WilliamMLeighty634 blog

After a strong start to the year, the S&P/TSX Composite Index dipped for around a week before stabilizing again. As of this writing, the Canadian benchmark index is up by almost 4% year to date. While the economic uncertainty still exists, growth-seeking investors might have an opportunity to invest in growth stocks while they still trade for significant discounts. Technology stocks have the reputation of delivering exceptional wealth growth. If you have capital to invest and are not worried about taking risks, here are three tech stocks to consider right now. Shopify Shopify (TSX:SHOP) made waves when it came to the stock market. After rapidly rising to become the largest TSX stock by market capitalization in a few years, the tech sector selloff saw its valuation decline significantly. The $69.82 billion market capitalization multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa is one of the largest companies operating in the e-commerce space. Its enterprise partner...

Last year was tough for WELL Health Technologies (TSX:WELL), as it faced substantial capital erosion amid inflationary pressure, rising interest rates, and an uncertain economic outlook. However, since the beginning of this year, the company has witnessed healthy buying amid easing inflation and lower interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve of the United States. WELL stock is trading around 50% higher for this year. Despite the recent rise, the stock trades at a 56% discount from its all-time high. So, let’s evaluate whether the rally can continue. First, let’s look at WELL’s performance in the third quarter of 2022. WELL Health’s third-quarter performance Despite challenging market conditions, WELL Health continued to drive its financials in the November-ending quarter, with its revenue growing by 47% year over year. Along with acquisitions, organic growth of 18% drove its sales. The virtual services segment delivered a solid performance, with its revenue growing by 191...

Are you tired of paying taxes on every penny you make? Lucky for you, there’s a thing called a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), which lets you make withdrawals without the Canada Revenue Agency knocking on your door. And with the contribution limit for 2023 now at $6,500, it’s time to get that passive income going. But hold up. Before you go maxing out your TFSA with any old stock, let’s talk about Canadian dividend stocks. These stocks are totally tax free in your TFSA, unlike U.S. dividend stocks, which are subject to a 15% foreign withholding tax. So, stick with the Canadian ones. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Most Canadian dividend stocks pay out quarterly, and I need my money on a monthly basis!” Don’t fret, because I’ve got the solution: dividend exchange-traded funds — aka ETFs. These ETFs hold a portfolio of diversified dividend stocks that pay out every month like clockwork. The best part? You don’t have to lift a finger. No research, no effort, just sit back and ...

It has been ages since I covered American Hotel Income Properties REIT (TSX:HOT.UN). Sure enough, my record shows that I last sold out of the hotel and resort real estate investment trust (REIT) in 2018 and pretty much have not take a look at it since. It would be interesting to see how the stock has progressed since its unfortunate epic decline from peak to trough of about 80% during the pandemic when traveling activities froze. From the basement price of about $1.50 per unit in March 2020, the stock recovered to as high as $4.60 per unit in June 2021 — three times investors’ money in the period! However, one has got to wonder how many investors timed their trades perfectly like that. Even someone who were able to double their money in the high-risk stock would have been considered absolutely amazing. Today, the stock trades at about $2.64 per unit. Six analysts are calling the stock undervalued with a consensus 12-month price target of $3.74 for a discount of about 29%. Recen...

Natural gas producer stocks have been on a significant downtrend lately and have corrected nearly 35% since November 2022. Among the bigwigs, investor-favourite Tourmaline Oil (TSX:TOU) has witnessed a similar weakness. It plans to release fourth-quarter (Q4) 2022 earnings on March 7. Whether its numbers ease or worsen the ongoing selling pressure remains to be seen. TOU stock and natural gas prices Gas-weighted TSX energy producers like Tourmaline Oil had an excellent 2022. Including dividends, TOU stock returned 80% last year and 620% since the pandemic, remarkably beating its peers. However, this year has started off a bit differently. Natural gas prices have fallen almost 80% in the last few months, thanks to warmer weather and oversupplied markets. Unsurprisingly, this has driven weakness in gas-producing companies as well. Tourmaline Oil has unique assets with low-cost infrastructure that drives the company’s profitability. Nearly 80% of its total production is focuse...

Inflation pressure remains high despite the report by Statistics Canada that it slowed to 5.9% last month. The TSX suffered a broad-based sell-off on February 21, 2023, lost 262.60 points, and posted its most significant decline this year. Nonetheless, nine of 11 primary sectors are in positive territory year to date. Energy, the top performer in 2022, is the worst-performing sector (-2.43%), followed by basic materials (-1.39%). Meanwhile, healthcare, technology, and real estate – the battered sectors last year – are the best performers thus far. If you’re investing, looking into sector-wide trends first is a good approach to stock analysis. Sectors such as financial, mining, and energy could make a 180-degree turn. Also, one stock from these sectors could stand out and reverse course. Financial Big Bank stocks underperformed last year, although the National Bank of Canada (TSX:NA) had the least negative return (-1.4%). Today, at $98.77 per share, NA is up 8.26% year t...

Are you one of those people who dream of stress-free passive investment income? The idea of being able to kick back and collect monthly dividend payments without lifting a finger is certainly appealing. But how can you make this dream a reality? While there are several popular methods, such as rental properties and peer-to-peer lending, there’s a simple and often overlooked way to generate passive income — by utilizing a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) combined with a high-yield exchange-traded fund (ETF). Let’s take a look at how this works. Max out your TFSA first Contributing to your TFSA should be a top priority when it comes to generating passive income. This is because any Canadian dividends and interest income earned in a TFSA and withdrawn are tax free. This means more money stays in your pocket and not paid to the Canada Revenue Agency! The amount you can contribute to a TFSA varies based on your birth date, but if you’ve never invested in a TFSA prior to 2023 and tu...

It’s practically an impossibility to nail down. Canadians continue to trade in a bear market, and it’s likely that the market could get worse before it gets better. Because of this, Canadians are likely asking not just when the market will recover but when a bull market will come back. Take a look back If you’re wondering first when we might recover from a downturn, the first step you can do is look back at how the market performed historically. Remember, we’re not even in a technical recession yet. But by historical accounts, a downturn followed by a recession usually takes place an average of 17 months. We can take a look at how the market has been performing over the last few years to see how much longer we might have to go. Shares started to fall in April 2022. That means we’re about 10 months into a downturn and could have about seven more to go. Consider economist outlooks Now that we’ve looked at the average, it’s important to look at what economists are predicting. ...

Although there are signs of inflation cooling down, the solid economic data, with business activity in the United States rebounding in February, has raised fears that the federal reserve would continue with its monetary tightening policies. So, the equity markets could remain volatile in the near term. In this uncertain outlook, investors should look to boost their passive income by adding high-yielding dividend stocks. The following three TSX stocks pay monthly dividends and are available under $20. Pizza Pizza Royalty Pizza Pizza Royalty (TSX:PZA) is an excellent dividend stock to have in your portfolio due to its stable cash flows and a high dividend yield of 6%. The company has adopted a highly franchised business model, collecting royalties from its franchisees based on their sales. So, inflation would not have a significant impact on its financials. Its solid same-store sales growth has generated substantial cash flows, thus allowing the company to raise its dividends th...

Do you want to own investments that pay you passive income every single month? It’s quite easy to get started, though getting a lot of passive income is pretty hard. In a recent series of articles, I showed how I was getting $1,701 per year in passive income from dividends and interest. That’s not a ton of money, and the portfolio I’m getting it from is worth about $92,000. If you only invest in dividend stocks, you can get a higher portfolio yield than I’m getting, although such a strategy means you miss opportunities in stocks that don’t pay dividends. Nevertheless, it is worth exploring how much passive income a person could get if they went with all high-yield stocks. Some people have succeeded with the “high-yield” strategy. For example, the legendary bond investor Howard Marks achieved a 20% annualized career return mainly by buying high yield debt. So, clearly, there is money in high-yield investments. In this article, I’ll explore how much money you need to invest in or...

In a recent series of articles, I’ve explored my plan to get to $2,000 per year in passive income by the end of 2023. When I started the series, my brokers reported that I had $1,200 per year in tax-free passive income. Today, I’m at $1,701. By adding a few new investments as well as selling some old ones that didn’t pay dividends and re-investing the proceeds into dividend stocks, I’ve increased my annual passive income by $500/year. In this article, I will explain how I did it. Dividend stocks The main thing I’ve done in the last two months to increase my annual passive income was to invest in dividend stocks — notably, Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSX:TD) and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC). These are two bank stocks that I hold in my Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA). TD Bank stock yields about 4%. Bank of America yields 2.5%. Currently, I own 137 shares of TD Bank and 260 shares of Bank of America, resulting in $830.2 in annual dividend inc...

Are real estate stocks good investments in 2023? The answer is probably if the basis is the sector’s year-to-date performance (+10.52%). Real estate investment trusts (REITs) took a beating last year due to rising interest rates. However, if you want exposure to the real estate market, evaluate the prospects carefully. Morguard North American Residential (TSX:MRG.UN) should benefit, as more Canadians become renters due to higher mortgage costs. Slate Grocery (TSX:SGR.UN), an owner and operator of grocery-anchored real estate, will remain stable. Dream Industrial (TSX:DIR.UN) should thrive with the ever-increasing demand for multi-use industrial properties. Higher demand and regional diversity Morguard NA owns a diversified portfolio of residential apartment communities in Canada (16) and the United States (26). The $1.04 billion REIT enjoys high occupancy rates in the home country (99%) and across the border (95%). At $18.55 per share, the stock beats the market year to date ...

The higher interest rate environment could keep the volatility elevated in the stock market. However, investors can still earn steady passive income from the top Canadian dividend stocks. It’s worth highlighting here that top dividend-paying Canadian corporations have been paying and increasing their dividend, regardless of the market conditions, which makes them a reliable investment in all market conditions.  Furthermore, investors who leverage their TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account) to invest in these high-quality dividend stocks earn a steady tax-free passive income.  But before we discuss top Canadian stocks to earn passive tax-free passive income, let’s be clear that dividends are not guaranteed. Even the safest stocks can cut their payouts. Thus, investors should focus on diversifying their investments and not allocate all their money to one or two stocks.  With this backdrop, let’s look at stocks that can help you make reliable passive income.  Fortis Regulate...

There are certain companies that are bound to rebound. Not only that, but there are companies that are bound to keep rebounding for years, even decades, to come. And these three TSX stocks could certainly be those to consider buying today. Nutrien Nutrien (TSX:NTR) is absolutely one of those TSX stocks you should consider buying while it’s down and holding long term. The crop nutrient company has spent years expanding, even during the pandemic when e-commerce proved invaluable. The issue for Nutrien stock is that inflation and higher interest rates have hurt the company, just like everyone else. Because of this, it’s had two earnings reports that came in below estimates. Now, Nutrien stock is far below the share prices of 52-week highs. You can pick it up at just $104 per share as of writing, with a 2.81% dividend yield and trading at 5.46 times earnings. Lightspeed Commerce If you’re willing to take on a bit more volatility, then Lightspeed Commerce (TSX:LSPD) is a great...

Many investors naturally want to buy growth stocks in hopes that they can grow and increase their capital as quickly as possible. And while that’s certainly one reason to buy high-quality growth stocks like goeasy (TSX:GSY), it shouldn’t be the only consideration. For example, it’s much better to buy a company that might have slightly slower growth but is consistently expanding its operations and increasing its revenue. There are plenty of companies that can have a year or two of strong and impressive growth. However, the best investments that have the potential to grow your capital the most are stocks that can consistently do it for several years or even multiple decades, earning you a massive return on your investment. goeasy is one of those stocks. The company is predominantly a provider of loans to non-prime consumer borrowers in Canada — a market with very little competition. This has allowed goeasy to rapidly grow its business, making it one of the best growth stock...

Canada’s flag carrier Air Canada (TSX:AC) depicted a strong recovery in its fourth-quarter (Q4) 2022 earnings last week. However, the stock has fallen more than 13% in the last three trading sessions, continuing with its long-term bearish trend. What’s next for Air Canada? Many businesses and stocks have passed beyond their pandemic blues and are making new highs. However, Canadian aviation has been relatively slower to recover, thanks to its stringent restrictions till last year. Since March 2020, AC stock has not created any meaningful shareholder value, notably underperforming broader markets. For Q4 2022, and even for the entirety of 2022, Air Canada stood strong and reported solid numbers all around. Superior demand and contribution from cargo and other segments played well for its financial growth last year. Total revenues came in at $16.6 billion in 2022, marking a stellar 160% growth compared to 2021. Its net loss narrowed to $1.7 billion in 2022 versus a loss of ...

Do you have $50,000 laying around that you want to invest? If you do, then there are several good places you could put it. Of course, there are exchange traded funds (ETFs), the go-to choice for beginner investors looking for low-risk bets. Then, there are individual stocks, bonds, and other securities. The opportunities are practically unlimited. In this article, I will reveal one asset category worth investing money into. Dividend stocks Dividend stocks are logical assets to hold in today’s market. In general, they are cheaper than tech stocks, and cheaper stocks tend to perform better than more expensive ones in environments in which rates rise. This year, interest rates are going up, because central banks (like the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Canada) are trying to fight inflation. When interest rates rise, growth becomes less valuable, while value becomes more appealing. Many dividend stocks are also value stocks, so it pays to look into dividend stocks in environments ...

Bridgemarq Real Estate (TSX:BRE) is a Toronto-based company that provides various services to residential real estate brokers and REALTORS across Canada. Life has been made a little more difficult for individuals in this line of work over the past two years. Regardless, I’m still looking to target Bridgemarq today. Let’s explore why this dividend stock is perfect for Canadians who are hunting for passive income. How has this real estate dividend stock performed over the past year? Shares of this dividend stock have plunged 18% year over year as of close on February 22. However, the stock has jumped 4.2% so far in 2023. Investors who want a more detailed look at its recent performance can play with the interactive price chart below. The state of Canadian real estate today Canada housing entered 2022 with the wind at its back. The COVID-19 pandemic spurred demand, as buyers continued to gorge on low interest rates in a friendly credit environment. However, soaring inflation...