My 5 Favourite Stocks to Buy Right Now

Have some extra cash to spare? Here are five Canadian stocks to add to your watch list today.

Nicholas Dobroruka

Nik has been writing for The Motley Fool Canada since 2020. After studying marketing at University in his hometown of Montréal, Nik decided to pack up and move west to Vancouver. By day, Nik is a digital media ninja, specializing in Programmatic advertising. By night, you can find him either Mountain biking in Vancouver’s famous North Shore trails or writing for TMF Canada. Tech, digital payments, and renewable energy are three areas that Nik enjoys following and writing about.

Published March 22, 2024 9:30 am EDT

The Canadian stock market is gradually making its way back to all-time highs. The S&P/TSX Composite Index is up more than 10% over the past year. The index is now trading less than 5% below all-time highs, which were last set close to two years ago.

With stocks on the rise, now could be an opportunistic time to put some money to work.

I’ve put together a well-rounded basket of five companies that can do it for all investors. Together, the five Canadian stocks can provide a portfolio with a balanced mix of growth potential, passive income, and diversification.

Lightspeed Commerce

The tech sector is a great place to be shopping for value right now. Volatility and risk may be high, but the growth potential could be, too.

Shares of Lightspeed Commerce (TSX: LSPD) are down close to 90% from all-time highs. The stock is now trading below the price that it was when it joined the TSX in 2019.

Despite the stock’s recent struggles, the business continues growing, and the commerce space isn’t getting any smaller. Lightspeed’s global customers have a wide range of cloud-based commerce solutions to choose from, which is one reason why revenue continues to grow at double-digit rates each quarter.

Long-term investors shouldn’t sleep on this value play.

Descartes Systems

Growth investors who are looking for more stability should consider Descartes Systems (TSX: DSG).

The $10 billion company is up 15% year to date and has set new all-time highs several times this year already. Shares are also up a market-crushing 170% over the past five years.

If you’re waiting for a pullback to load up on shares of Descartes Systems, you may be waiting a while. This is a top-quality tech stock that rarely goes on sale.

goeasy

To round out the growth potential of this basket is a stock that might not be trading at a discount for much longer.

Shares of goeasy (TSX: GSY) are up 50% over the past year and are now down just 25% from all-time highs.

The growth stock may be trading at a discount, but it’s still up close to 300% over the past five years. In comparison, the broader Canadian stock market has returned less than 50%, excluding dividends.

Sun Life

Growth investors would be wise to balance out their riskier holdings with a few dependable companies, like Sun Life (TSX: SLF).

The insurance space is certainly not an exciting one, but that’s also what makes Sun Life a great buy. The dependable insurance provider can potentially lower volatility in an investment portfolio.

Not only can Sun Life be a defensive play for investors, but it can also be a passive-income generator.

At today’s stock price, the company’s dividend is yielding above 4%.

Northland Power

Last on my list is a dividend-paying company that’s also no stranger to outperforming the market.

With shares down more than 50% below all-time highs, Northland Power’s (TSX: NPI) dividend yield has shot up above 5%.

We just revealed five stocks as “best buys” this month … join Stock Advisor Canada to find out if Enbridge made the list!

The renewable energy sector as a whole has been on a decline since early 2021. In the short term, we may see green energy stocks continue to slide. But over the long term, there could be some serious value here.