When it comes to buying top Canadian stocks while they’re undervalued, a 10% discount may not seem that significant. After all, there are plenty of stocks, whether they are value stocks, growth stocks or dividend stocks, that trade at much larger discounts, enticing investors to buy now.
However, although a significant discount may seem more attractive, often, the stocks that are most undervalued are also the stocks that are struggling the most.
Furthermore, just because a stock has traded higher before, it doesn’t mean it will reach that level again, especially for lower-quality businesses facing significant headwinds.
That’s why investors are much better off buying the highest-quality stocks on the market, ones with significant long-term potential. You may not get the same discount when buying the stock, but these businesses have far more potential five and 10 years down the road.
Conversely, a stock that appears cheap but lacks significant growth potential might only rebound to its fair value, offering little opportunity for further gains or sustained increases in shareholder value over the long term.
So, with that in mind, if you’re looking for top Canadian stocks to buy right now while they are off their highs, here are two of the very best.
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One of the best growth stocks in Canada to buy right now
As I mentioned before a 10% discount may not seem like much, but for a stock like Dollarama (TSX:DOL) having the opportunity to buy while its off its high is a significant opportunity.
Dollarama has been growing rapidly for years now, both from a share price standpoint and a business operations standpoint.
It’s one of the best and most unique businesses because it can take advantage of cheap capital and grow its operations when the economy is strong. However, it also sees a massive boost in sales when the economy faces significant headwinds and consumers are looking to stretch their budgets.
Therefore, it’s no surprise that in just the past five years, its sales have increased at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.6%. Furthermore, its normalized earnings per share (EPS) have increased at a CAGR of 16.3% over those five years.
Plus, as Dollarama continues to grow its Canadian business, it’s also now looking for new ways to find growth, such as its investment in the Latin American discount retailer Dollarcity.
So, with Dollarama stock now trading at a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of just 31.6 times, down from the high of 35.3 times it just reached back in early November, it’s easily one of the best Canadian growth stocks to buy now.
An impressive financial stock trading off its highs
In addition to Dollarama, another top-notch Canadian growth stock to buy now is goeasy (TSX:GSY), a stock that’s down more than 20% from its highs.
For years goeasy has grown its business rapidly both by finding new avenues of growth, but also by managing its risk.
As a financial stock that primarily offers consumer loans to borrowers with below-prime credit ratings, goeasy certainly has a tonne of potential as long as it can manage its risk, which is precisely what it’s done.
With charge-off rates almost always within its target range, goeasy earns huge returns on its equity each quarter, increasing shareholder value rapidly. In fact, Dollarama is one of the best and most impressive stocks to buy in Canada, and goeasy’s growth over the last five years has significantly outpaced it.
For example, in the last five years, goeasy has increased its revenue at a CAGR of 19.8% compared to Dollarama’s still impressive growth rate of 10.6%. In addition, goeasy’s normalized EPS has increased at an incredible CAGR of 31.9% compared to Dollarama’s growth rate of 16.3%.
Therefore, with goeasy offering an even more significant discount, as well as a dividend of just under 2.9%, it’s easily one of the best growth stocks to buy now.
Not only does it trade at a forward P/E ratio of just 8.5 times, which is actually below its five-year average of 10.5 times, but you can also earn passive income while you hold goeasy and wait for it to rally back to fair value and beyond.
