Portfolio Update - March 2017

       The month of February March 2017 is now behind us. The price per barrel of crude oil has traded below $50 per most of the month of March.  All eyes in Canada were on the budgets for Alberta and then the federal government of Canada.  The Alberta budget is big news  in Canada due to the importance of the province to the overall economy of Canada.  People from all parts of Canada work in Alberta and fly back and forth.  These workers not only provide revenue for the airlines but also the local economies of the areas these workers call home. The NDP government of Alberta did not cut spending in their budget and forecasting the government running deficits until 2024. The NDP government of Alberta is also seeing the price of oil remaining below $60.00 until 2021.

      I wrote about purchasing more shares of High Liner Foods (HLF.TO) on March 5, which you can read about here.  This means that I own 100 shares of HLF.TO.  The 50 shares purchased in March were not eligible for the dividend on March 15. This purchase adds $28.00 to my annual dividend income base on a yearly dividend of $0.56 per share.

      On March 10, I wrote about a covered call expiring on TD Bank (TD.TO) which you can read about here. TD Bank is involved in a class action lawsuit as employees say they were pressured into sales tactics to increase business.  Banks are for profit corporations, therefore their goal is to be profitable. I do not think the lawsuit has any merit.

     I wrote about post about WestJet Airlines Ltd. (WJA.TO), which you can read about here.  WJA.TO is a profitable airline and has been profitable for many years.  Their employees do not belong to a union, but can participate in employee stock purchase plan.  On March 29, I sold all my shares of WJA.TO.  This sale decreases my annual dividend income by $78.40.   If the price of WJA.TO falls below $22.00 per share, I will strongly consider purchasing shares.

     I was watching BNN, which is the Business News Network in Canada, one morning and the topic of the day was the Home Capital Group (HCG.TO) has fired their CEO over night. Adding to the fact that HCG.TO fired their CEO, was the fact he was is the position for less than a tear.  The company also had some problems over the last few years. I decided to take advantage of the stock falling approximately 10.00% by selling a put option.  I collect the premium upfront as the seller of an put option is paid a premium for being obligated to BUY the shares at the strike price on or before expiration.

    I also decided to write a covered call in Roger's Communications Inc. (RCI.B.TO) with a strike price of $60.00.  I have owned 200 shares of RCI.B.TO for awhile. RCI.B.TO has not raised it's dividend in over 2 years.


Shares Acquired Through DRIP


0.170 shares of ENB.TO @ $54.71 for a total cost of $9.32 (Transfer Agent)

4 Unit of D.UN.TO @ $18.8635 for a total cost of $75.45 (Margin Account)

1 units  of CUF.UN @ $14.1135 for a total cost of $14.11 (TFSA)

Please note, that the DRIPs inside my margin account and TFSA are synthetic drips which indicate the distribution or dividend must be enough to purchase whole shares. 

As of  April 2, the value of the portfolio is $103014.50. This is a 0.226%  increase over last month's total.  The spreadsheet in the investment tab above has been updated.

 Disclosure:   Long RCI.B, TD.TO, HLF.TO

Please Note:  All stocks are from the Toronto Stock Exchange.

DISCLAIMER

I am not a financial planner, financial advisor, accountant or tax attorney. The information on this blog represents my own thoughts and opinions and should NOT be taken as investment or business advice.

Every individual should do their due diligence to make their own financial decisions based on their financial situation and tolerance for risk.