Updating your Aggressive stocks: Leon’s, Saputo and Transcontinental

Article Excerpt

LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $22 (www.leons.ca) is a buy. It operates 304 stores that sell furniture and home appliances, mainly under the Leon’s, Brick, and Appliance Canada banners. To slow the spread of new variants of COVID-19, the Ontario government has implemented a new stay-at-home order until early May. That will force Leon’s to close its stores in the province, but they can still provide delivery and pick up services. Based on its experience with earlier shutdowns, rising online orders should help offset those lost sales. Leon’s is a buy. SAPUTO INC. $39 (www.saputo.com) is still a hold. The company is Canada’s largest producer of dairy products. It also has dairies in the U.S., Australia and Argentina. Saputo tends to fuel its growth with acquisitions, and now aims to take advantage of the pandemic to make more purchases. However, using acquisitions to expand adds risk. Restaurant closures due to COVID-19 are another risk factor, as restaurants account for about 30% of its sales. Saputo is hold. TRANSCONTINENTAL INC. $24 (www.tctranscontinental.com) is a buy. The…