Telus Corp (T.TO)

The telecoms in Canada are sluggish now, because they have a lot of capex which limits their EPS. Telus is different because of its Healthnet service that they will roll out. Rogers is into sports. The dividends are roughly the same in this group, but where is the growth going to come from in this sector? Again, they'll be spending heavily for the 5G roll-out. He avoids this space.

Telcos & utilities' outlook in the work-from-home era Rogers got hit when sports were cancelled/postponed and their broadcasting business may be impacted if MLB baseball is cancelled. Who knows? With Telus, you're taking less media-related risk. Telus is down 20% from its peak and pays a dividend over 5% that should rise. He sees no problems with telcos and utilities going forward, because the work-from-home trend will support them. But with both classes, some investors consider them boring (flat share price despite high dividend) and moved into growth/tech stocks. The dividend payers are now unloved, but history teaches us that that is precisely when to buy them.

A risky telco? He does not own RCI in his portfolios. The dividends are secure, but he prefers BCE and T. They are all facing similar challenges. He thinks RCI has not been as good at controlling costs.

Sell Telus and buy Eldorado Gold? They're totally different companies, different stories. Can't compare them. Eldorado's valuation is extended, so he'd look elsewhere. Stick with telecoms, which pay decent income and offer decent growth. People are using more bandwidth. Infrastructure and telcom stocks have been overlooked as investors have chased the tech high-flyers.

BCE and Telus Owning either is fine. It's splitting hairs to choose one over the other. Tech stocks are the big focus of investors now. The current 5% dividend yield + 5% dividend growth rate = your likely return. Be patient with them, because these stocks won't leap in a given day. Positives: both are staples, with cell phones indispensible in our lives as people work more from home and are using more data, which adds to their revenue. Also note, they are low-beta stocks, so, they don't rise or fall as much as the wider market, but are safe. They're part of a regulated oligopoly. He'd give a slight edge to Telus because of Telus Health which will become more a part of our lives as we go forward.

They are using Huawei to a great extent. Are they a good investment? There is now better appreciation for their stability during the pandemic. BCE-T is the steady blue chip of the sector while T-T is more of a grower. There is also a lot of insider buying of T-T over the years. He would prefer T-T. He would not be too concerned with use of Huawei. We are now moving away from globalization. There won't be enough impact to dissuade someone from investing in either of them.

He likes the wireless companies in Canada. T-T has probably been the most disciplined. Media have not made the desired returns for the competitors. He reduced exposure, selling RCI.B-T due to the 5 G roll-out.