If you’ve been paying any attention to the market at all over the last year and a half, you probably know that there are many stocks across the market trading at attractive discounts as a result of the worsening economic environment.
A massive surge in the inflation rate last year and significant interest rate increases, as a result, have impacted stocks across multiple sectors in several different ways.
For some companies, a significant cost increase due to inflation or interest expenses due to rising rates have impacted profitability. For others, the impact has been on their revenue as consumers change their spending habits and try to adapt to the current economic environment.
Then, there are the stocks that have been impacted both on the cost and revenue side of the equation.
However, while these impacts on companies are important to watch and assess, this environment won’t last forever. Therefore, while the highest-quality stocks trade at a discount, smart investors are using the opportunity to buy them while they are ultra-cheap.
So if you have cash you’re looking to invest and want to take advantage of the opportunity while it lasts, here are three no-brainer stocks trading at significant discounts that you won’t want to miss.
A top gold stock trading at a significant discount
With gold prices hitting a six-week low last week, many gold stocks are trading undervalued, and one of the best in the sector is B2Gold (TSX: BTO).
B2Gold is one of the best gold stocks to buy because it’s one of the lowest-cost producers and constantly expands its operations each year, creating attractive value for long-term investors.
In addition, B2Gold also pays an impressive dividend, and with the stock trading near the bottom of its 52-week range, the yield has risen to more than 5.1%.
After the struggles that B2Gold’s stock has had recently, you’d think it was being impacted in the current economic environment. However, analysts estimate that it will grow both its revenue and normalized earnings per share (EPS) this year by 11% and 24.4%, respectively.
Therefore, while it trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 11.1 times and pays an attractive dividend, it’s one of the best stocks to buy now while it offers such a substantial discount.
One of the cheapest growth stocks on the market
Another high-quality stock that’s a no-brainer buy while it offers such a massive discount is WELL Health Technologies (TSX: WELL).
WELL Health has an attractive portfolio of businesses, from physical outpatient clinics to telehealth services and digital health apps. This diversification of operations helps to both lower its risk and also expose it to more growth potential.
And considering health care is a highly defensive industry, WELL should see far fewer impacts on its growth potential than similar small-cap tech stocks.
In recent years, the stock has grown rapidly both by acquisition and organically. So with WELL now trading at a forward price-to-sales ratio of just 1.2 times, below its three-year average of 4.6 times, it’s trading at a significant discount that you won’t want to miss out on.
A top retail stock to buy and hold long term
In addition to B2Gold and WELL, Canadian Tire (TSX: CTC.A) is another high-quality stock to buy and hold for the long haul that’s trading at a significant discount in this environment.
Canadian Tire is one of the best-known brands in Canada and has been an impressive growth stock over the last few years, especially considering its size.
In the current environment, though, with consumers changing their spending habits, Canadian Tire has begun to see some impacts, with two straight quarters now of lower year-over-year sales.
For the full year, analysts expect its revenue will fall 2.7%, but more importantly, its normalized EPS will fall over 25%. However, these impacts are only expected to be temporary.
By 2024, analysts expect Canadian Tire’s EPS to recover 16.7% and another 22.7% in 2025 to $20.10.
So although it trades at 10.2 times forward earnings, which is still below its 10-year average of 12.9 times, it trades at 9.4 times and 7.7 times its estimated 2024 and 2025 earnings, respectively.
Therefore, while Canadian Tire trades at such a significant discount, it’s easily one of the top stocks to buy and hold for the long haul.
