Prices on the stock market dropped across the board this morning. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 1%. Unfortunately, this means most investors are probably doing the exact opposite of what they should be. When stock prices drop, people panic. They start selling in fear that it will drop more. Instead, you should be looking at it the other way. What if you looked at it like a sale.
Now, 1% off might not seem like much of a sale when shopping to buy at Wal-Mart, but when shopping to buy Wal-Mart, 1% is an amazing sale! The stock market, on average, rises only 8% per year. To add 1% to this is an amazing opportunity. This is not the time to get out, but to get in.
I guess the next logical question is, what do I buy?
Now, I can’t tell you which stocks are going to go up, down or sideways. What I can do is offer best guesses based on my filtering criteria.
Based on my research, I would buy one of these two stocks:
Shaw Communications Inc. (TSE:SJR.B)
- Price: 19.67
- Yield: 4.68%
- Consecutive Dividend Increases: 9 years
Transcontinental Inc. (TSE:TCL.A)
- Price: 12.89
- Yield: 4.19%
- Consecutive Dividend Increases: 10 years
These are both Canadian corporations, and so we Canadians receive some tax benefits from owning them. As well, they are “cheap” according to the prices over the last year (price against 52 week high vs 52 week low). They are about “half” price by that metric. As well, they both have habits of raising dividend payouts consistently over the last 9 and 10 years respectively.
I currently own shares in both of these corporations, and if I had the money to buy right now I would be in a heart beat.
If you’re still looking for a stock broker, I’d suggest Questrade. They’re the cheapest Canadian company I’ve found. They’re Canadian tax-friendly. And their tech support is amazing.
