The Globe and Mail attempts to identify stocks that combine growth and stability in its Thursday edition. The Globe's Ian Tam writes in the Number Cruncher column that despite uncertainty with the North
American free-trade agreement and
the
effect of interest rates on high
household debt, the S&P/TSX composite
total return index seems to be
faring well. Although nowhere
near the monstrous 20-per-cent-plus returns achieved in 2016
driven largely by energy and commodity
prices, the S&P/TSX composite
total return index is up 6.4
per cent year to date. Mr. Tam ranked
the largest 250 companies in Canada,
excluding real estate investment
trusts, based on:
quarterly earnings momentum;
five-year historical beta (a safety
factor, measuring how sensitive a
stock is historically to the S&P/TSX composite
total return index. Stocks with lower beta are preferred).
To qualify, companies needed have a
market capitalization greater than
$1-billion. Cautious
investors who believe companies
will continue to grow in this environment
but do not want to be met
with substantial volatility may want to ponder buying Pason Systems, Tourmaline, Suncor Energy, Boralex and Brookfield Asset Management.
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