You don’t need a fortune to get started investing. Arguably, $1,000 may be enough to start looking for bargains on the TSX Index as we kick off a new year and perhaps another year of robust gains. Undoubtedly, you can only buy so many shares with a limited sum. Still, making your first buy is important so you understand what it’s like to ride a rally higher and hold your own when the rollercoaster eventually flies lower.
If you’re a young investor who’s planning on easing into the markets, perhaps by picking up more shares of companies with a portion of every paycheque, it can make sense to treat your first $1,000 investment as building an initial position. As a stock goes down, you’ll have the opportunity to buy even more shares with a future paycheque, effectively allowing you to dollar-cost average into a name over some period of time.
In this piece, we’ll look at a potential candidate that new investors may wish to hunt down before January 2025. Shares of the battered TSX stock look quite cheap, at least compared to the rest of the stock market. And with business models that are relatively simple to understand, I think the following could make for greater starter stocks.
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Nutrien
Nutrien (TSX:NTR) is in the business of producing and selling agricultural commodities like potash. In recent years, these fertilizers, which increase crop yields, have been in a brutal bear market. Still, it’s times like these when the bear is in control, when it makes sense to go against the grain (forgive the pun). Nutrien stock has already taken a 50% haircut to its stock price. And with a nice 4.38% dividend yield, you’re getting paid a pretty decent amount while you wait for the commodity tides to turn.
Of course, investing in commodities can be rather tough. Still, what separates Nutrien from the pack is its impressive underlying economics and its robust retail business. Though 2025 may not be the big turnaround year Nutrien investors are hoping for, I think the secular theme is still on the table. The world’s growing population could drive the need for higher crop yields, which, in turn, means more demand for agricultural commodities.
Recently, Oppenheimer analysts started Nutrien stock with an outperform rating. Notably, they’re a fan of the company’s vertical integration (production all the way down to retail). Going into the new year, they also see potash supply and demand trends returning to “a state of balance.”
Indeed, I think Oppenheimer’s big upgrade is worth getting behind, especially while the stock’s at a nice discount at less than $69 per share and 12.4 times forward price to earnings (P/E). That’s way too cheap for one of the leaders in the industry, even if the industry is in a bit of a hole right now.
The Foolish bottom line
Nutrien stock isn’t the most attractive of investments, especially after trailing the market for yet another year (shares are off 10% year to date). That said, the seasons will eventually change. And when they do, new value investors may have more to cheer about as they collect the well-covered dividend payout.
