The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have consumers and investors worrying about the future. Nevertheless, now is the best time to buy stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange. There are many fantastic stocks heading back up in price.
Here are two great stocks to buy before the year ends.
Molson Coors Canada: A strong dividend yield
Molson Coors Canada (TSX: TPX.B)(NYSE: TAP) fell to $43.38 during the March market sell-off from a 52-week high of $82.50. As of Thursday, investors traded the stock for $60.95 per share. The annual dividend yield would be a great addition to your retirement portfolio at 4.89%.
Molson Coors Canada had some trouble this year. When restaurants struggled to get people in the door, beer sales declined. Non-restaurant sales of beer didn’t make up for the loss in revenue.
Even though the company has been having a difficult time, the CEO of Molson Coors, Gavin Hattersley, is proud of how well the team is addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on its businesses:
“We are very pleased with our performance in the third quarter, as we beat top and bottom-line expectations and made tangible progress on our revitalization plan. We had bold plans for our business at the beginning of 2020: to build on the strength of our iconic core brands, aggressively grow our above premium portfolio, expand beyond the beer aisle, invest in our capabilities and support our people and our communities.”
The company does seem to have done fairly well this quarter. Net sales only decreased by 3.1% versus the same quarter last year to $2.8 billion. Since the stock is still trading much lower than its pre-pandemic 52-week high, this is definitely one stock you want to buy before it rebounds.
Alimentation Couche-Tard: A reputable stock
Alimentation Couche-Tard (TSX:ATD.B)(TSX:ATD.A) fell to $30.40 during the March market sell-off before hitting a slightly higher 52-week high of $47.49. On Thursday, investors traded the stock for $42.97 per share. The annual dividend yield is small at 0.65%.
Alimentation Couche-Tard has been doing pretty well this year, despite the unprecedented circumstances. The company released results for its second quarter of the fiscal year 2021 financial on November 24.
Brian Hannasch, CEO of Alimentation, commented on the company’s convenience store sales growth during the quarter:
“Across our global network, we had a strong second quarter, both in our stores and on our forecourts, even with the continuing impact of COVID-19. New customers and associated share gains since the start of the pandemic have continued as consumers take advantage of the convenience and proximity of our locations. This led to solid same store sales growth of 4.4% in the U.S., 8.6% in Europe, and 11.4% in Canada.”
While fuel volume decrease by 15.5% in the U.S., 4.5% in Europe, and 11.8% in Canada, diluted net earnings per share increased by 32%. Alimentation announced diluted earnings of $0.66 per share versus $0.50 for the same quarter last year.
This is also one stock that you should consider purchasing before the year ends. It is a strong Canadian stock. While it is not trading lower than pre-pandemic levels like Molson Coors, the price-to-earnings ratio is still only 13.36.
Moreover, while the annual dividend yield may be low, investors can still find a lot of value in this stock.
