The TFSA (Tax-Free Savings Account) was launched in Canada back in 2009. Basically, a TFSA is a registered account that helps you hold qualified investments such as bonds, mutual funds, stocks, and exchange-traded funds.
The TFSA is tax-sheltered, which means any returns generated in the account are exempt from Canada Revenue Agency taxes, making it ideal to hold quality growth and dividend stocks. Generally, growth stocks allow you to deliver outsized gains and beat the broader markets over time. Here are two such TSX stocks you can buy right now.
Waste Connections stock
Valued at $46.7 billion by market cap, Waste Connections (TSX:WCN) provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the U.S. and Canada.
It serves nine million residential, commercial, and industrial customers across 44 states in the U.S. and six provinces in Canada.
Despite a sluggish macro environment, Waste Connections increased revenue by 9.8% year over year to $2.06 billion. Its adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) rose by 14% to $671.2 million, indicating a margin of 32.5%.
Due to its focus on improving employee retention rates and lowering operating costs, Waste Connections is positioned for high single-digit EBITDA growth in 2024, which should support further dividend hikes.
Currently, Waste Connections pays shareholders an annual dividend of $1.57 per share, indicating a dividend yield of 0.9%. These payouts have doubled in the last 14 years, indicating Waste Connections raised dividends by 5% annually in this period.
Waste Connections is part of a recession-resistant sector and is positioned to generate predictable cash flows across business cycles. While several stocks are trading significantly below all-time highs, WCN stock is down less than 7% in the past two years.
Priced at 31 times forward earnings, WCN stock might seem expensive. But analysts remain bullish and expect the TSX stock to surge over 20% in the next 12 months.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners stock
Another blue-chip TSX stock is Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (TSX:BIP.UN), which currently offers you a dividend yield of 5.7%. Brookfield Infrastructure owns a widening base of cash-generating assets ranging from utilities, midstream, data centres, and transportation.
In the third quarter of 2023, BIP increased its FFO, or funds from operations, by 7% year over year to $560 million. Utilities was the largest contributor to FFO as it grew earnings by 17% compared to the year-ago period.
BIP’s cash flows are indexed to inflation, shielding the company from rising costs and expenses. These inflation-linked cash flows and the expansion of its asset portfolio should enable BIP to increase FFO per unit by 13% to $3 in 2023. Moreover, it expects to grow FFO per unit by 12% annually in the next three years, which should support dividend hikes.
BIP has increased dividends for 14 consecutive years and has returned a whopping 1,000% in dividend-adjusted gains since its initial public offering in 2009. BIP stock also trades at 9.1 times FFO, which is quite cheap.
Down 34% from all-time highs, BIP stock trades at a discount of 60% to consensus price target estimates.
