Investors’ confidence in the stock market is back as 2020 comes to a close. The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) has erased the losses from the COVID-19 market crash. On December 24, 2020, the index closed at 17,623.88, or a year-to-date gain of 3.28%. Six of the 11 primary sectors are in positive territory.
The technology sector (+59.34%) is the top performer, while the energy sector (-37.33%) rounds up the rear. Despite the market’s rebound, some stocks are absurdly cheap right now. You can get them at bargain deals and add them to your 2021 investment portfolio.
Sweet dividends
Rogers Sugar (TSX: RSI) reported record-breaking sales in Q4 2020 after three consecutive quarters of a slump. The $601.55 million refiner of sugar and maple products recorded an adjusted EBITDA of $31.2 million versus the comparable quarter in 2020. For fiscal 2020, the figure is $92.3 million, or 5% better than fiscal 2019.
John Holliday, president and CEO of Rogers and Lantic, said, “Our strong fiscal 2020 performance is a direct result of the efforts of our agile committed team and our long-term strategic vision to continue to build a resilient, successful company.”
While the global pandemic’s impact was severe, Rogers Sugar was able to generate higher revenue, improve margins, and increase free cash flow. The company operated at full capacity throughout the year. Management attributes the higher revenue to the strong sales volume in maple.
If you scoop up Rogers Sugar at $5.81 per share today, the sweetener is the fantastic 6.2% dividend. The company looks forward to fiscal 2021 and expects to deliver another superb performance due to the continued firm demand for its products.
Building momentum
BlackBerry (TSX: BB)(NYSE: BB) has yet to gain momentum following its transformation from a smartphone maker to a security software specialist. The stock price climbed to a high of $10.87 in early December but is down 17% to $9.06 as of this writing.
However, something big is cooking, and BlackBerry could be the best high-growth stock you can pick today. A turnaround story is developing, beginning with BlackBerry’s collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to co-develop and co-market IVY, an intelligent vehicle data platform.
BlackBerry could grow exponentially in the auto business if you’re patient, particularly for connected or self-driving cars. It’s in the early stages, but the upside is humongous. Currently, the company’s intelligent security software and services secure over half-a-million endpoints that include more than 175,000 cars.
The long runway for growth is visible. Soon, sectors such as financial services, healthcare, and manufacturing would widely use BlackBerry’s cybersecurity and endpoint management solutions. The customer base in the public sector should also grow.
For now, BlackBerry is launching several firsts. Among them are the Unified Endpoint Security (UES) solution, user behaviour AI technology, and new AI-powered Mobile Threat Defense (MTD) solution. The company won has been recording design wins with 19 of the top 25 Electric Vehicle OEMs awards for design. Initiate a position now before the tech stock takes off.
Median forecast
According to a Reuters poll of 20 portfolio managers and strategists, the TSX’s rally will extend in 2021. They also forecast the index to rise by almost 8% to 18,400 by year-end. If you have an appetite to invest, now is the best time.
