Defensive sectors advanced in April, helping offset the sharp decline in the energy sector.
In April, the S&P/TSX Composite Index fell 0.30 per cent with six of the 11 sectors closing out the month in the green.
The consumer staples and utilities sectors jumped 5.52 per cent and 2.60 per cent, respectively. The materials, consumer discretionary, financials and technology sectors realized more modest gains of 1.66 per cent, 1.66 per cent, 1.04 per cent and 0.84 per cent, respectively. Sectors with the largest declines were health care, energy and communication services reporting losses of 6.97 per cent, 6.31 per cent and 2.49 per cent, respectively. The real estate and industrial sectors each reported declines of just over 1 per cent.
Year-to-date, the S&P/TSX Composite Index is up 0.46 per cent.
The top 10 performers in the TSX Index during the month were:
- Novagold Resources Inc. (NG-T), rallying 39 per cent
- Lundin Gold Inc. (LUG-T), up 26 per cent
- Energy Fuels Inc. (EFR-T), up 18 per cent
- Kinaxis Inc. (KXS-T), up 17 per cent
- Trisura Group Ltd. (TSU-T), up 13 per cent
- Orla Mining Ltd. (OLA-T), up 13 per cent
- Bombardier Inc. (BBD-B-T), up 13 per cent
- Sprott Inc. (SII-T), up 12 per cent
- Kinross Gold Corp. (K-T), up 12 per cent
- Torex Gold Resources Inc. (TXG-T), up 12 per cent
Looking ahead, May has historically been an unpredictable month for the S&P/TSX Composite Index with an even split between gains and losses over the past 20 years.
For example, the Index rallied 2.55 per cent in May 2024, declined 5.16 per cent in 2023, fell 0.16 per cent in 2022, increased 3.26 per cent in 2021, increased 2.79 per cent in 2020 and declined 3.28 per cent in 2019. Over the past two decades, the TSX Index has realized an average price return of 0.57 per cent in May.
Now, here’s a look at analysts’ current target prices, recommendations, forecast returns and yields for all 218 securities in the S&P/TSX Composite Index grouped by sector and ranked according to their expected price returns (excluding dividend and distribution income).
The posted target price for each security is an average of all available target prices from analysts. A target price typically reflects an expected share or unit price 12 months from now based on an analyst’s financial modelling, such as a discounted cash flow or sum-of-the-parts model. For the yield provided, Bloomberg calculates this figure by annualizing the most recent announced dividend or distribution value.
It’s important to note that high target prices, which imply stellar returns that seem unbelievable may be just that - unrealistic. At times, when a stock price falls analysts may maintain their bullish expectations, inflating the forecast return. In addition, an outlier (extreme target price) can skew the average target price, to the upside or downside, particularly when the number of analysts covering a stock is low. Don’t let a huge projected gain lure you into a position – it is critical to look at the company and industry fundamentals.
Click here to download an Excel version of the report.
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