Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

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Shakespeare
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by Shakespeare »

Shaw Announces 2% Discount for Shares Issued Under Its Dividend Reinvestment Plan

A little bit of good news
Translation: they want Other People's Money (OPM). Which isn't necessarily good news, since it means they don't have sufficient cash and the new shares will be dilutive. (Depends if the OPM is invested successfully.)
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by Taggart »

From what I've seen in the financial statements for Shaw, for the last few years even after paying their dividends the company still has excess free cash flow. The number of new common shares they've issued over the last few years doesn't seem excessive either. Book value per share has been increasing year by year, so they must be doing something right. As for the future, well your guess is as good as mine.

Disclosure: I own shares in SJR.B.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by Taggart »

Disclosure: I own shares in Shaw, but..... a few problems to think about.

Dividend lovers shrug off challenges facing Shaw

john heinzl — INVESTMENT REPORTER
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
Published Tuesday, Jul. 12, 2011 6:51PM EDT
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by AltaRed »

I love to hate this stock. A number of times I considered purchasing it when it seems to be priced right (to have something in the telecom space) BUT I loathe the dual class share structure and in particular Brad's compensation package. An investor has to have SOME principles. FWIW, I hate Telus even more as an entity, and both Bell and Rogers are too expensive.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by zinfit »

Many astute market observers are saying the telcos now have a major competitive advantage. Convergence is now a reality and they can provide bundled packages which are far superior to cable operators. The landline system is making a comeback. If they are correct I would avoid both Shaw and Rogers. MTS might be worth considering. Its got a strong balance sheet and seems to have stemmed a long term slide revenue declines. Bell Alliant is in the same boat. BCE and Telus have been doing very well . I just wonder if there is any room for price appreciation?
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

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I wouldn't consider bit players like MTS or Bell Aliant. They are boxed in with nowhere to go competitively. A dividend yield is all they have to offer and that may be under threat if the biggies decide to muscle in for market share. Needless to say, I've been on the fence for over 10 yrs on this segment and still not liking the vulnerabilities.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

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FWIW, I hate Telus even more as an entity
Telus is having a good morning up over a buck!! :)))
This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

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BRIAN5000 wrote:Telus is having a good morning up over a buck!! :)))
Means nothing to me. I couldn't wait to get rid of them as a service (me as a customer). Why would I want to be an investor?
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by AltaRed »

Getting back to Shaw, I believe there is merit in them having captured as much 'cable' market share as they are likely to hold (in Calgary anyway). Telus' Optik service seems to be getting momentum and has better VOD service than Shaw. Having said that, the trend has been away from Telus regarding DSL Internet service and away from Telus landline telephone service, so it is hard to tell where customers will go for bundled service. Anecdotally, I maintain email distribution lists for various organizations I am involved with and the vast majority are Shaw email addresses (and more converting to Shaw on an ongoing basis than are going to Telus in the past few years).
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by mpav »

Yeah I have wrestled with switching from shaw to telus for a bit, and have been struggling to make the call. Geography has also become a factor in selecting a telco provider in Canada (with Quebec, and the west being less competitive that Ontario)

Shaw - has delivered more to investors, seems to be a much better client facing operation that telus

Telus - has been making inroads, is an anti-convergence play...meaning they are one of the last purer play telcos

I am a holder of shaw, and having keeping my position (reinvesting dividends as well). My short term approach is to stay and collect (I would be buying telus after a big run)...plus if they do a wireless strategy, I have a feeling they will be extremely successful in their footprint and take plenty of marketshare from telus.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by BRIAN5000 »

BRIAN5000 wrote:
Telus is having a good morning up over a buck!! ))

Means nothing to me. I couldn't wait to get rid of them as a service (me as a customer). Why would I want to be an investor?
Yes you are correct. Means nothing to you because you haven't been in this sector for 10 years. Means a lot to me cause 17% of my portfolio is in this sector at the moment.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by deaddog »

AltaRed wrote:
BRIAN5000 wrote:Telus is having a good morning up over a buck!! :)))
Means nothing to me. I couldn't wait to get rid of them as a service (me as a customer). Why would I want to be an investor?
ROE 15%, Profit margin 11%; Dividend yield 4%; Dividend payout 58%
YTD performance +23% vs TSX -1%
What’s not to like? :|
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by zinfit »

I bought BCE when the private equity deal fell through. It's went from being in the low 20's to the high 30's and has been delivering with high dividend and dividend increases. They have also made big cap expenditures on improving and upgrading their infrastucture . They also have a strong position on content [TSN,BNN and G&M] . This may be the big trump card in the age of handheld devices. None of their rivals have similar content advantages. They are very strong in the big markets[Quebec and Ontario].
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by AltaRed »

deaddog wrote:What’s not to like? :|
Somewhat similar thing I feel about IT companies. Here today, easily screwed tomorrow.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by kcowan »

AltaRed wrote:
deaddog wrote:What’s not to like? :|
Somewhat similar thing I feel about IT companies. Here today, easily screwed tomorrow.
I have one of those digital set top boxes from Shaw cable. I have tried to unload it on craigslist and there are dozens for sale (people converting to Optix). Just google "shaw digital box" to see your area.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by Shakespeare »

I have one of those digital set top boxes from Shaw cable.
I gave mine (~12 years old, 4:3) to my neighbour. But I think he's still using analog anyway.

(Eventually, Shaw will stop analog service, but that's probably some years away.)
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by mpav »

zinfit wrote:I bought BCE when the private equity deal fell through. It's went from being in the low 20's to the high 30's and has been delivering with high dividend and dividend increases. They have also made big cap expenditures on improving and upgrading their infrastucture . They also have a strong position on content [TSN,BNN and G&M] . This may be the big trump card in the age of handheld devices. None of their rivals have similar content advantages. They are very strong in the big markets[Quebec and Ontario].

In regards to shaw, if you take the corus assets into consideration the family has the best media assets in the country. Interesting as they are split into separate companies....
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by zinfit »

Corus is better then CTV, G&M,BNN AND TSN? I guess I am biased in the sense that I regularly read the G&M on the net and watch BNN and TSN probably more then all the other channels combined. If the competitors want this content they will to pay BCE for the content.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by kansai_92 »

Shaw is debuting the Movie Club. However with only 146 titles to start, I'm not sure how this is a competitor to Netflix.
http://www.financialpost.com/executive/ ... story.html

Anyone want to be aggressive and go long on Netflix while at the same time shorting a company like Shaw or Comcast/Time Warner?
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by kcowan »

Apparently Shaw only offers these to its cable customers so it is not really competing with Netflix.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by AltaRed »

kcowan wrote:Apparently Shaw only offers these to its cable customers so it is not really competing with Netflix.
Until Shaw fixes its antiquated VOD system and offers considerably more titles to its subscribers, it appears to be a total waste of time and money. Working through the menus should be as fast as a Google Search on a PC.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by zinfit »

Corus runs the Canadian movie channels[the alleged equivalent to HBO]. Netflix will make these channels obsolete.
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

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zinfit wrote:Corus runs the Canadian movie channels[the alleged equivalent to HBO]. Netflix will make these channels obsolete.
Not the ones with recent runs... so far. Movie Central and TMC currently run movies released in 2010 and 2011 (and they cost much less than Superchannel which I would never subscribe to).
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by kcowan »

AltaRed wrote:
zinfit wrote:Corus runs the Canadian movie channels[the alleged equivalent to HBO]. Netflix will make these channels obsolete.
Not the ones with recent runs... so far. Movie Central and TMC currently run movies released in 2010 and 2011 (and they cost much less than Superchannel which I would never subscribe to).
Won't the $5 monthly fee make the Movie Central channels obsolete?
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Re: Shaw Communications (Symbol-SJR.B)

Post by AltaRed »

kcowan wrote:Won't the $5 monthly fee make the Movie Central channels obsolete?
Possibly if most everyone else follows suit.
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