The current market-wide slump has pushed down a lot of stocks, negating a significant portion of the growth they accumulated since the 2020 crash. However, there are plenty of companies that have managed to remain profitable in 2022, and if you had invested in them at the beginning of the year, you wouldn’t have lost any money on your investment.
An energy stock
Energy is one of the few sectors that have enjoyed a profitable 2022. Many energy players, including oil-sands giant Suncor Energy (TSX:SU)(NYSE:SU), have experienced decent appreciation since the beginning of the year. Suncor itself saw its stock rise 60% to the yearly peak. Even now, when the stock has fallen over 13%, the 2022 returns are still over 38%.
The integrated energy giant is also offering a healthy yield of 4%. It also enjoyed a profitable last quarter, with revenues jumping over three times the 2020 level. It’s difficult to predict whether the stock will keep riding the momentum it has built since the beginning of the year (with the exception of the recent slump).
But if a compelling negative catalyst, like the oil prices crashing, becomes part of the equation, a correction might become inevitable.
A healthcare stock
While the healthcare sector is usually laden down by the marijuana industry, it has several other players that might be able to outperform the market. An example would be BELLUS Health (TSX:BLU), a stock that’s risen 26% in 2022 so far — a stark contrast to TSX’s fall of 10% during the same period. If you consider the stock’s performance in the last five years, its capital-appreciation potential is quite apparent.
The stock rose over 950% between July 2017 and the July 2020 peak. Then it experienced a drastic fall of over 79%, after which the stock has grown over 300%, and it’s yet to reach its pre-pandemic peak. If that’s the mark the stock is going for, it may keep growing at a decent pace and keep outperforming the market by the end of the year.
An insurance company
While it has always been a reliable growth stock, the performance of Intact Financial (TSX:IFC) in 2022, when the financial sector (capped financial index) has fallen over 14% already, is quite remarkable. Even though it only rose about 11%, the discrepancy between the financial sector and TSX as a whole (in the positive direction) is quite considerable.
It’s still offering a healthy 2.1% yield. Since it’s one of the few companies in the financial sector that didn’t ride the crazy post-pandemic growth ride and appreciated at a much faster rate than what’s common for the stock, it might get around the financial sector correction.
Another compelling reason to buy this powerful growth stock is Intact Financial’s status as the largest P&C insurance company in Canada and a growing player in the U.S. and U.K.
Foolish takeaway
The three stocks will do well in your TFSA. But even if you are leaning on the other side of the TFSA vs. RRSP debate for your retirement portfolio, the three stocks might be worth buying for more than just their resilience in the current market. The three companies offer a healthy combination of growth potential and dividends, making them worthy long-term buys.
