Business

Canadian Investors: 2 TSX Stocks for Peace of Mind in Volatile Times – The Motley Fool Canada

Published

4 years ago

October 31, 2020

There weren’t many places to hide on Wednesday, as the TSX Index shed nearly 3% of its value, while the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 tanked nearly 4%. The market-wide sea of red had many worried in what shaped up to be an “everything sell-off” that spared few. With the markets nearing correction territory once again, Canadian investors may wish to put some cash on some battered plays that are better poised to hold their own if the bear were to re-emerge from his cave before the holidays.

Nutrien: A lone green arrow on a big red day

Nutrien (TSX:NTR)(NYSE:NTR) was a lonely green arrow in Wednesday’s brutal sell-off, with shares bouncing 0.5% on a day where even select alternative asset classes sold off viciously.

Now, I’ve been a raging bull on shares of the fertilizer kingpin for quite some time now — not just because the long-term prospects for agricultural commodity producers are bright, given the secular tailwind in an ageing global population, but because Nutrien stock had been so beaten up such that its correlation to the broader markets is likely to be near zero, if not negative.

“Nutrien was in a world of pain well before the coronavirus crash hit.” I said in a prior piece where I referred to Nutrien as a dividend darling that was to be bought whether a market crash happens or not. “With a robust retail segment and operational advantages (in potash production in particular) that Nutrien holds over its peers in the space, the company is a ‘moatier’ stock that most folks would give it credit for.”

With shares of NTR trading at one times book value, the stock looks so undervalued that I suspect we’ll see more days where the stock holds its own when the rest of the market crumbles like a paper bag.

Hydro One: Low in beta and high in defence

Shares of the wide-moat municipal utility Hydro One (TSX:H) fell 0.8% on Wednesday. But it easily could have been in the green given the stock’s ridiculously low 0.21 beta. Ryan Vanzo, my colleague here at the Motley Fool, recently referred to Hydro One as one of the safest stocks on the TSX. I think he’s right on the money.

“The company primarily delivers electricity to customers in Ontario, where its transmission lines cover 98% of the province. Even during a recession, electricity demand doesn’t recede that much. And with regulators guaranteeing a level of profits, often years in advance, Hydro One has extreme visibility into future cash flows.” wrote Vanzo.

With a virtual monopoly that’s defending its cash flows, Hydro One is one of the few bond proxies that makes for a decent hiding place for investors worried that things could go south in a hurry. The company may not have the best growth profile in the world, but it certainly has one of the most well-covered 3.5%-yielding dividends out there. With shares trading at 1.7 times book value, you’re getting a lot of bang for your buck with H stock versus the likes of those ridiculously unrewarding fixed-income assets.

Speaking of contrarian and value investing, check out these terrific picks curated by the team here at the Motley Fool!

Motley Fool Canada Makes 5G Buy Alert

5G is one of the greatest arrivals in technology since the birth of the internet. We could see plenty of new wealth-building opportunities in 2020 that would potentially dwarf any that came before them.

5G has the potential to radically change our lives and society as we know it, but if you’re an investor, the implications are even greater — and potentially much more lucrative.

To learn more about it and its revolutionary potential to change the industry — and potentially your bank account — click on the link below to get the full scoop.

Learn More Today!

Fool contributor Joey Frenette has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Nutrien Ltd.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Source link

Business

TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

Published

8 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:TRP)

Source link

Business

BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

Published

8 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:BCE)

Source link

Business

Canada Goose reports Q2 revenue down from year ago, trims full-year guidance

Published

8 hours ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. trimmed its financial guidance as it reported its second-quarter revenue fell compared with a year ago.

The luxury clothing company says revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 29 totalled $267.8 million, down from $281.1 million in the same quarter last year.

Net income attributable to shareholders amounted to $5.4 million or six cents per diluted share, up from $3.9 million or four cents per diluted share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, Canada Goose says it earned five cents per diluted share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 16 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

In its outlook, Canada Goose says it now expects total revenue for its full financial year to show a low-single-digit percentage decrease to low-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a low-single-digit increase.

It also says it now expects its adjusted net income per diluted share to show a mid-single-digit percentage increase compared with earlier guidance for a percentage increase in the mid-teens.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:GOOS)

Source link