Mawer New Canada Fund (Trades, Portfolio), founded in 1988, invests about $1.09 billion in assets, managed by Jeff Mo, CFA. Over 10 years, the fund has produced a 12.1% annual return, beating its benchmark BMO Small Cap Index’s 2.3% return for the same period.
Because Canadian regulatory agencies require funds to disclose their holdings only twice a year, Mawer this week released its first portfolio update since mid-2015. Mo purchased three new stock since then that he held at the end of the year: EnerCare Inc. (TSX:ECI, Financial), Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. (TSX:ZZZ, Financial) and Boralex Inc. (TSX:BLX, Financial).
The New Canada Fund selects stocks of mainly smaller Canadian companies that meet classic value criteria: wealth-creation, excellent management teams and prices below their intrinsic value. The portfolio is also highly diversified with 53 positions, the largest of which, New Flyer Industries Inc. (TSX:NFI, Financial), spans just 6% the total.
Mawer Investment Management commented more specifically on the types of companies their managers were looking for at year-end: “Additionally, in this current environment, we emphasize companies that have structural growth opportunities, not much debt, low sensitivity to interest rates, and some margin of safety within valuation.”
The new buys
EnerCare Inc. (TSX:ECI, Financial)
Mawer New Canada Fund (Trades, Portfolio) purchased 686,339 shares of EnerCare Inc., a 1.04% portfolio weighting. The stock’s price averaged C$15.30 per share for the fourth quarter.
EnerCare Inc. was incorporated on Sept. 27, 2010. EnerCare Inc. has a market cap of $1.38 billion; its shares were traded around $15.70 with a P/E ratio of 37.38 and P/S ratio of 2.41. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of EnerCare Inc. stocks is 5.35%. The forward dividend yield of EnerCare Inc. stocks is 5.35%. Enercare Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 1.0% over the past five years. GuruFocus rated EnerCare Inc. the business predictability rank of 2-star.
Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. (TSX:ZZZ, Financial)
Mawer purchased 530,514 shares of Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc., a 0.86% portfolio holding. The company’s share price averaged C$16.80 for the quarter.
Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. has a market cap of $720.749 million; its shares were traded around $19.18 with a P/E ratio of 25.24 and P/S ratio of 1.16. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. stocks is 1.36%. The forward dividend yield of Sleep Country Canada Holdings Inc. stocks is 2.71%.
Boralex Inc. (TSX:BLX, Financial)
Mawer purchased 575,900 shares of Boralex Inc., a 0.79% portfolio weight. The company’s share price averaged C$13.66 for the quarter.
Boralex Inc. was incorporated on Nov. 9, 1982. The company is a power producer engaged in the development and the operation of renewable energy power stations. Boralex Inc. has a market cap of $1.04 billion; its shares were traded around $16.07 with and P/S ratio of 2.91. The trailing 12-month dividend yield of Boralex Inc. stocks is 3.24%. The forward dividend yield of Boralex Inc. stocks is 3.48%. Boralex Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 11.6% over the past five years.
See more of the stocks of Mawer New Canada Fund (Trades, Portfolio) at the portfolio here. Not a Premium Member of GuruFocus? Try it free for 7 days.
