In 2009 our 8 Strong Buys from January 1 gained an average of 42.0% each. Our 20 Buys were up an average of 35.4%. My own portfolio was Up 44.4%. By comparison the markets were up significantly, but less than our picks. The Toronto TSX index was is Up 30.7% and the DOW index was Up 18.8% and the S&P 500 was Up 23.5%. As the graph below shows, we had only one real loser of a stock, and that was a stock we had rated as a Highly Speculative Buy.
| Group | Rating to start 2009 | Price Increase | Our Performance | ||
| Average of 8 strong buys | Strong Buy | 42.0% | very good | ||
| Average of 20 buys | Buy | 35.4% | very good | ||
| Average for all 28 buys and strong buys | 37.3% | ||||
| Average of 6 weak buys | Weak Buy | 11.1% | good | ||
| Average of 1 weak sells | Weak Sell |
23.8% | very bad | ||
| Average for all 7 Neutral ratings (weak buy or weak sell) | 12.9% | ||||
| Sell | |||||
| Rated As – Strong Buy at January 1, 2010 | |||||
| Name | Beginning 2009 Price | Rating to start 2009 | Price at end 2010 | Price Increase | Our Performance |
| Canadian Western Bank (CWB, Toronto) | 12.38 | Speculative Strong Buy | 21.94 | 77% | very good |
| Groupe Aeroplan (AER, Toronto) | 8.68 | Strong Buy | 10.89 | 25% | very good |
| Microsoft (MSFT, NASDAQ) | 19.44 | Strong Buy | 30.48 | 57% | very good |
| Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (BPF.un, Toronto) | 7.51 | Strong Buy | 12.15 | 62% | very good |
| Quest Capital Corp. (QC, Toronto) | 0.86 | Speculative Strong Buy | 1.18 | 37% | very good |
| DALSA CORPORATION (DSA, Toronto) | 7.00 | (lower) Strong Buy | 7.62 | 9% | good |
| Shaw Communications Inc. (SJR.b, Toronto SJR, New York) | 21.61 | (lower) Strong Buy | 21.67 | 0% | good |
| eBay (eBay, NASDAQ) | 13.96 | Speculative (lower) Strong Buy | 23.53 | 69% | very good |
| Average Strong buy | Strong buy | 42.0% | very good | ||
| 8 | |||||
| Rated As – Buy | |||||
| Name | Beginning 2009 Price | Rating to start 2009 | Price at end 2010 | Price Increase | Our Performance |
| Canadian National Railway Company (CNR, Toronto CNI, New York) | 44.78 | (higher) Buy | 57.34 | 28% | very good |
| Telus non-voting (T.A, Toronto TU, New York) | 34.90 | (higher) Buy | 32.75 | -6% | bad |
| HOME CAPITAL GROUP INC (HCG, Toronto) | 19.80 | Speculative (higher) Buy | 41.85 | 111% | very good |
| MELCOR DEVELOPMENTS LTD. (MRD, Toronto) | 4.58 | (Higher) Buy | 11.39 | 149% | very good |
| IGM Financial (IGM, Toronto) | 35.45 | (higher) Buy | 42.41 | 20% | good |
| TMX Group (X, Toronto) | 25.19 | (higher) Buy | 33.13 | 32% | very good |
| Western Financial Group (WES, Toronto) | 1.81 | Speculative Buy | 2.60 | 44% | very good |
| FIRSTSERVICE CORPORATION (FSV, Toronto) (FSRV, NASDAQ) | 13.15 | Speculative (higher) Buy | 19.12 | 45% | very good |
| Intact Financial Corporation (IFC, Toronto) | 31.61 | (higher) Buy | 37.15 | 18% | good |
| Wal-Mart (WMT, New York) | 56.06 | (higher) Buy rated at U.S. $56.69 | 53.45 | -5% | bad |
| Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS, T) | 21.10 | (higher) Buy | 29.91 | 42% | very good |
| Starbucks (SBUX, U.S.) | 9.46 | (Higher) Buy | 23.06 | 144% | very good |
| Canadian Tire (CTC.a, TO) | 43.45 | Buy | 57.50 | 32% | very good |
| Thomson Reuters Inc. (TRI, Toronto and New York) | 35.60 | Buy | 33.95 | -5% | bad |
| Manulife Financial (MFC, Toronto and New York) | 20.80 | Speculative Buy | 19.33 | -7% | bad |
| Kingsway Financial Services Inc. (KFS, Toronto and New York) | 6.44 | Highly Speculative Buy | 1.83 | -72% | very poor |
| Target (TGT, New York) | 34.53 | Buy rated at U.S. $34.53 | 48.37 | 40% | very good |
| Walgreen (WAG, New York) | 24.67 | Buy | 36.72 | 49% | very good |
| Costco (COST, N) | 52.50 | (lower) Buy | 59.17 | 13% | good |
| Staples (SPLS), NASDAQ | 17.92 | (lower) Buy | 24.59 | 37% | very good |
| Buy | 35% | very good | |||
| 20 | |||||
| Rated As Weak Buy | |||||
| Name | Beginning 2009 Price | Rating to start 2009 | Price at end 2010 | Price Increase | Our Performance |
| Stantec Inc. (STN, Toronto) | 30.15 | Weak Buy / Hold | 30.40 | 1% | good |
| Loblaw Companies Limited (L, Toronto) | 34.97 | Weak Buy / Hold | 33.88 | -3% | bad |
| Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., ATD.B | 14.44 | Weak Buy | 20.82 | 44% | very good |
| Tim Hortons (THI, Toronto and New York) | 34.89 | Weak Buy/Hold | 32.13 | -8% | bad |
| FedEx (FDX,NY) | 64.15 | Weak Buy/Hold | 83.45 | 30% | very good |
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKB, New York) | 3,214.00 | Weak Buy | 3,286.00 | 2% | good |
| Average Weak Buy | Weak Buy | 11% | good | ||
| 6 | |||||
| Rated As – Weak Sell | |||||
| Name | Beginning 2009 Price | Rating to start 2009 | Price at end 2010 | Price Increase | Our Performance |
| Watts Water Technologies Inc. (WTS, New York) | 24.97 | Weak Sell | 30.92 | 24% | very bad |
| Average Weak Sell | Weak Sell | 24% | very bad | ||
| 1 | |||||
| Rated As – Sell | |||||
| Name | Beginning 2009 Price | Rating to start 2009 | Price at end 2010 | Price Increase | Our Performance |
| Average Sell | Sell | ||||
| 0 | |||||
| Rated As – Strong Sell | |||||
| Name | Beginning 2009 Price | Rating to start 2009 | Price at end 2010 | Price Increase | Our Performance |
| Average Strong Sell | |||||
DISCLAIMER: All stock ratings presented are “generic” in nature and do not take into account the unique circumstances and risk tolerance and risk capacity of any individual. The information presented is not a recommendation for any individual to buy or sell any security. The authors are not registered investment advisors and the information presented is not to be considered investment advice to any individual. The reader should consult a registered investment advisor or registered dealer prior to making any investment decision. For ease of writing style the newsletter and articles are often written in the first person. But, legally speaking, all information and opinions are provided by InvestorsFriend Inc. and not by the authors as individuals. The author(s) of this report may have a position, as disclosed in each report. The authors’ positions may subsequently change without notice.
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