The Canadian stock market has largely been volatile lately, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for long-term investors to make some money. In fact, some stocks are rallying right now thanks to investors’ increasing optimism about corporate results and prospects of a reduction in interest rates.
Adding such sizzling-hot Canadian stocks to your portfolio right now could help you earn healthy returns on investments in the long run. In this article, I’ll highlight two top TSX stocks that I think are worth buying right now before they go even higher.
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A top retail stock to consider right now
Aritzia (TSX: ATZ), the Vancouver-based fashion designer and retailer, has been on a tear in 2024. After witnessing 42% value erosion in 2023, its share prices have jumped nearly 24% so far this year to currently trade at $34.01 per share, increasing its market cap to $3.8 billion.
The recent sharp rally in its share prices could mainly be attributed to the strength in Aritzia’s latest quarterly results. On January 10, the Canadian apparel retailer announced the financial results of the third quarter of its fiscal year 2024 (ended in November 2023). During the quarter, the company’s total revenue jumped 4.6% YoY (year over year) to $653.5 million with the help of strong sales growth in its e-commerce segment, exceeding Street analysts’ expectations of $622.7 million. With this, Aritzia posted adjusted quarterly earnings of $0.47 per share, significantly stronger than its earnings of just three cents per share in the previous quarter and analysts’ estimates of $0.41 per share.
Even as the challenging consumer spending environment has affected its financial growth in recent quarters, Aritzia expects positive revenue growth for its fiscal year 2024 with its continued focus on retail expansion strategy. Considering these positive factors, I expect ATZ stock to continue outperforming the broader market.
And a top infrastructure stock to buy now
As the economic outlook could improve in the coming years, with central banks in the United States and Canada set to ease their monetary stance in 2024, industrial stocks could witness strong upward movement. Considering that, Badger Infrastructure Solutions (TSX: BDGI) could be a hot Canadian stock to consider now. This Calgary-headquartered firm currently has a market cap of $1.6 billion, as its stock trades at $47.32 per share after gaining 16.2% so far in January.
Just like Aritzia, BDGI ‘s firm financial growth trends could be the main reason for its strong rally. While it’s yet to announce its December quarter results, Badger posted a 19.6% YoY increase in its total revenue in the third quarter of 2023 to US$195.6 million with the help of its strengthening non-destructive excavation service revenue. This factor, along with the management’s focus on capital discipline, drove the company’s adjusted quarterly earnings up by 61.8% from a year ago to US$0.68 per share, crushing Street analysts’ expectations of US$0.48 per share.
Going forward, Badger Infrastructure plans to focus more on enhancing its sales strategies amid strong demand to accelerate its revenue growth trends. Given that, I wouldn’t be surprised if the share prices continue to rally in the years to come.
