Tap the power of these 2023 top picks

Article Excerpt

We have singled out two stocks and one ETF as your #1 buys for 2023. Each offers investors long-term growth prospects at a reasonable price. Meanwhile, all three successfully weathered the pandemic and are poised for solid gains as economic growth rebounds. BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA, $72.35, is a #1 Buy for 2023. The lender (Toronto symbol BNS; Shares outstanding: 1.2 billion; Market cap: $85.8 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 5.7%; www.scotiabank.com) is Canada’s fourth largest bank. Due to rising interest rates and inflation, in its fiscal 2022 fourth quarter, ended October 31, 2022, Bank of Nova Scotia set aside $529 million to cover future loan losses. That’s up 8.4% from $168 million a year earlier. If you exclude unusual items, the bank’s earnings in the quarter fell 3.4%, to $2.47 billion from $2.56 billion. Due to fewer shares outstanding, per-share earnings declined at a slower pace of 1.9%, to $2.06 from $2.10. Even so, that still topped the consensus estimate of $2.00…