Today’s bargain stocks tend to share a few traits. The market has cooled on them, but the business still throws off cash, carries a solid balance sheet, and has a clear path to steady growth. In this kind of market, that often means looking past the flashiest names and focusing on companies with reliable operations and modest valuations. That is where these two Canadian stocks look solid.
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RUS
Russel Metals (TSX:RUS) is one of North America’s larger metals distribution and processing companies, with operations across metals service centres, energy field stores, and steel distribution. That gives it exposure to industrial demand without relying on one single end market. Over the last year, it stayed busy. It extended and amended its credit facilities in April 2025, issued $300 million of senior unsecured notes in March 2025, and then expanded in the United States with its Kloeckner service centre acquisition, which closed at the end of 2025.
The latest full-year numbers show a business that held up well. For 2025, Russel Metals reported revenue of $4.6 billion, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $337 million, and earnings per share of $3.01, up from $2.73 in 2024. It also generated $200 million in operating cash flow, repurchased $86 million in shares, and paid $96 million in dividends. That is a pretty sturdy mix for a cyclical stock.
What makes it look cheap is the valuation alongside that performance. The Canadian stock traded at roughly 16.7 times trailing earnings at writing. For a Canadian stock that just upgraded its balance sheet, expanded its footprint, and kept returning cash to shareholders, that is not an expensive valuation. The risk, of course, is that steel and industrial demand can weaken fast if the economy stalls. But for patient investors, this looks more like a steady bargain than a broken stock.
AGF
AGF Management (TSX:AGF.B) is an asset manager, so its fortunes rise and fall with assets under management, investment performance, and client flows. That can make the Canadian stock look boring beside bigger Bay Street names, but boring is not always bad. Over the last year, AGF navigated a tough stretch that included the passing of CEO Kevin McCreadie in July 2025, Judy Goldring stepping into the CEO role, a normal course issuer bid in early 2026, and a new CIO appointment in April 2026. That is a lot of change, yet the business kept moving forward.
The financial picture has stayed healthier than the Canadian stock might suggest. AGF’s fiscal 2025 results showed total assets under management (AUM) and fee-earning assets of $60.4 billion, with adjusted diluted earnings per share of $0.62 in the fourth quarter. Then, in the first quarter of 2026, AGF reported total AUM and fee-earning assets of $60.5 billion, free cash flow of $36 million, and adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.30. It also raised its quarterly dividend by 8% to $0.135 per share, marking its sixth straight year of dividend increases.
The valuation is where the bargain case really shows up. The Canadian stock trades at about 9.1 times trailing earnings and 7.6 times forward earnings. That is a modest multiple for a company with more than $60 billion in fee-earning assets, strong cash flow, and improving product breadth across mutual funds, ETFs, private wealth, and alternatives. There is risk here, too. AGF Capital Partners took a hit from non-cash fair value adjustments in the latest quarter, and market swings can always pressure flows. Still, if management keeps execution steady, the stock looks inexpensive for what investors are getting.
Bottom line
Put the two together, and the common thread is pretty simple. Russel Metals looks like a bargain because the market still treats it like a cyclical name even as it builds scale and keeps producing cash. AGF looks like a bargain because it trades at a modest multiple despite stable assets, healthy cash flow, and a rising dividend. Neither Canadian stock is a moonshot. That is exactly why both could make a lot of sense for long-term investors hunting for value today.
