Executive Summary
Quarterhill Inc. focuses on acquisition and management of technology companies that provides products and services worldwide.
Rewards
Risk Analysis
Snowflake Analysis
Flawless balance sheet with moderate growth potential.
Similar Companies
Share Price & News
How has Quarterhill's share price performed over time and what events caused price changes?
Latest Share Price and Events
Stable Share Price: QTRH has not had significant price volatility in the past 3 months.
Market Performance
7 Day Return
4.6%
QTRH
1.9%
CA Communications
0.8%
CA Market
1 Year Return
49.6%
QTRH
1.4%
CA Communications
10.6%
CA Market
Return vs Industry: QTRH exceeded the Canadian Communications industry which returned -1.5% over the past year.
Return vs Market: QTRH exceeded the Canadian Market which returned 10.4% over the past year.
Shareholder returns
| QTRH | Industry | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Day | 4.6% | 1.9% | 0.8% |
| 30 Day | 13.1% | 3.3% | 2.1% |
| 90 Day | 9.0% | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 1 Year | 54.4%49.6% | 2.0%1.4% | 14.1%10.6% |
| 3 Year | -12.6%-19.9% | -10.6%-12.3% | 17.0%6.4% |
| 5 Year | -43.3%-52.1% | -33.3%-35.7% | 38.5%18.2% |
Price Volatility Vs. Market
How volatile is Quarterhill's share price compared to the market and industry in the last 5 years?
Simply Wall St News
1 month ago | Simply Wall St
Quarterhill Inc. (TSE:QTRH) Investors Should Think About This Before Buying It For Its Dividend2 months ago | Simply Wall St
Introducing Quarterhill (TSE:QTRH), The Stock That Slid 54% In The Last Five Years3 months ago | Simply Wall St
Is Quarterhill Inc. (TSE:QTRH) Trading At A 43% Discount?Valuation
Is Quarterhill undervalued compared to its fair value and its price relative to the market?
16.5%
Undervalued compared to fair value
Share Price vs. Fair Value
Below Fair Value: QTRH (CA$1.75) is trading below our estimate of fair value (CA$2.16)
Significantly Below Fair Value: QTRH is trading below fair value, but not by a significant amount.
Price To Earnings Ratio
PE vs Industry: QTRH is unprofitable, so we can't compare its PE Ratio to the Communications industry average.
PE vs Market: QTRH is unprofitable, so we can't compare its PE Ratio to the Canadian market.
Price to Earnings Growth Ratio
PEG Ratio: Insufficient data to calculate QTRH's PEG Ratio to determine if it is good value.
Price to Book Ratio
PB vs Industry: QTRH is good value based on its PB Ratio (0.8x) compared to the CA Communications industry average (1.3x).
Next Steps
Future Growth
How is Quarterhill forecast to perform in the next 1 to 3 years based on estimates from 4 analysts?
30.8%
Forecasted annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue Growth Forecasts
Analyst Future Growth Forecasts
Earnings vs Savings Rate: QTRH is forecast to become profitable over the next 3 years, which is considered faster growth than the savings rate (1.4%).
Earnings vs Market: QTRH is forecast to become profitable over the next 3 years, which is considered above average market growth.
High Growth Earnings: QTRH's is expected to become profitable in the next 3 years.
Revenue vs Market: QTRH's revenue is expected to decline over the next 3 years (-4.6% per year).
High Growth Revenue: QTRH's revenue is forecast to decline over the next 3 years (-4.6% per year).
Earnings per Share Growth Forecasts
Future Return on Equity
Future ROE: Insufficient data to determine if QTRH's Return on Equity is forecast to be high in 3 years time
Next Steps
Past Performance
How has Quarterhill performed over the past 5 years?
-57.9%
Historical annual earnings growth
Earnings and Revenue History
Quality Earnings: QTRH is currently unprofitable.
Growing Profit Margin: QTRH is currently unprofitable.
Past Earnings Growth Analysis
Earnings Trend: QTRH is unprofitable, and losses have increased over the past 5 years at a rate of -57.9% per year.
Accelerating Growth: Unable to compare QTRH's earnings growth over the past year to its 5-year average as it is currently unprofitable
Earnings vs Industry: QTRH is unprofitable, making it difficult to compare its past year earnings growth to the Communications industry (12.6%).
Return on Equity
High ROE: QTRH has a negative Return on Equity (-7.26%), as it is currently unprofitable.
Return on Assets
Return on Capital Employed
Next Steps
Financial Health
How is Quarterhill's financial position?
Financial Position Analysis
Short Term Liabilities: QTRH's short term assets ($104.3M) exceed its short term liabilities ($27.2M).
Long Term Liabilities: QTRH's short term assets ($104.3M) exceed its long term liabilities ($7.1M).
Debt to Equity History and Analysis
Debt Level: QTRH's debt to equity ratio (1.9%) is considered satisfactory.
Reducing Debt: QTRH's debt to equity ratio has reduced from 20.2% to 1.9% over the past 5 years.
Balance Sheet
Inventory Level: QTRH has a low level of unsold assets or inventory.
Debt Coverage by Assets: QTRH's debt is covered by short term assets (assets are 26.3x debt).
Cash Runway Analysis
For companies that have on average been loss making in the past we assess whether they have at least 1 year of cash runway.
Stable Cash Runway: Whilst unprofitable QTRH has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years if it maintains its current positive free cash flow level.
Forecast Cash Runway: QTRH is unprofitable but has sufficient cash runway for more than 3 years, even with free cash flow being positive and shrinking by -24.7% per year.
Next Steps
Dividend
What is Quarterhill's current dividend yield, its reliability and sustainability?
2.72%
Current Dividend Yield
Dividend Yield vs Market
Current dividend yield vs market & industry
Notable Dividend: QTRH's dividend (2.8%) is higher than the bottom 25% of dividend payers in the Canadian market (1.88%).
High Dividend: QTRH's dividend (2.8%) is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Canadian market (5.48%).
Stability and Growth of Payments
Stable Dividend: QTRH's dividend payments have been volatile in the past 10 years.
Growing Dividend: QTRH's dividend payments have fallen over the past 10 years.
Current Payout to Shareholders
Dividend Coverage: QTRH is paying a dividend but the company is unprofitable.
Future Payout to Shareholders
Future Dividend Coverage: Insufficient data to determine if a dividend will be paid in 3 years and that it will be covered by earnings.
Next Steps
Management
What is the CEO of Quarterhill's salary, the management and board of directors tenure and is there insider trading?
1.5yrs
Average management tenure
CEO
Quarterhill has no CEO, or we have no data on them.
Management Age and Tenure
1.5yrs
Average Tenure
Experienced Management: QTRH's management team is not considered experienced ( 1.5 years average tenure), which suggests a new team.
Board Age and Tenure
4.7yrs
Average Tenure
67yo
Average Age
Experienced Board: QTRH's board of directors are considered experienced (4.7 years average tenure).
Insider Trading
Insider Buying: Insufficient data to determine if insiders have bought more shares than they have sold in the past 3 months.
Recent Insider Transactions
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Member of the Board of Directors Independent Director |
| Shares | 75,000 |
| Max Price | CA$1.36 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Vice Chairman Vice Chairman of the Board |
| Shares | 5,000 |
| Max Price | CA$1.50 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Vice Chairman Vice Chairman of the Board |
| Shares | 8,000 |
| Max Price | CA$1.44 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Vice Chairman Vice Chairman of the Board |
| Shares | 12,600 |
| Max Price | CA$1.41 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Shares | 7,000 |
| Max Price | CA$1.40 |
| Entity | Individual |
| Role | Vice Chairman Vice Chairman of the Board |
| Shares | 13,000 |
| Max Price | CA$1.36 |
Ownership Breakdown
Dilution of Shares: Shareholders have not been meaningfully diluted in the past year.
Management Team
Randy Hanson
President & CEO of International Road Dynamics
- Tenure: 1.5yrs
Michael Vladescu
President & CEO of New WiLAN
- Tenure: 0.9yrs
- Compensation: US$710.20k
David Cortens
Interim Chief Financial Officer
- Tenure: 0.3yrs
Prashant Watchmaker
Senior VP
- Tenure: 4.8yrs
- Compensation: US$418.94k
Russ Stuebing (54yo)
Senior Vice-President of Corporate Development
- Tenure: 1.9yrs
- Compensation: US$529.51k
Neil Urquhart
Senior Vice-President of Human Resources
Board Members
Rick Shorkey (72yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 12.8yrs
- Compensation: US$94.03k
Ron Laurie (77yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 4.7yrs
- Compensation: US$88.31k
John Gillberry (62yo)
Independent Chairman
- Tenure: 0.8yrs
- Compensation: US$90.23k
Jim Skippen (56yo)
Vice Chairman of the Board
- Tenure: 0.8yrs
- Compensation: US$727.62k
W. McCarten (74yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 9.6yrs
- Compensation: US$143.19k
Roxanne Anderson (58yo)
Independent Director
- Tenure: 4.7yrs
- Compensation: US$83.22k
Company Information
Quarterhill Inc.'s company bio, employee growth, exchange listings and data sources
Key Information
- Name: Quarterhill Inc.
- Ticker: QTRH
- Exchange: TSX
- Founded: 1992
- Industry: Communications Equipment
- Sector: Tech
- Market Cap: CA$215.060m
- Shares outstanding: 118.82m
- Website: https://www.quarterhill.com
Number of Employees
Location
- Quarterhill Inc.
- 30 Duke Street West
- Suite 604
- Kitchener
- Ontario
- N2H 3W5
- Canada
Listings
| Ticker | Exchange | Primary Security | Security Type | Country | Currency | Listed on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QTRH | TSX (The Toronto Stock Exchange) | Yes | Common Shares | CA | CAD | Mar 1998 |
| WJL | DB (Deutsche Boerse AG) | Yes | Common Shares | DE | EUR | Mar 1998 |
| QTRH.F | OTCPK (Pink Sheets LLC) | Yes | Common Shares | US | USD | Mar 1998 |
Biography
Quarterhill Inc. focuses on acquisition and management of technology companies that provides products and services worldwide. Its Licensing segment includes patents relating to 3D television, semiconductor manufacturing and packaging, medical stent, intelligent personal assistant, enhanced image processing, streaming video, non-volatile flash and other memory, semiconductor clocking, LED lighting, and various other technologies; automotive headlight assemblies, phased loop semiconductor licensing, microcontrollers applicable to safety-critical aerospace, computer gaming, CMOS image sensors, building automation, and smart meter monitoring; and medical, industrial, and automotive applications. The company's Intelligent Systems segment provides integrated systems and solutions, such as automated truck weigh stations; toll road systems and equipment; traffic management and safety systems; VectorSense, a tire sensor suite; Vehicle Information-In-Motion, a traffic intelligence system; integrated traffic control systems; permanent and portable slow speed weigh-in-motion systems; portable wheel load scales; traffic data collection products; vehicle and axle detection equipment; and automated vehicle identification, and other hardware and software products for the intelligent transportation systems industry. This segment serves through direct salespeople, distributors, agents, other contractors, and systems integrators. Its Enterprise Software segment provides enterprise asset management software solutions to asset intensive industries through its salesforce over the Internet. Its offerings include WorkAlign, a product suite, which consists of integrated products, such as scheduler, IIoT, mobile for EAM, maintenance budgeting, warranty tracker, and analytics; and consulting services. The company was formerly known as Wi-LAN Inc. and changed its name to Quarterhill Inc. in June 2017. Quarterhill Inc. was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Kitchener, Canada.Â
Company Analysis and Financial Data Status
| Data | Last Updated (UTC time) |
|---|---|
| Company Analysis | 2020/01/22 23:50 |
| End of Day Share Price | 2020/01/22 00:00 |
| Earnings | 2019/09/30 |
| Annual Earnings | 2018/12/31 |
Unless specified all financial data is based on a yearly period but updated quarterly. This is known as Trailing Twelve Month (TTM) or Last Twelve Month (LTM) Data. Learn more here.