybuyselladviser.com/special_reports/index.html and click to download the “Morning Call” report.
You will notice that the stock analysts will vary on their recommendations. Some will say Buy, and others Hold or Sell. They all have a 5 point system, and they will make a call based on what the majority of the stock analysts think.
The Globe & Mail rates stocks as Strong Buy (1), Buy (2), Hold (3), Underperform (4) and Sell (5). Morning Call rates stocks as Buy (1), Buy/Hold (2), Hold (3), Hold/Sell (4) and Sell (5). Other sites talk about Buy (1), Overweight (2), Hold (3), Underweight (4) and Sell (5).
For example, if according to Morning Call a stock has 9 analysts with 5 saying the stock is a buy, 3 saying it is a buy/hold and 1 saying it is hold. To get a collective rating, you would give the buys 1 point for each analyst (or 5 points) and buy/hold 2 points for each analyst (or 6 points) and the hold 3 points for each analyst (or 3 points) for a total of 19 points. Divide by 9 to get 1.5, which is a buy. You should consider this a buy. (Any rating over 2.5 is a buy.)
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on web site.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
If You Are Just Starting Out, Index Funds Maybe The Way To Go
If you do not have much money, start with something like the TD Canadian Index fund or the TD Canadian Index-e Fund. They both have a MER under 1%. The Index-e must be bought online. The minimum payment is $100.00. The minimum payment amount is important if you are dealing with small sums. When you open a trading account, make sure that you know the rules. My son has a Bank of Montreal Investor Line trading account and minimum purchase for any mutual fund is $1,000. This can make a big difference.
Say you have saved a few thousand dollars for a stock purchase. When you make the stock purchase, you have a few hundred dollars left over. For me, I can just throw the money into a MMF or Index fund as I have a TD Waterhouse Trading Account. For my son, he can leave the extra in his trading account, earning no interest or move it to his chequing account earning some interest. The problem with moving it to his chequing account is that he is likely to spend it. If it were left in his trading account, in a mutual fund, it would be left alone.
If you can afford to make a purchase, you can purchase the iShares CDN Dividend Index Fund (TSX-XDV) or the Claymore CDN Dividend & Income Achievers ETF (TSX-CDZ). The iShares fund is 30 of the largest Canadian dividend paying companies, (see http://ca.ishares.com). The Claymore Dividend & Income Achievers fund reflects the Mergent’s Dividend Achievers list, (see http://www.claymoreinvestments.ca/about.aspx). The Mergent’s list is a list of the best Canadian dividend paying companies that have a history of increasing their dividends. This list is at http://www.dividendachievers.com/.
The value of going with either of these funds is that the purchase price is low, just over $20 a shares. Since you have to buy 100 shares, you can save just over $2,000 to make your first purchase. Most good stocks nowadays are in the $30, $40 and $50 range.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on web site.
Say you have saved a few thousand dollars for a stock purchase. When you make the stock purchase, you have a few hundred dollars left over. For me, I can just throw the money into a MMF or Index fund as I have a TD Waterhouse Trading Account. For my son, he can leave the extra in his trading account, earning no interest or move it to his chequing account earning some interest. The problem with moving it to his chequing account is that he is likely to spend it. If it were left in his trading account, in a mutual fund, it would be left alone.
If you can afford to make a purchase, you can purchase the iShares CDN Dividend Index Fund (TSX-XDV) or the Claymore CDN Dividend & Income Achievers ETF (TSX-CDZ). The iShares fund is 30 of the largest Canadian dividend paying companies, (see http://ca.ishares.com). The Claymore Dividend & Income Achievers fund reflects the Mergent’s Dividend Achievers list, (see http://www.claymoreinvestments.ca/about.aspx). The Mergent’s list is a list of the best Canadian dividend paying companies that have a history of increasing their dividends. This list is at http://www.dividendachievers.com/.
The value of going with either of these funds is that the purchase price is low, just over $20 a shares. Since you have to buy 100 shares, you can save just over $2,000 to make your first purchase. Most good stocks nowadays are in the $30, $40 and $50 range.
This blog is meant for educational purposes only, and is not to provide investment advice. Before making any investment decision, you should always do your own research or consult an investment professional. See my website at www.spbrunner.com/stocks.html for a list of the stocks for which I have put up spreadsheets on web site.
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