With the year coming to an end, I thought it would be a good time to look over my portfolio and share one or two thoughts on each stock I currently own. Just a little blurb about each, how it has performed for me, if I still like it, and if I’d consider buying more.
Going through the list, I noticed a few things:
- Overall I am pretty happy with the mix of stocks and funds I own
- There is still SOME value to be found out there
- Over the last couple of months, I’ve received quite a few dividend increases. A few examples: Telus, Power Corp, Manulife, European Residential Reit & Diversified Royalty
- As I get older, and my portfolio increases I am leaning more towards safe and simple. Whether that is broad market ETFS, or solid blue chip stocks – my desire to chase yield and hyper growth/speculative stocks is *almost* completley gone.
Let’s get down to business – in no particular order:
Algonquin Power: 1023 Shares.
Steady as she goes. There has been some dilution – but it’s been used to continue their growth strategy. The stock has moved sideways/down for the last year – but my average price is around $12.00 so I am still quite a bit up. I am happy holding and collecting the US dollar dividend while I wait for the additional revenue from the recent acquisitions and share price to increase. No plans to add any more (aside from DRIPPED shares – which is currently about 50/year). Barring any crazy changes to their business model the plan is to hold this for the foreseeable future. Currently up 43%
Alimentation Couche Tard: 603 Shares
This is one of the stocks I purchased after selling off a portion of my XAW holdings. I have long wanted to add to the company and was lucky to see it dip to $36.00. Another set it and forget it stock. The yield is low (but growing). This is one of those stocks I could see holding into retirement. Currently up 37%.
Artis Reit: 847 Shares
The Sandpiper turnaround story continues to be a success. The dividend has been increased(there is also talk of a special dividend). The Net Asset Value (NAV) has continued to climb and the company has continued to buy back shares. This is still trading at a pretty big discount to NAV. After a few years of mediocre results -it’s nice to continually see good things come from the new Artis team. I expect this will continue to trade well below it’s NAV – but the gap seems to be closing. Currently up 8% and dripping about 35 new shares a year. I’ll continue to follow the transformation plan and then decide if I will hold this one long term. Currently happy to hold.
CAE: 245 Shares
Had a rough quarter – but this is another stock I was able to snag post covid when it originally tanked so I am still up about 9.5%. Expect some volatility over the next year or two – but long term still like it a lot. Expect this to pop in a post covid world (whenever that is). I expect the dividend to continue to be on hold until covid is well behind us. Happy to hold/would buy on dips.
Chorus Aviation: 931 shares
What can I say about this one. When I bought it – I thought Covid would be short lived and thought I got it at a steal. This is one of the few positions I am currently sitting on a loss with I am down about 35%– and they’ve cut their dividend. It is not a huge position – and long term I am sure it will recover – but I expect this to be dead money for a while (similar upward trajectory to CAE when it should rebound) – but this one fell a lot harder/faster. No plans to add to it. Position is small enough that I’ll wait out the pain a bit longer.
Diversified Royalty: 1548 Shares
Slowly recovering – an unexpected – but pleasant surprise when they raised the dividend last quarter. Although they did cut the dividend a bit when the pandemic hit – they’ve slowly started increasing it back to pre covid levels. Like a few others on the list – this should only go up once the economy is back in full swing (Mr Mikes, Mr Lube, etc). Don’t expect huge capital appreciation – but it’s a nice monthly paying income stock. Currently up about 3% on this one and dripping 9 new shares a month. Happy to hold in my TFSA.
European Residential Reit: 587 Shares
Recent third quarter results were very strong. Big increases in FFO/AFFO, occupancy remains strong, reasonable payout ratio for a REIT and a 4.8% dividend increase. What is not to like. They also extended their agreement with CAPREIT for another 2 years which adds more stability. Currently up 10%, dripping a new share each month and very happy to hold. If there are any major dips – I’d consider adding to this one.
GoEasy Financial: 276 Shares
Although the slightly missed some analyst expectations and pulled back slightly – I’d consider it a blip and expect this to continue to outperform. It’s been a complete rockstar for quite some time. Although the stock price is almost $200 – it is still relatively cheap (12 X earnings) and it pays a small – but growing very quickly dividend. There is a lot of volatility in this one – it moves quite a bit on a daily basis…if I was a trader I might jump in and out of it – but I am 100% happy holding this for long term. One of the top stocks you can own in Canada – the only real threat is any new regulations from the government. I am currently up +198% (not a typo) and that is after it pulled back quite a bit. I am expecting some more aggressive buybacks/dividend increases and another stellar q4/year end report.
Intertape Polymer: 776 Shares
What an odd series of events. They posted strong earnings (beat estimates) & actually increased their future revenue estimates – but the stock took a HUGE fall due to some short term lower margins due to higher prices. So while this may struggle in the short term – it’s still a great profitable, growing company. I took the opportunity to add 500 more shares and may add some more if it stays down. Revenue actually increased 23%, but net earnings decreased 5%. Long term this one will be fine and I am fine holding and collecting a nice juicy dividend (which is also paid in USD)! Hold/Buy
Manulife: 354 Shares
If you want a super stable, very cheap (under 8x earnings) blue chip company with growing dividends and some room for capital appreciation look no further. They just announced a nice 18% dividend increase. Will continue to add on dips. This one one kind of reminds of of Power Corp from a few years ago- the market didn’t like it, but fundamentals and value were strong. Eventually it will get some love and until then enjoy the dividends. Currently up about 15% on this one.
New Flyer Industries: 686 Shares
What can I say? Head office is in my hometown, I believe in the Green/Electric future and even though there are (quite a few) short term challenges -I still like it. After announcing a new bought deal to help shore put he balance sheet the stock tumbled again – so I took the opportunity to add an additional 400 shares. I am expecting a rough 12 months or more – but long term when it rises (and I am confident it will) I think it will shoot up very quickly. I may add a bit more if it falls below 20.00. Happy to hold/collect dividend. Currently DOWN 15%
Nexus Reit: 281 Shares
They continue to make acquisitions by issuing more shares. They had a similar strategy when they ran EdgeFront Reit (which I used to hold). Although the payout ratio is high (most REIT’s are) they continue to increase their funds from operations and occupancy remains high. Has done really well over the last year. I wouldn’t expect s much capital appreciation going forward- but it is a nice income stock with room for modest growth. Would consider buying more on Dips. Currently up 17%
RBC Canadian Equity Income Fund: 3600 Shares
Most people will tell you to stay away from mutual funds and stick to low cost ETFS – and while that is generally great advice, every now and then you may find a fund that is worth paying a fee for. In my case, I’ve owned this fund since I was about 20 years old. It is consistently one of the(if not THE) top performers in its class (Canadian Equity). I own the series “D” of this fund, which means Its via my direct invest account and I pay a lower fee – albeit still higher than an ETF. This fund holds 95 different Canadian dividend paying stocks. The top holdings holdings include great names such as: RBC, BAM, TD, Enbridge, Sunlife, BMO, etc. Since inception this fund has returned 11% per year, and pays a nice monthly dividend. I’ve owned this fund for a long time, and with compounding it is now paying me almost $400 per month (which I use to DRIP about 10 new shares each month). I am up over 30% on this one, and it is a key staple in my dividend portfolio. It provides growth, income and probably most importantly diversity.
Power Corp: 242 Shares
Just about as safe and reliable as a stock you can get in Canada. Over the last year or two it has finally started to get some more attention (the stake in Wealthsimple has definitely helped). Still trading at a steep discount to NAV, still buying back shares and raising their dividend now that they are allowed to again- all sounds good to me! I am up about 40% on this one. Happy to hold – but if it dips back into the mid 30’s I would be happy to add to this one. Long term hold.
Telus: 190 Shares
While I am probably not AS high on Telus as a lot of the people I follow- I still think it’s a great stock/long term hold. They recently increased the dividend as well. It pays a juicy dividend which is nice. The stock isn’t “cheap” trading at 30x earnings, but it’s not outrageously overpriced either. I am currently up 25% on Telus. I’d be okay adding on dips, and am comfortable holding this one long term. HOLD
Transcontinental: 934 Shares
I bought TCL as a value play a couple of years ago(around $14-$15/share). I am still up 21% from where I bought, but the stock has come creeping down into value territory again. I am happy to hold and drip new shares right now – but if I didn’t already have a large position I’d consider adding near these prices. TCL is trading around 11 X earnings and pays almost a 5% dividend. They’ve done a decent job transitioning from printing to packaging and the balance sheet looks better than it did a few years ago. Resin prices have hurt this short term, but longer term outlook still looks okay. Happy to hold/drip new shares each quarter.
Greenlane Renewables: 23,719 shares
This company has nothing but tailwinds behind it. The green space is only going to keep on growing. They are finally profitable, they have zero debt and they continue to add new contracts. It’s only a matter of time for this one to really start picking up. This stock is also a traders dream – it moves a lot and often. It has dropped a lot in price lately and if I didn’t already have over 20,000 shares I’d consider adding more. This is a long term hold, so don’t worry about the day to day fluctuations.
Western Forest: 2081 shares
This stock just has the worst luck….anytime there is good news it is directly followed by bad news. Climate catastrophes, union strikes, Pandemic and now potential concerns around the BC government’s plan around the review of its old growth forest management. If you take all those things away- the stock has actually been fundamentally pretty good- but it just can’t seem to catch a break. When you add the additional uncertainty of the price of lumber it adds to the drama. Fundamentally I still think the company looks good – and has done a decent job – they even reinstated a dividend. It trades very cheap and they have a history of buying back shares when the price falls. If you can stomach all the drama – it may be a stock for you. Personally I am okay holding it, and dripping new shares for now – but if (when) it gets back into the 2.50 range I may look at selling and move into something a little more risk free.
Conclusion:
Overall, I am fairly happy with my portfolio. The only stocks “underperforming” are really due to the pandemic or other forces outside the companies control. Dividends continue to roll in (and increase), and although most of my holdings are at or near all time highs – there is still some value to be found (Intertape Polymer, Transcontinental & Manulife come to mind). The only two companies I’d consider possibly selling are Chorus Aviation & Western Forest. If I am being honest, I originally bought Chorus aviation in my “chasing yield” days. I still think it will recover eventually – but the money could definitely have been put to better use.
My top performing stocks are *shocker* also the ones I am the happiest holding long term. This includes names like: Power Corp, Algonquin Power, Manulife & GoEasy. I am also very happy holding my *gasp* Mutual Fund with an MER over 1.00 which has performed very well for me. I also own RBNK – which I didn’t include in this list – but it’s done really well for me. It’s an ETF that holds the big Canadian banks and pays a monthly dividend. The plan is to hold that one forever.
Lastly. my watchlist continues to get updated, and currently sitting near the top are:
– Visa
– Brookfield Asset Management
– Equitable Group
I’ve also updated my portfolio page, which you can view HERE
That’s all folks. Cheers!
Moneymaaster 