Are you looking for dirt-cheap Canadian stocks to buy on the dip? With the TSX near all-time highs, there aren’t as many opportunities as there used to be. However, a few good ones exist. Here are three that are looking pretty good right now.
Air Canada
Air Canada (TSX:AC) is Canada’s largest airline. The nation’s flagship airline, it transports Canadians all over the world.
Going by multiples, Air Canada is one of the cheapest of well-known Canadian companies. At today’s price, the stock trades at four times earnings, 0.3 times sales and 1.56 times cash flow. These are ridiculously low multiples for the shares of a well-known brand name company that most Canadians do business with.
Why is AC stock so cheap? It might be that investors are avoiding airlines out of fear of what happened during COVID (airlines lost billions). It could also be that investors are worried about Air Canada’s upcoming capital expenditures, which will total about $20 billion over three years and push free cash flow down to break even. Air Canada isn’t without risks, but it’s growing and profitable. The four times earnings valuation appears too cheap.
Suncor
Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) is an energy stock that took a beating this year when oil prices collapsed. When Donald Trump raised tariffs on most countries on April 2, investors started betting that a recession was imminent. As a result, oil prices tanked. Oil stocks like Suncor tanked along with them because oil prices seemed to portend low profits for the second quarter.
Indeed, Suncor’s earnings probably will be a bit lower in the second quarter (Q2) compared to the first quarter. However, oil prices are rising, and Suncor has some lines of business that aren’t quite as oil price sensitive as crude marketing (e.g., refining and gas stations). These segments might well perform in Q2. So, Q2 might not be quite the disaster that some think it will be for Suncor. Nevertheless, SU stock is down 3.7% for the year (as of this writing Tuesday), and trading at just 9.3 times earnings. There might be an opportunity here.
First National
First National Financial (TSX:FN) is a financial services company that is down 5.6% so far this year, and might just be worth buying on the dip. The stock pays a $2.50 annual dividend, which, at today’s price, provides a 6.56% yield — far above average for the TSX Composite Index.
First National’s stock is getting beaten down for a reason this year. The company’s pre-fair market value (FMV) income — which is sort of like “net revenue” — is down about 15% in the trailing 12-month period. The reason for this is that interest rates are declining, and FN makes money collecting interest income. With lower rates comes less revenue for companies like First National. On the flip side, the lower rates reduce the probability of FN’s borrowers defaulting somewhat.
Over time, FN should return to positive growth in pre-FMV income. When rates come down, lenders can make up for the lost interest income with increased issuance. So, FN will probably keep doing well in the long term. Yet the beating the stock has taken this year has pushed its price-to-earnings ratio down to 11, which is lower than average for Canadian financials. So, this stock is definitely worth a look.
