Good things come in all sizes. Nowhere is that truer than when it comes to stocks. The $10 stock of today could be the $100 stock of tomorrow. Investors definitely can’t judge a book by its cover.
Take Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (TSX:ATD.B).
At this time five years ago you could have bought its stock for $9.80. Today, it’s up 558% compared to 32% for the iShares S&P/TSX Composite Index Fund (TSX:XIC). A darling in today’s markets, it wasn’t nearly as popular back then. If you passed on ATD.B because it was trading below $10, you missed out on what many investment managers would consider a huge win.
The solution? Spread your picks among three price points—$10, $20 and $30—and let diversification do its thing.
$10 stock
Real estate asset manager Tricon Capital Group Inc. (TSX:TCN) has been on a bit of a run over the last three months—up 6.6%, 552 basis points higher than its asset management peers; it’s a sign its stock is recovering from 2015’s underperformance.
Getting busy in Rosedale, a wealth enclave in the centre of Toronto, Tricon’s Luxury Residences division closed two deals in the second quarter worth $85 million with deep-pocketed partners Diamond Corp. and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust.
Investing and managing in $4 billion in real estate, Tricon’s almost 3% yield and potential growth make it an ideal $10 stock to own.
$20 stock
There are a number of good stocks trading around the $20 mark, including Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s former business, Morneau Shepell Inc. (TSX:MSI). However, it would have been better to jump in at the end of 2015 when it was trading around $14.
I recently wrote about Cott Corporation (TSX:BCB)(NYSE:COT) and its continuing road to recovery. It’s made several decent-sized acquisitions in the past year that have transformed a business heavily reliant on carbonated soft drinks to one with products such as water.
Ultimately, this $20 stock will be a $40 stock.
When that happens depends in large part on what happens with the markets in the next two to three years. If things don’t implode, its future results will justify a higher price point. But you’re going to have to keep an eye on this one. It’s not a bank stock.
$30 stock
My wife works in the retail industry. Logistics is a big part of a retailer’s success or failure because if you don’t get the product on to the shelves in a timely manner, you lose sales; do it often enough and you lose customers—permanently.
Waterloo-based Descartes Systems Group Inc. (TSX:DSG)(NASDAQ:DSGX) specializes in logistics technology solutions in many different industries, including retail. Its strength as a prospective stock is that it’s a pure play in this particular technology space. If you believe in logistics being a key driver of business success, Descartes Systems Group is at the centre of it all.
With a management team that averages 10-15 years working at the company, investors can rest assured that the people in the C-suite understand its business. Q2 2016 results saw revenues and earnings increase double-digits year over year. It’s not the biggest company when it comes to revenue, but it does know how to generate attractive free cash flow.
Long term, it’s going to continue to generate double-digit investment returns for shareholders. In the 10-20-30 portfolio, this would have to be considered your rock of strength—good times and bad.
