3 of the Best Stocks to Buy in Canada Today

Searching for **Canadian stocks**? Your opportunity awaits!

Now more than ever, the strategic selection of Canadian stocks can make or break your portfolio.

Lets dig into what I feel are 6 of the best opportunities on the market today.

Sunlife Financial (TSE:SLF)

Sun Life Financial stands as a prominent provider of life insurance, along with retirement and asset management services.

The company serves a diverse client base that includes both individual and corporate entities across Canada, the United States, and Asia. The company’s size is highlighted by its more than $1.3T in assets under management.

While Sun Life operates on an international scale, it garners a notable portion of its net earnings, roughly a third, from the Canadian market.

Sun Life Financial has become a Canadian Dividend Aristocrat, having raised the dividend for 9 straight years.

The payout ratio remains sustainable, around 50% of earnings and 39% of cash flows. This has allowed the company to grow the dividend at a double digit pace over the duration of its 9 year streak.

Despite competitors such as Manulife Financial showcasing a bit higher growth, Sun Life Financial’s dividend growth has arguably been the most stable. This stability can be partly attributed to rising interest rates, generally seen as a favourable scenario for insurers.

With mid to high single-digit growth in earnings and revenue anticipated in 2024, the company is positioned to thrive.

Valued at 10 times its expected earnings, the company’s current valuation is no doubt attractive and worthy of an addition to your watchlist.

Shopify (TSE:SHOP)

The e-commerce landscape is exploding, and Shopify has solidified its role as a cornerstone within the sector. Despite market challenges, Shopify holds its ground on the list of top Canadian stocks, recognized as arguably one of the most successful Canadian stocks of all time.

Shopify, acknowledged for its service to small and medium-sized businesses worldwide, continues to be a leader in the field of e-commerce platforms.Shopify operates predominantly in two segments: subscription solutions and merchant solutions. The former provides a suite of tools to aid merchants in conducting their businesses, while the latter enhances operational efficiency through services such as Shopify Payments, Shopify Shipping, and Shopify Capital.The stock has been through a volatile last few years, with a sharp decline in the latter part of 2022. This was due in part to broader concerns about rising interest rates and a general downgrading of high-tech valuations.

Despite a huge rebound in 2023, Shopify’s value has not fully recovered to its previous highs.With a significant cash reserve, Shopify is well-positioned to not only grow organically with its current operations, but invest capital into new initiatives to help its clients growth their businesses, which ultimately grow Shopify’s.

Goeasy Ltd (TSE)

Goeasy stands out as one of the most popular companies in the country when it comes to alternative lending.

Providing non-prime leasing and lending services, Goeasy operates through its divisions, easyhome and easyfinancial. Since its inception, the company has issued more than $5B in loans.

You may think that only poor borrowers go to Goeasy. However, 60% of Goeasy customers see a credit score increase within a year of securing a loan.

Goeasy’s inventory of loans covers an extensive range of items, including furniture, electronics, and appliances. Although many don’t agree with the company’s lending practices in particular niches, there is no doubt it works.

Indeed, since 2001, the company has enjoyed a compound annual growth rate of approximately 12% in revenue. There hasn’t been a single year post-2001 where Goeasy reported flat or declining revenue compared to the previous year.

The company has achieved nine successive years of dividend raises, and although its dividend growth came in soft in 2022, it accelerated it yet again in 2023, heading upwards toward historical averages. It has without a doubt been one of the best dividend stocks in Canada.

The resilience of Goeasy’s business model became pretty evident when new regulations that cap the interest rates lenders can charge were released. 

With only a minor portion of its loan book affected by the cap at 35% maximum interest, it barely phased business operations, even though the market sold the stock off on the news.

Overall, it could turn out to be one of the better growing companies in the finance sector over the next decade.