2024 Annual Recap | Which Canadian Stocks Have Soared the Most?

After a rebound in Canadian stocks in 2023, the Canadian stock market expanded its gains in 2024, with the S&P/TSX Composite Index YTD rising by 17.4% as of last weekend. Interest rate cuts in Canada since June have led to a rapid rise in local stocks, with technology stocks leading the way. New rounds of geopolitical conflicts have created uncertainty, particularly boosting mining stocks, especially gold stocks, to continue their rally.

As of December 20th, Celestica's shares surged by 261.48%. The company is capitalizing on the AI trend with its advanced manufacturing and supply chain solutions. Celestica's recent earnings report showed a revenue of $9.24 billion, marking a significant 22.3% increase from the previous year. The company is successfully leveraging AI to enhance its manufacturing processes, increase efficiency, and cut costs, establishing it as a key figure in industrial AI applications.

The company is benefiting from ongoing infrastructure and construction demand in North America. Atkinsrealis surpassed its Q3 earnings expectations due to higher margins in Engineering Services. RBC Capital Markets increased its price target from $70 to $84. Notably, the company has been expanding its backlog and maintains its full-year outlook for Engineering Services with an organic growth rate of between 8% and 10%. Additionally, cash from operations is expected to exceed C$400 million.

Analyst Sabahat Khan has maintained an Outperform rating on shares of the Montreal-based engineering and construction company.

The strong demand for gold from worldwide central banks has shielded gold prices from the typical influences of rising real interest rates. According to the Wells Fargo Investment Institute, a surge in gold buying by central banks could potentially push prices up to $2,900 by the end of 2025.

The company produces basic everyday apparel that it distributes to customers globally. Based in Montreal, the company offers a modest dividend yield of 1.7%.

Gildan announced a third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.85, surpassing the consensus estimate of $0.84, and an improvement from last year's $0.74. National Bank analyst Vishal Shreedhar noted that the results exceeded expectations. Revenue and margin forecasts for 2024 have been positively adjusted.

Shreedhar is optimistic about Gildan's prospects, believing that the company is well-positioned to increase its EPS in 2024 and beyond, driven by revenue growth, cost improvements, and ongoing share buybacks.

The company provides insurance and wealth management to individuals and institutions primarily in Asia, Canada, and the U.S. Manulife pays a 3.6% dividend yield and trades near 11 times forward 12-month earnings estimates.

Analyst Young from Desjardins Securities said: “There are three themes we like with the MFC story, and if management can deliver on them, we believe there is room for further valuation multiple expansion: (1) core earnings growth across its Asia franchise; (2) reinsure more of its lower ROE legacy businesses; and (3) buy back stock.”

As Canada's largest tech stock, Shopify’s performance surpassed the index in 2024, with its shares increasing by over 50%. Shopify's strong performance during the Black Friday/Cyber Monday period propelled its gross merchandise volume beyond the $92.2 billion consensus, as noted by Oppenheimer. The firm highlighted that under its current management team, Shopify has the potential for multi-year growth.

Both analysts and investors are keenly awaiting Shopify's forthcoming earnings report. The company is anticipated to announce an EPS of $0.43, marking a 26.47% rise from the same quarter last year.

This company is this year's top performer in the retail stock sector. Still, RBC Capital Markets increased its price target for Loblaw Companies Limited from $205 to $217 recently.

Analyst Irene Nattel has continued to give the Canadian grocery retailer an Outperform rating.

Nattel mentioned in a client note, "Our revised target multiple aligns with our valuation of Metro Inc. (MRU.TO) and supports our long-standing view that the trading multiples of these two grocery/pharmacy leaders should gradually align over time."

"Aligned with our 'stronger for longer' view on both the industry and specifically Loblaw, industry valuations are on the rise. This reflects several factors: solid year-to-date results, especially for grocers like Loblaw and Metro who have a strong presence in the discount segment; an economic slowdown and a significant rise in the cost of living including a 25% increase in food prices compared to pre-pandemic levels, which supports food consumption at home and discount brands; and favorable conditions in the drugstore sector, including an expanding range of services, increasing demand for high-value specialty drugs, population growth, and strong sales in core, high-margin categories such as cosmetics and over-the-counter products," explained the analyst.