A Yield to Caution

Article Excerpt

ALCANNA INC. $9.45 (Toronto symbol CLIQ; Shares outstanding: 37.0 million; Market cap: $349.7 million; Dividend yield: 3.8%; www.alcanna.com) changed its name from Liquor Stores N.A. in May 2018. Alcanna operates 229 retail liquor stores. Of that total, 173 are in Alberta, 33 in B.C., 22 in Alaska and one in Connecticut. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.09. The yearly rate of $0.36 a share results in a high 3.8% yield. Alcanna’s focus in Alberta entails a lot of risk. More generally, the regulated Canadian liquor market offers few growth opportunities. As a result, the company has teamed up with big marijuana grower Aurora Cannabis (symbol ACB on Toronto) to convert some 50 of its Western Canadian liquor stores to marijuana shops. As part of the deal, Aurora has bought CLIQ shares and now holds a 25% stake in Alcanna. The company’s liquor sales and profit are down due to strong competition from discounters in Alberta. Alcanna hopes its plans for a cannabis retail network will…