Latest news with #KarenThomas
ABC News
2 days ago
- Climate
- ABC News
Flood-affected Ingham pleas for help as housing crisis worsens
Karen Thomas is packing up precious memories and the few belongings she has left as she prepares to leave her beloved community of Ingham. Ms Thomas hasn't been able to find any permanent housing since floods inundated her rental property in February. Community advocates say she's not alone. Residents in the flood-stricken Queensland town say they are being forced to leave due to a worsening housing crisis. Ms Thomas has not only lost her home in Ingham, she has lost her community. The floods came just after her daughter, Jody Davies, died from suicide in September. In the months after Jody's death, volunteering at the local community hub had given Ms Thomas meaning and purpose in her life. Then the floods hit. "All my baby photos, all my photos, I lost … I opened the box up and they were all destroyed, so I had to throw them out." Ms Thomas had no formal rental agreement for the flood-damaged property, and was not able to return to live there. She found temporary accommodation for a while, but that property has now been sold. Ms Thomas is moving to Townsville, more than 100 kilometres south, where she can stay with family. "I'm going to live with my grandchildren in a little room, until hopefully I can come back to Ingham," she said. The Hinchinbrook Community Support Centre's Quinta Lahtinen said Ms Thomas's circumstances were not said she had seen many people who were living in precarious housing situations as a result of the floods. When the flood hit Ingham, which has a population of about 4,500, it destroyed or badly damaged more than 200 houses. "Quite a number of our community are moving out of the district, because of the housing crisis," Ms Lahtinen said. "We're seeing a lot of people living in cars and vans. "We're seeing really significant overcrowding issues with families, and lots of couch surfing." Veteran real estate agent Felix Reitano said rental listings were few and far between "even before the floods", but the lack of available housing was worse now. "People [were] attracted to the town because of relatively low prices and its proximity to Townsville," he said. Mr Reitano said it was disheartening to have to turn good tenants away because there wasn't enough stock. "It's very embarrassing as a real estate agent when you can't place a good tenant in a house, where we would like to retain them as a tenant." He said businesses were slowly getting back on track, but skills shortages meant repair work was taking longer than it otherwise would. Hinchinbrook deputy mayor Mary Brown spearheaded recovery efforts after the floods. Ms Brown said the shire was continuing to advocate for an increase in housing supply. "That's not a quick process," she said. "The town looks lovely, a lot of the debris has been cleaned up, and things look like they're getting back to normal — and in a lot of ways they are. For Ms Thomas, a supply of more homes to ease the housing crisis can't come soon enough. "If the government put 100 dongas up on a piece of land, just for a year or so, people [would] get somewhere to live, and settle [while] the houses get fixed up, " she said. "If there's a place to rent, it's gone in five seconds. There's really nothing in this town.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Smartest Contrarian Play to Buy With $2,400 Right Now
Written by Karen Thomas, MSc, CFA at The Motley Fool Canada The tariff wars and economic uncertainty have brought a lot of volatility to the market. This uncertainty has created an environment of fear for investors. Yet, some things have remained the same. In my view, the best contrarian play today is one of them. Without further ado, here's why Cineplex Inc. (TSX:CGX) is one of the smartest contrarian plays to buy now. First of all, as we would expect with contrarian stocks, Cineplex stock is cheap. This is a function of the fact that investors are skeptical. Therefore, they probably do not believe the analyst estimates that are out there. As a result, Cineplex stock is trading at a very low 11 times next year's expected earnings. Also, it's trading at a mere nine times expected earnings in 2027. While Cineplex has struggled a lot since the pandemic, there are many signs that point to a recovery for this entertainment company. Let's review this in the next section. Contrary to what many believe, although not as high as it used to be, the movie exhibition business is still seeing good demand. In the first quarter of 2025, box office revenue came in at 101.9 million. This compares to $156.5 million in the first quarter of 2019. For the full year 2024, box office revenue came in at $562.2 million versus $705.5 million in 2019. This represents 65% and 80% of pre-pandemic levels, respectively. Importantly, Cineplex has fully recovered the first quarter box office shortfall on a year-to-date basis. In fact, it currently stands at 105% of last year's box office. With strong content expected for the remainder of the year, so the company is expecting a strong box office performance in 2025. So, while we are clearly in a lower attendance world than in the pre-pandemic years, things are being done to take advantage of the premier Canadian positioning that Cineplex has in the exhibition industry. For example, new movie watching experiences such as VIP and 4-dx theatres are meant to counter weakness and draw viewers in. VIP cinemas offer in-seat service and comfortable, reclining seats. 4-dx is a multi-sensory experience that immerses us through motion, vibration, water, wind, and lighting effects. These experiences have allowed Cineplex to charge more for a movie, thusly increasing its margins. Beyond the movie exhibition segment, Cineplex is also involved in other businesses. They include the gaming industry, as well as the media business. In fact, in the company's first quarter of 2025, these businesses demonstrated strength that served to offset weakness in the movie exhibition business. The media segment (11% of revenue) posted a 32.9% increase in revenue, as media spending has begun to recover after a difficult period. And looking ahead, the growth in this segment is likely to continue. In fact, capacity utilization in this business remains quite low, so there's nice upside to be had. The location-based entertainment business (14% of revenue), offers multiple entertainment options under one roof. In this segment, revenues grew 10.5% to $38.1 million. This was a quarterly record positively impacted by two new locations that opened up during the quarter. This segment offers a business that offers high margin revenue and a more predictable operating environment given that it's not dependent on content. In conclusion, it is my belief that Cineplex stock is underappreciated and undervalued – and an excellent contrarian play. It has a dominant market share of roughly 80% in the movie exhibition industry in Canada, something that investors are undervaluing. Also, its location-based entertainment venues offer an entertainment experience that the younger generations can enjoy. Finally, Cineplex is taking advantage of its position in the entertainment industry to capture the attention of advertisers who are looking for access to large audiences for their ads. The post The Smartest Contrarian Play to Buy With $2,400 Right Now appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Before you buy stock in Cineplex, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Cineplex wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $21,345.77!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 24 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 4/21/25 More reading Made in Canada: 5 Homegrown Stocks Ready for the 'Buy Local' Revolution [PREMIUM PICKS] Market Volatility Toolkit Best Canadian Stocks to Buy in 2025 Beginner Investors: 4 Top Canadian Stocks to Buy for 2025 5 Years From Now, You'll Probably Wish You Grabbed These Stocks Subscribe to Motley Fool Canada on YouTube Fool contributor Karen Thomas has a position in Cineplex. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Where I'd Invest $13,000 in the TSX Today
Written by Karen Thomas, MSc, CFA at The Motley Fool Canada 2025 has been quite the ride for the TSX. It started the year above 25,000, declined 10% to 22,500, and today is trading at 25,500. That's a lot of volatility for the index in just a few short months. This volatility reflects the trade uncertainties, along with risks related to the economy, the consumer, and the overall investment climate. Given this backdrop, I would maintain a conservative approach when investing. Please read on as I discuss a couple of attractive TSX stock ideas. Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB) is the heart and soul of the energy infrastructure industry. Its infrastructure supports a diversified list of energy sources and locations within North America. For example, Enbridge is connected to all operating U.S. Gulf Coast liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities. Also, Enbridge is the largest crude export terminal in North America. What this means is that Enbridge will be facilitating energy distribution for years to come. As a company, this translates into a low-risk, predictable business. One that has supported 30 consecutive years of dividend increases. And one that has become increasingly defensive. Enbridge's business has always been pretty low-risk, anchored by contracted/cost-of-service cash flows. The company's recent acquisition of three U.S. utilities, which closed in 2024, has made it even more so. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Enbridge reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.75, 17% higher than the prior year. This was primarily due to the addition of the utility acquisitions as well as higher Mainline system tolls. In summary, Enbridge is currently well-positioned as we can expect continued global demand growth for energy. As far as Enbridge stock goes, it's yielding a generous 6.1%. Also, Enbridge stock is trading at 19 times next year's earnings estimates, which are forecast to rise significantly in the next few years as the company's positive business fundamentals continue to take shape. I still think Enbridge is a stock that's grossly undervalued. The other TSX stock that I'd invest in today has exposure to another one of the major secular trends today – the infrastructure spending boom. Aecon Group Inc. (TSX:ARE) is one of Canada's largest publicly traded construction and infrastructure development companies. Aecon stock has rallied nicely over the last three years. In fact, it's up a respectable 27% in this timeframe. If we add that capital return to the company's annual dividend of $0.76 (for a roughly 4% yield), we can see that this stock has rewarded shareholders nicely. Yet, it's pretty undervalued today, trading at a mere 10 times next year's earnings estimate and 14 times the 2027 earnings estimate. Looking ahead, I expect Aecon's stock to continue its climb higher. My view is based on what I see as the prospects for Aecon in the coming years. There's simply a lot of infrastructure spending that needs to happen in the next many years. And Aecon is front and centre of all this action. The company has a diversified mix of projects by geography, sector, contract size, and type (see the image below). Simply put, there is a significant amount of infrastructure investment underway in North America. The current infrastructure is simply old and in need of replacement and/or updating. Also, the transition to a net zero economy is necessitating significant investments in order to build out the infrastructure to support this transition. So in summary, government infrastructure laws and spending plans continue to be positive. And companies continue to build out their renewable energy infrastructure. Both are driving strong demand for Aecon. In fact, Aecon's backlog currently stands at $9.7 billion, 54% higher than last year. Both Enbridge and Aecon are benefiting from positive fundamentals and positive trends. Also, they are both pretty undervalued given this and their strengths. In my view, these two TSX stocks are a great place to invest in today. The post Where I'd Invest $13,000 in the TSX Today appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Before you buy stock in Aecon Group, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Aecon Group wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $21,345.77!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 24 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 4/21/25 More reading Made in Canada: 5 Homegrown Stocks Ready for the 'Buy Local' Revolution [PREMIUM PICKS] Market Volatility Toolkit Best Canadian Stocks to Buy in 2025 Beginner Investors: 4 Top Canadian Stocks to Buy for 2025 5 Years From Now, You'll Probably Wish You Grabbed These Stocks Subscribe to Motley Fool Canada on YouTube Fool contributor Karen Thomas has positions in Enbridge and Aecon. The Motley Fool recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Best Stock to Buy Right Now: Barrick Gold vs Agnico Eagle?
Written by Karen Thomas, MSc, CFA at The Motley Fool Canada Gold stocks – the ultimate safe haven. These days, escalating tariff wars and increasing geopolitical risk around the globe has investors looking for safety. This is where gold stocks come in. But what is the best gold stock to buy right now? Let's take a look at which one is better, Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) or Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (TSX:AEM). I've written about Agnico Eagle Mines stock many times before. It has in fact been my favourite gold stock to own for many years now. My reasoning is fairly simple. Agnico has it all – solid assets, exemplary operational performance, and very low political/country risk. The price of gold has hit US $3,000 per ounce for the first time ever. Trading at all-time highs and showing no signs of slowing, it's no surprise that most gold stocks, like Agnico Eagle, are rallying. In fact, Agnico Eagle stock has doubled since the end of 2023 and increased 33% since the beginning of this year. So why do I like Agnico Eagle stock? Well, firstly, I like that Agnico-Eagle's mines are all in politically safe, pro-mining jurisdictions. This includes places like Canada, Europe, Australia, and Mexico. This means that Agnico's mines operate without disruption caused by civil unrest and/or government interference. In turn, this leads to consistently stable results that are only affected by market forces and operational factors. In other words, Agnico is more of a master of its own fate, versus other gold companies that have operations in unstable parts of the world. Also, Agnico has strong operational performance. This has translated into record production, cash flows, and earnings as well as strong shareholder returns. For example, Agnico reported record free cash flow of $2.1 billion in 2024. Also, costs were the lowest among its peer group and earnings per share (EPS) of $4.23 blew past expectations and were 90% higher than the prior year. Barrick is a different beast altogether, with operations in very risky parts of the world. In fact, Latin America and Asia Pacific accounts for 17% of gold production, and Africa and the Middle East accounts for 38% of gold production. While Barrick is also seeing strong cash flows as a result of strong commodity prices, the company is experiencing problems in its operations in Africa. Back on January 14, Barrick temporarily suspended operations of its mines in Mali. This was is response to restrictions that the government imposed on the company. In violation of their conventions, the government has actually been blocking Barrick's gold exports since early November 2024. This is the kind of business interruption that companies risk when they operate in unstable countries. And this is why Agnico has chosen to steer clear of these countries. This risk is not easily overlooked at any time, and this is why I chose to invest in Agnico Eagle years ago for my gold exposure. It's also why I continue to favour Agnico Eagle as my gold stock of choice. In conclusion, I definitely think that the best gold stock to buy right now to take advantage of the strength in gold prices is Agnico Eagle. It provides a safe haven that can shelter investors from geopolitical risks and even benefit from them. The post Best Stock to Buy Right Now: Barrick Gold vs Agnico Eagle? appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Motley Fool Canada's market-beating team has just released a brand-new FREE report revealing 5 "dirt cheap" stocks that you can buy today for under $50 a share. Our team thinks these 5 stocks are critically undervalued, but more importantly, could potentially make Canadian investors who act quickly a fortune. Don't miss out! Simply click the link below to grab your free copy and discover all 5 of these stocks now. Claim your FREE 5-stock report now! More reading Best Canadian Stocks to Buy in 2025 Here's Exactly How $15,000 in a TFSA Could Grow Into $200,000 4 Secrets of TFSA Millionaires Beginner Investors: 4 Top Canadian Stocks to Buy for 2025 5 Years From Now, You'll Probably Wish You Grabbed These Stocks Subscribe to Motley Fool Canada on YouTube Fool contributor Karen Thomas has a position in Agnico-Eagle Mines. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A Safer Dividend Stock to Buy With $20,000 Right Now
Written by Karen Thomas, MSc, CFA at The Motley Fool Canada Are you looking for safe dividend income? Do you want to know you have an income stream you can rely on to always be there and to grow? Well, look no further because I have a safe dividend stock to buy that will provide you with all that and more. Fortis (TSX:FTS) is an ultra-defensive and safe utility stock that has many reasons to buy it right now. The defining characteristic of a utility company is that it's safe and predictable. This comes from the fact that utility company revenue is regulated. But it also comes from the fact that utilities are an essential, a necessity. We can cut back spending on many things, but utilities are not one of them. Regardless of the economic situation, we need electricity to stay warm, eat, and enable our everyday living. As far as safe utility stocks go, Fortis is first class. It has a 51-year history of not only paying a dividend but also growing it each and every year. Looking ahead, Fortis is forecasting a 4-6% annual dividend growth rate to the year 2029. So, if you have $10,000, I would recommend buying Fortis for its safe and reliable dividend. The stock is currently trading at $62.17 and is yielding 3.96%. This means you would be able to buy 320 shares, which would give you $787 in annual dividend income. It might not sound like a lot, but these amounts really do add up over time. So, start early and invest regularly to see this grow over time. It's a new world today. With artificial intelligence and the electrification of energy sources, Fortis is in a bright spot. This will enable the company to continue to grow at a healthy clip and, of course, to continue to increase its dividend. At this time, Fortis is seeing significant service requests for data centres that will support the growing artificial intelligence industry. Should these come to fruition, it would result in energy demand that would make current growth projections for Fortis way too modest. So, there's a lot of upside to estimates. Also, Fortis's capital spending plan is $5.2 billion for 2024 and $26 billion for the 2025 to 2029 time period. This plan is driven by investments related to the resiliency of the network and growth at Fortis Alberta. It's also related to the company's long-range transmission plan, which aims to ensure the transmission system is reliable, economical, and compliant for the next 20 years. These investments are low risk and highly executable, with nearly all being related to regulated growth and only 23% of them on major projects. Investing in Fortis stock for dividend income is an attractive option. With Fortis, we get safety, but we also get exposure to the growth that is underway related to data centres and the electrification of the power system. Finally, this dividend stock can be expected to continue its long history of dividend increases for many years to come. The post A Safer Dividend Stock to Buy With $20,000 Right Now appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. Before you buy stock in Fortis, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team just identified what they believe are the Top Stocks for 2025 and Beyond for investors to buy now… and Fortis wasn't one of them. The Top Stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ... if you invested $1,000 in the 'eBay of Latin America' at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $21,058.57!* Stock Advisor Canada provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month – one from Canada and one from the U.S. The Stock Advisor Canada service has outperformed the return of S&P/TSX Composite Index by 38 percentage points since 2013*. See the Top Stocks * Returns as of 2/20/25 More reading 10 Stocks Every Canadian Should Own in 2024 [PREMIUM PICKS] It's Time to Buy: 1 Canadian Stock That Hasn't Been This Cheap in Years Where to Invest Your $7,000 TFSA Contribution 3 No-Brainer TSX Stocks to Buy With $300 5 Years From Now, You'll Probably Wish You Grabbed These Stocks Subscribe to Motley Fool Canada on YouTube Fool contributor Karen Thomas has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Fortis. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2025 Sign in to access your portfolio
