WilliamMLeighty634 blog

Many investors, including me, dream of being able to generate a steady source of passive income. By growing that passive income over time, investors will be able to comfortably supplement or even replace the income they receive from their jobs. This gives you a bit more freedom in being able to focus your time on things you’re very passionate about. One way to build that source of passive income is by investing in dividend stocks. Although these stocks are generally easier to filter out than growth stocks, in my opinion, the process can still give investors a tough time. In this article, I’ll discuss three things that investors should look for when looking at dividend stocks. Look for a long history of paying dividends The first thing that investors should look for is whether a company has a long history of paying dividends. If a company doesn’t have that rich history, then it should be regarded as a riskier dividend stock. An example of companies that satisfy this requirement ...

The S&P/TSX Composite Index is down by 7% from its March 29, 2022, high at writing. The entire stock market appears to be selling off, creating problems for investors across the board. Many investors tend to take their money away from equity markets during volatile environments like this. However, there are a tonne of different stocks trading for cheaper valuations, presenting many opportunities for the more daring investors. Investing in growth stocks does not seem like the ideal way to go if you have a low to moderate risk tolerance. Let’s suppose you are an investor with a balanced portfolio with plenty of defensive assets and the ability to take on some risk, and you have the capital to spare right now. The current market environment could be ideal for you to scoop up shares of growth stocks on the dip. Finding high-quality stock to own for the long run can help you generate significant returns if your investments outperform the broader markets, especially when you buy ...

Canadians experienced an official market correction in by mid-May of 2022. After peaking on March 29, the TSX fell by 10.8%. When the market falls more than 10%, that’s an official market correction. And that gives a signal for many Motley Fool investors to start buying. But before you see the market correction as a green light, it’s important to look at what’s happening lately. Even more important is to know where you should be investing. Take a beat and think about what you want out of your portfolio over the long run. Let’s get right to it. What’s happening on the TSX today? The TSX today is down 1.5% as of writing from the beginning of 2022. Since March 29, it’s down 5.3%. You’ll notice that it’s already climbed by about 5% from market correction territory. If you zoom in on the last few months when the market correction occurred, there was a major dip between the end of March and the end of April. There were two brief jumps before the fall to correction territory follo...

Tricks can be misleading when it comes to investing in the market. But there are certainly tricks that Motley Fool investors can use when it comes to choosing the right stocks — especially now, when the market may be down but remains volatile. A market correction of 10.8% occurred on the TSX this year from peak to trough. Yet, as of writing, shares have come up over 5%. That leaves little time for those wanting in on cheap prices believing there won’t be another correction. So, before you dive in to any growth stock out there, use these tricks to help guide you towards strong long-term choices. Trick #1: Rule of 72 The Rule of 72 is fairly simple. Motley Fool investors simply divide 72 by the average annual growth for each year of the stock they are interested in. What you’ll get is the likely amount of years it will take for your investment to double. For example, let’s look at a strong long-term company like Fortis (TSX:FTS)(NYSE:FTS). Fortis stock has a decade-long compo...

The TFSA was created in 2009, and any Canadian over the age of 18 at the time was eligible to contribute $5,000 and begin investing and buying Canadian stocks. If you remember, the beginning of 2009 was the middle of the Great Recession. At that point, many stocks both in Canada and the United States had been falling in value significantly, especially through 2008. Looking back now, when stocks were that cheap, and there was so much fear about the economy, it was actually an incredible time to buy stocks. If you had only bought an index fund like iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF, an ETF that offers exposure to 60 of the largest stocks in Canada, you could have made 230% or a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.3%, not too shabby up until today. An even more popular index like the S&P 500 is up by 346%, or a CAGR of 11.8%. These are attractive returns to make in just under a decade and a half. Furthermore, many individual stocks have even more impressive performances...

One of the most frustrating things new investors struggle with is when to sell a stock. In short, timing and patience (or lack thereof) can make a huge difference to your long-term portfolio. To counter that concern, let’s look at some stocks to hold for a decade or longer. Growth and income come standard Canada’s big banks are some of the best long-term options on the market. There are plenty of reasons for that view, but it ultimately comes down to several factors. First, is the stability of the Canadian financial market, particularly in comparison to the U.S. market. Specifically, the U.S. financial market typically has a sharp pullback every decade. That same can’t be said of Canada’s big bank stocks. The big banks are not immune to volatility, but they are well covered and regulated, which minimizes risk. Second, that stability has helped the banks to become well-capitalized staples of the entire economy. In fact, in the case of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD), t...

Broader markets have been trading rough for the last few months, while recession rhetoric has also gained steam. Moreover, the geopolitical tensions in Europe are not likely to wane anytime soon. In such markets, the yellow metal is the go-to asset as uncertainties increase. However, gold and TSX gold stocks have been equally weak since mid-April, and the safe haven did not shine this time. Why gold stocks cratered Gold was making handsome moves till April this year. In fact, it was among the top performers in the broad markets. However, it has fallen 8% in the last six weeks, and TSX gold stocks have rather seen an outsized impact. The primary reason behind the fall is rising U.S. Treasury yields. Though the demand for safe-haven assets increases during volatile markets, strong dollar and Treasury yields have weighed on the yellow metal. The U.S. Fed announced a 0.5% interest rate hike early this month to tackle the fast-rising inflation. Higher rates result in superior Trea...

The tech wreck of 2022 has been absolutely brutal. As the selloff continues, commentators are sure to draw comparisons between this selloff and the one suffered during the dot-com bust of 2000. With high-multiple tech, growth, and unprofitable firms getting clobbered over fears of much higher interest rates, investors have been gradually rotating back into profitable firms and value-rich plays. As the bloodbath in tech continues, we could reach a point where growth becomes the new value. While I don’t think we’ve yet reached such a point where growth could get a bid higher again, I think there are individual growth companies out there that are severely discounted by the market. Undoubtedly, a higher chance of a recession alongside higher rates is the worst possible outcome for the high flyers that don’t expect to generate a profit anytime in the near future. Tech stocks have been trounced this year With expectations lowered to the floor on many of the 2000-21 momentum plays, wi...

With the market selling off so significantly, there are tonnes of opportunities for investors. However, with so many stocks looking cheap, it can be difficult to find the best value stocks to buy — ones that are truly undervalued and haven’t been this cheap in years. Looking at a stock’s chart can be helpful sometimes. However, in some instances, it can be deceiving. Furthermore, even if the stock’s chart is helpful, it’s important to confirm that stocks are undervalued in several other ways. If you’re looking to find the best value stocks to buy after the significant selloff in stocks over the last few months, here are two that haven’t been this cheap in years. One of the best-known Canadian companies to buy and hold for years One of the very best stocks you can buy today, offering both value and tonnes of long-term growth potential, is Canadian Tire (TSX:CTC.A). Canadian Tire’s business has been firing on all cylinders recently. It performed exceptionally well through the...

Unprofitable growth companies are out of style these days, with rates on the rise and a recession that could hit in future quarters. As interest rates rise, earnings that lie far into the future are worth considerably less today. And with a potential economic downturn in 2023 factored in, those price-to-sales (P/S) multiples could expand, as revenue growth looks to hit a few bumps in the road. Undoubtedly, it’s become so hard to value growth stocks these days. Though the growth selloff will eventually end, with many fallen gems that could make up for lost time, it remains incredibly painful to catch any of the falling knives these days. The good news is that investors do not need to catch the unprofitable growth stocks that only seem to drop almost every trading session. There are many profitable growth companies that Canadian investors ought to consider if they’re looking to do well without having to risk their shirt to make a gain for the year. Consider firms like Alimentatio...

Generation Z has become one of the largest investors over the last few years. Many have started their careers, using the stock market to create more wealth, as growth stocks climbed higher and higher. But that growth has gone downhill fast over the last few months. Now, we’ve entered market correction territory and could be in for a recession, if a mild one. Even if that doesn’t happen, Gen Z investors should realize there is a lesson to be learned: be prepared with more than just growth stocks. How to prepare Let’s look at what Gen Z investors may want to consider in the future. Now is an excellent time to get started, as stocks continue to trade well below fair value. In fact, many strong, blue-chip companies continue to trade in either oversold or value territory. So, you can pick them up with stellar returns. Since you’re young, you can still have a somewhat riskier portfolio. That’s because you have literally decades to see your wealth grow. A rule of thumb that comes up...

The Big Six banks continue to come out with earnings this week, with Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD)(NYSE:TD) and Royal Bank of Canada (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY) both posting earnings on Thursday. But as both have the largest market capitalizations of the Big Six, it’s interesting to compare the two — especially when results come out on the same day. Let’s take a look at both TD stock and Royal Bank stock today and see which came out on top. What happened in Q2 for TD stock and Royal Bank stock? The second quarter saw net income improve 6% year over year for Royal Bank stock. The company brought in total net income of $4.25 billion in the second quarter, or $2.99 per share. This beat out estimates of $2.69 expected by analysts. For TD stock, the bank reported net income of $3.81 billion — a 3% increase year over year. This amounted to $2.07. This was above analyst estimates of $1.93 per share. However, on an adjusted basis profit came in at $2.02, which was down from $2.04 the year bef...

Royal Bank (TSX:RY)(NYSE:RY) just reported solid fiscal Q2 2022 results and raised the dividend by 7%. Investors who missed the big rally off the pandemic crash are wondering if the recent pullback in the stock now makes Royal Bank undervalued and a good buy for a TFSA or RRSP portfolio. Royal Bank Q2 2022 earnings Royal Bank is Canada’s largest financial institution with a current market capitalization of more than $180 billion. That’s large enough for the bank to qualify among the top-10 in the world. Royal Bank generated net income of $4.3 billion for fiscal Q2 2022. This is pretty good for three months of work and represents a 6% increase over the same period last year. The results include a $504 million release of provisions for credit losses. This is money the bank had set aside to cover potential losses on loans but can now add back with the reduced risks due to the pandemic. Investors will want to keep an eye on provisions going forward as rising interest rates and high...

Energy stocks tend to become some of the most attractive investments for Canadian investors when oil prices are high. Global oil demand is through the proverbial roof, and supply issues have plagued international markets due to geopolitical factors. Many of the top Canadian energy companies have managed to improve their cash flows due to greater profit margins. Profit margins for the largest oil and gas companies have skyrocketed across the industry. Several of the top players in the industry have announced substantial dividend hikes due to the improvement in their free cash flows. There is a chance that oil prices can realistically hit the US$150-per-barrel mark in the near future, and that could improve the situation further for Canadian oil-producing companies. In light of the developments, it might be a wise decision to take a closer look at some of the companies that stand to benefit from rising oil prices. I will discuss two Canadian energy stocks you could add to your inve...

CIBC (TSX:CM)(NYSE:CM) just reported fiscal Q2 2022 earnings the fell from the same period last year. Despite the weak quarter, the board still felt comfortable enough with the outlook to give shareholders a dividend increase. Investors who watched the bank’s share price fall in recent weeks are now wondering if CIBC stock is undervalued. CIBC Q2 2022 results CIBC generated adjusted net income of $1.652 billion in Q2 2022, down 1% from the same period last year but off by 13% from fiscal Q1 2022. Adjusted return on equity was 15.2% in the quarter compared to 17.3% in fiscal Q2 2021. CIBC finished the latest quarter with a CET1 ratio of 11.7%, down from 12.4% a year ago. The Canadian personal and business banking operations generated reported net income of $496 million in the quarter, down 18% from the same three months in 2021. The hit is due to higher provisions for credit losses and elevated expenses. CIBC reports its Canadian commercial banking and wealth management units ...

Warren Buffett famously said that investors should buy the stocks of great companies and hold them forever. At the Motley Fool, we take Buffett’s advice to heart and believe in the power of a long-term perspective when it comes to investing. Everyone likes to find a good, undervalued stock. During a market correction, even the shares of the best companies will tumble, giving brave investors a rare opportunity to purchase them at a discount. In many ways, the best value investors make their fortunes by buying the stocks of beaten-down but otherwise solid companies. ritzia Case in point, consider Aritzia (TSX:ATZ). The clothing retailer’s stock was up over 140% over the trailing five years but has declined -32% year to date. The retail industry has been hit particularly hard as a result of both COVID-19 and recent inflation/rising interest rates, which is curbing consumer spending. Currently, Aritzia trades at $35.78 per share, significantly below its 52-week high of $60.64 and...

Dividend stocks are attractive investments for regular income. Moreover, as dividend-paying companies have a stable earnings base, they generate steady growth over the long term. While the TSX has several dividend-paying stocks, only a few have consistently paid dividends for more than four decades.  Against this background, let’s look at a few high-quality income stocks that have paid dividends for more than 40 years. Further, these companies have a solid earnings base and the potential to continue to enhance shareholders’ returns in the coming years.  Top bank stocks to rely on Top Canadian banking stocks are famous for paying and growing their dividends. Within the banking space, Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO) has a rich history of paying dividends. For context, this financial services giant has been paying dividend for 193 years, which is the highest by any Canadian company. Moreover, it has been consistently growing its dividend, making it a solid investment for inco...

Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO)(NYSE:BMO) just reported solid fiscal Q2 2022 results and raised the dividend. Investors who stayed on the sidelines in recent weeks during the pullback are wondering if Bank of Montreal stock is now undervalued. Bank of Montreal Q2 2022 earnings Bank of Montreal delivered adjusted net income of $2.187 billion in the latest three months, up 4% from the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $3.32 compared to $3.13 in fiscal Q2 2021. Adjusted return on equity was 15.7, down from 16.7% last year. Bank of Montreal finished the quarter with a CET1 ratio of 16% compared to 13% in the same period in 2021. This occurred as a result of a $3.1 billion share sale. The cash hoard is significant, but Bank of Montreal is using most of the excess amount to make a large acquisition in the United States. Canadian personal and commercial banking adjusted net income increased 21% in the quarter on a year-over-year basis, driven by new mortgages ...