Growth Stocks
Although growth stock picks can be highly volatile, they can make good long-term investments. They may be well-known stars or quiet gems, but they do share one common attribute—they are growing at a higher-than-average rate within their industry, or within the market as a whole, and could keep growing for years or decades.
And keep in mind that we focus on growth stocks, which have a good long-term history and favourable prospects. We downplay momentum stocks that tend to attract many investors simply because they are moving faster than the market averages, but are liable to fall sharply when their momentum fades.
There’s room for growth stock investing in your portfolio, but make sure you follow our TSI Network three-part Successful Investor strategy for your overall portfolio:
- Invest mainly in well-established companies;
- Spread your money out across most if not all of the five main economic sectors (Manufacturing & Industry; Resources & Commodities; Consumer; Finance; Utilities);
- Downplay or avoid stocks in the broker/media limelight.
Make better stock picks when you read this FREE Special Report, Canadian Growth Stocks: WestJet Stock, RioCan Stock and More.
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The best growth tech stocks have lots of hidden value. Here’s how to spot it.
NORTH WEST CO. $30.64 (Toronto symbol NWC; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (604-231-1100; www.northwest.ca; Shares outstanding: 48.5 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; Dividend yield: 4.1%) sells food and everyday products and services through 225 stores, mainly in northern communities across Canada and Alaska. It also operates stores in remote regions of Hawaii, the South Pacific and the Caribbean. North West is new to Stock Pickers Digest. Ottawa-based Giant Tiger signed a 30-year deal in 2002 that granted North West the exclusive right to open and operate Giant Tiger stores in Western Canada. Giant Tiger operates 200 general merchandise discount stores. In Canada’s north, North West operates the majority of its stores (122) under the Northern banner, followed by Giant Tiger (33), Quickstop (12) and NorthMart (6)....
FAIR ISAAC CORP. $94.35 (New York symbol FICO; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (415-472- 2211; www.fairisaac.com; Shares outstanding: 31.4 million; Market cap: $3.0 billion; Dividend yield: 0.1%) jumped to a new all-time high of $98.96 in early February 2016 after reporting much higher earnings in the latest quarter. In its fiscal 2016 first quarter, which ended December 31, 2015, revenue for the credit-score provider rose 5.6%, to $200.1 million from $189.6 million a year earlier. Sales at its applications division (60% of total sales) rose 4.0% on higher demand for marketing and fraud-detection software. Sales of credit-scoring programs (28%) jumped 27%; analytics software (12%) fell 21%....
TOROMONT INDUSTRIES LTD. $31.01 (Toronto symbol TIH; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-667- 5511; www.toromont.com; Shares outstanding: 77.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; Dividend yield: 2.3%) distributes a broad range of industrial equipment, including machinery made by Caterpillar Inc. It also makes refrigeration systems through its CIMCO division. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Toromont’s sales rose 1.4%, to $472.0 million from $465.7 million a year earlier. Earnings per share fell 3.4%, to $0.57 from $0.59. Toromont saw weaker demand from its mining customers. That offset gains in agriculture and construction The company had to cut its prices to compete, and that hurt its profit margins and earnings....
RUSSEL METALS $18.27 (Toronto symbol RUS; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (905-819-7777; www.russelmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 61.7 million; Market cap: $987.9 million; Dividend yield: 8.3%) is one of North America’s largest metal distributors, serving 39,000 clients at 53 locations in Canada and 12 in the U.S. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Russel’s revenue fell 33.6%, to $673.0 million from $1.01 billion a year earlier. Sales mainly declined because revenue fell 43% at the company’s energy products division. That unit sells pipes to oil and natural gas drillers. Earnings, excluding one-time items, dropped sharply, to $10.0 million, or $0.16 a share, from $38.0 million, or $0.62. Russel’s earnings fell faster than revenue because steel prices moved down in the latest quarter. That hurts its profit margins and causes it to suffer losses on its inventory....
FIRSTSERVICE CORP. $53.00 (Toronto symbol FSV; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (416-960-9500; www.firstservice.com; Shares outstanding: 34.6 million; Market cap: $1.9 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) provides residential property management and property improvement services. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s revenue gained 12.0%, to $316.1 million from $282.2 million a year earlier (all figures except share price in U.S. dollars). Excluding one-time items, earnings per share more than doubled, to $0.28 from $0.13. The higher earnings came from the increased revenue, cost cuts and a focus on more profitable business units. FirstService is raising its quarterly dividend by 10.0% with the April 2016 payment, to $0.11 U.S. from $0.10 U.S. The stock now yields 1.1%....
INTACT FINANCIAL $84.98 (Toronto symbol IFC; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (416-341-1464; www.intactfc.com; Shares outstanding: 131.5 million; Market cap: $11.2 billion; Dividend yield: 2.7%) is Canada’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance. Its brands include Intact Insurance, Canada BrokerLink and belairdirect. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Intact’s revenue rose 7.5%, to $1.91 billion from $1.78 billion a year earlier. Revenue improved across all of the company’s insurance lines and geographic regions. Canadian Direct Insurance, which Intact purchased for $197 million in early 2015, also added to its sales....
CALIAN TECHNOLOGIES $18.60 (Toronto symbol CTY; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (613- 599-8600; www.calian.com; Shares outstanding: 7.4 million; Market cap: $137.6 million; Dividend yield: 6.0%) has two main divisions: Business and Technology Services (which supplies 70% of the company’s revenue) provides engineers, health care workers and other skilled professionals on a contract basis; Systems Engineering (30% of revenue) sells hardware and software for testing, operating and managing satellite and other communication systems. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, the company’s revenue rose 15.2%, to a record $64.5 million from $56.0 million a year earlier. Excluding onetime items, Calian earned $3.3 million, or $0.45 a share. That’s up 22.2% from $2.7 million, or $0.37 a share, a year earlier. The Business and Technology Services division continues to benefit from recurring orders from Canadian federal government departments, including the Department of National Defence. This segment’s revenue rose 9.0% in the latest quarter....
ALARMFORCE INDUSTRIES $10.20 (Toronto symbol AF; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative) (1-800-267-2001; www.alarmforce. com; Shares outstanding: 11.6 million; Market cap: $118.0 million; Dividend yield: 1.8%) sells two-way voice-alarm systems and monitoring services in Canada and in the U.S. The company’s sales were $14,4 million in the three months ended October 31, 2015. That’s an 8.7% jump from $13.3 million a year earlier. However, earnings per share fell 29.4%, to $0.12 from $0.17 as it spent more to develop and market its products. AlarmForce’s long-term outlook is positive, and the high U.S. dollar is boosting the amount its U.S. operations contribute to its earnings. However, it will have to keep spending heavily to sell its services in a competitive market and continue its U.S. expansion....
DOMINO’S PIZZA $112.95 (New York symbol DPZ; TSINetwork Rating: Average) (734-930-3008; www.dominos.com; Shares outstanding: 54.6 million; Market cap: $6.1 billion; Dividend yield: 1.1%) is the world’s largest chain of pizza stores that offer takeout and delivery. It operates 12,100 outlets in the U.S. and 80 other countries. Franchisees run most of these stores. In the three months ended September 6, 2015, the company’s earnings per share rose 6.3%, to $0.67 from $0.63 a year earlier. Sales gained 8.5%, to $484.7 million from $446.6 million. Same-store sales rose 7.7% internationally, but more important, they increased 10.5% in the U.S., home to most of the company’s stores....