Investors who’ve held shares of three companies from different sectors from 2010 to 2019 are celebrating. All of them have a boatload of cash in the new year. Not one of them regrets investing in the success stories of the decade.
Precious gold
Kirkland Lake (TSX:KL) has shone the brightest, as it was able to disprove the idiom, “all that glitters is not gold,” at least in the past decade. This $9.4 billion gold mining company bested all stocks with a whopping total return of 2,530% with dividends reinvested. Imagine your $10,000 investment growing to $263,018 within the period.
This miner was barely making progress with its first mine in Macassa back in 2010. It was a high-cost project with limited production capacity. The previous owner thought Kirkland was silly even to purchase the flooded mine. It also required a considerable capital to hit management’s production goals.
Fortunately, Kirkland struck gold in the continent down under. In 2016, the company shelled out $1 billion and took over the Fosterville Mine from Newmarket Gold, a gold producer in Australia. Call it luck or vision, but today, Fosterville is one of the world’s highest-grade and most profitable mines.
Overnight cargo sensation
CargoJet (TSX: CJT) came in at the right moment when e-commerce was rising to new heights. Its overnight cargo service is a runaway success story. Based on available data, the stock was trading at only $8.64 per share on February 12, 2012. As of close on December 31, 2019, CJT’s price stood at $103.33.
Had you invested $10,000 in the stock about eight years ago, the total return would be 1,413.31%, bringing the value to $151,349.47 (including reinvestment of dividends). Analysts are forecasting the stock to climb to $130 in the next 12 months, or a 25% increase from its current price of $104.
Along with the option to take a 9.9% equity stake at the airline firm, Amazon.com signed a strategic agreement with CargoJet. The e-commerce giant is now utilizing CargoJet’s overnight air network and charter aircraft services to move packages from Amazon facilities to customers across Canada.
Incredible growth
Enghouse Systems (TSX: ENGH)(NYSE:ESL) is not among the most popular tech stocks, but many investors saw the potential of this software company early on. This $2.8 billion firm specializes in enterprise communications software. After displaying remarkable performance in the last decade, expect the stock to be on many investors’ radars.
An investment of $10,000 in Enghouse at the end of December 2009 produced a total return of 1,166% by year-end 2019. The windfall, including reinvestment of dividends, amounts to $126,648.
Although the operations of Enghouse are smaller in comparison to the likes of Constellation Software, it’s growing by acquiring software companies and consolidating them. The strategy of yearly, multiple acquisitions is highly successful.
Management’s opening salvo in 2020 is an expansion of its product portfolio. The company bought a New Jersey-based Dialogic group for about $52 million. With this acquisition, Enghouse now owns an industry leader in media processing software that it expects to deliver $58-$60 million in revenue in 2020.
Top buys in 2020
While past performance does not guarantee future performance, Kirkland Lake, CargoJet, and Enghouse Systems are likely to continue their winning ways this year.
