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Opinions Barry Schwartz
High Liner FoodsHLF.TOCOMMENTDec 01, 2014
Barry SchwartzStock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 19, 2026. Market Open.
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The company is 120 years old and is the leading brand in North America in frozen value added seafood, number 1 in the Canadian retail segment and number 1 in the U.S. food services segment. Eating fish is considered a healthy alternative to eating meats and although Americans are not big fish eaters, there is good growth potential as attitudes may change. It is paying down debt as well as increasing the dividend by 30% and it recently reported record results. Trades at 7X earnings and insiders own 40%, almost unheard of.
He would not double down on it because we are in tax loss season. There could be some tax loss selling in November/December. It has fairly high debt. It now pays a dividend but did not do so when he owned it. They are a leader in the field and know what they are doing. They could do well in time.
He decided to keep the name because the yield is safe and good. It is a touch business. They are doing value added food processing on many types of fish. Margins have been squeezed. He thinks this might be coming to an end. The shrimp farm in Asia looks like it is fixed. The company has value at some point. It is the kind of name that private equity tends to gravitate to. He thinks it should be trading higher, but it is not a momentum name.
Lyle Stein
This is one he wants to hold for a very, very long time. Have a lot of things going on in their favour. Distributes frozen seafood, and more protein is going to be eaten globally. Has distribution all across the grocery chains. As fuel prices drop and the American consumer gets wealthier, maybe they’ll go out to eat more. Valuation is incredibly cheap at about 13X next year’s earnings.