George Weston Ltd. (WN.TO)

There’ve been some challenges in the frozen food area, but these are temporary, and they are going to step in and fix that. There is a new president coming in, which will pay particular attention to their problems. 70% of their exposure is Loblaw's (LB-T). Through the buyback program they’ve initiated, they are going to go through the 50% level once again. Loblaws is the dominant grocer in Canada. Dividend yield of 1.6%. (Analysts' price target is $120.50.)

WN-T vs. L-T Long Term. Neither is growing dramatically. They are quite interrelated. They are so similar that if there is a capital gain, then don’t move from one to the other. He would rather have L-T because they have more disclosure. He is not that comfortable being in the grocery space anyway.

He owns L-T. It has done well over the long term and pays a dividend that is not a great grower. You will not lose a lot on this one. They will adjust to the higher minimum wage.

Preferred series IV 5.2%? This is a good credit, but it is investment-grade rated by the credit rating agencies, and is a credit he is comfortable with. This specific issue is a straight perpetual, so from a deflationary standpoint, it is pretty defensive. It will do well if you think rates are going to go down. If rates go up a little, you are in great shape as well. It trades at around par with a running rate of around 520.

This is a major shareholder in Loblaws (L-T) as well as having a bakery business. You are getting the bakery at a significant discount, when you look at the value of Loblaws. He likes the positioning of Loblaws and their holding of Shoppers, and they have great exposure in the discount chain area. Dividend yield of 1.6%. (Analysts’ price target is $127.)

An expensive stock. Looks good, but getting a little tired. Give it a couple of months before you buy and see how it trades out.

(A Top Pick Feb 9/16. Up 9.42%.) He is generally constructive on the supermarket space and his ownership of Loblaws (L-T). Doesn’t think food price inflation, that has largely overhung the space, is going to be here to stay.

The parent company of Loblaws, the largest grocer in Canada. The majority of NAV comes from Loblaws. They still have a small bakery division in both Canada and the US. He would look for news on Loblaws that would drive this stock. Finds this quite cheap compared to the value of Loblaws and the bakeries.

(A Top Pick Nov 10/15. Up 6.92%.) This is a parent of Loblaw’s (L-T) which has performed reasonably well, and now they have Shoppers.

There is nothing wrong with Weston, but he prefers Loblaw’s (L-T), which hasn’t been great this year because of the food wars, inflation, and whether they pass it on to the customers or not. When you look at what Weston owns and when you look at the stub of Loblaw’s, there is often a trade that can be done there. Looking at the chart of Loblaw’s, it is probably not a bad time to be buying it down here. It gives you more liquidity, and is easier to follow.

(A Top Pick July 28/15. Up 5.85%.) The reason he liked this was more because Loblaw’s (L-T) was a big part of it. On the other side is the bakery operation, which has been underperforming. They have been investing heavily and that is going to show. He no longer owns the stock, but still likes the company longer-term.

A slow and steady consumer staples name. Technically it has done well, moving up and meandering higher in the last little while. In the last 12 months, it is up about 10%. Decent technical moves. A bit expensive, trading at about 17X FE, and growing at about 7%. PEG ratio to growth is a bit higher at about 2.4X, which would concern him. He would prefer Metro (MRU-T) or Loblaw’s (L-T). Dividend yield of about 1.6%.

(Top Pick Mar 5/15, Up 12.74%) It is trying to break out now. Pretty good volume. He likes what they have done in the last two years. He is keeping his position.

He is trying to position his portfolio somewhat defensively given the volatility he is seeing in Canada. This has a relatively strong balance sheet with a lot of cash, along with the bakery business where they can potentially unlock some of the value. Dividend yield of 1.66%.

Doesn’t own this, but does own Loblaw’s (L-T), their major underlying asset. By default, she would be accumulating this one at these levels. Grocers tend to source a lot of their fresh goods from the US, and the squeeze on margins can’t easily be passed through.