My Stock Picks

The markets are still down year to date and stock valuations depressed, some see this as an opportunity others believe it’s the end of the world. I think there are a lot of good opportunities out there for the long-term investor, with some homework and due diligence I believe you can buy some great bargains. I thought I share some of my favourite picks today with the readers.

1.       Rogers Communication , RCI.B

Rogers is Canada’s largest wireless service provider, it bought FIDO a few year’s ago in anticipation of more competition. Rogers currently has no debt due till 2011, growing consumer base although it slowed down last quarter. Rogers Generates a strong cashflow and has consistently increased dividends over the years, currently $0.29/quarter yielding 3.78%, dividend was increased with Q4 results. It’s expected that Rogers will announce Nadir Mohamed will be the new CEO of the company which is good news for investors.

2.       Bank of Nova Scotia, BNS

Canada’s most international bank, recently reported the best results out of all the 5 major banks. I think all Canadian banks are a good option, I like BNS mainly due to the more international exposure and a lot of room to grow domestically. Current dividend is $0.49/quarter yielding 6.04%! I strongly believe  Canadian bank dividends are safe and enjoy the huge yield on BNS.

3.       RioCan, REI.UN

Canada’s largest REIT! RioCan is my REIT play, its recent results were strong and management execution has been great. RioCan is disciplined in managing debt and has a distribution of $0.115/month yielding 11.27% I think their distribution is safe for the immediate future should things get worse there might be a cut, but I believe RioCan is a great long term REIT play.

4.       Husky’s Energy, HSE

Husky Energy is one of the largest integrated energy companies in the country. Husky is my oil play as I do not expect oil to stay under $50 for the long term, I believe it is reasonable to expect oil to increase to the $65-$80 level within the next year. Husky current pays a dividend of $0.30/quarter yielding about 4.30%.

5.       Vodafone, VOD (ADR on NYSE)

My international play, Vodafone based in UK is world’s largest wireless provider owns part of Verizon communication. Good position in the emerging market like India where mobile usage is still strong and continuing to grow. $1.35/annual dividend yielding 7.69% and I think the dividend is safe.

Although there are many other great opportunities these are the four I wanted to point out just for some diversification reasons, a few other’s I like are:

TD Canada Trust, TD

Manulife Financial, MFC

Johnson & Johnson, JNJ

Royal Bank, RY

Kinross Gold, K and

Talisman Energy, TLM

As you may already know I am a dividend investor and don’t really buy non dividend paying companies with a very few exceptions. As I have mentioned before due to my wedding and home purchase coming up this summer I am unfortunately not fully invested.

Disclosure: Hold RCI, MFC, HSE. Fiancé employed Scotia Capital, BNS.

What are some of your favourite investments?

Any opinions here should not be treated as an investment advice, please consult with an investment professional before you invest your money. Dividends are not guaranteed can be cut or eliminated at anytime without notice. Past performance does no guarantee for future performance.