Eighteen of 28 stocks covered by the Bizworld column gained value during last year.
Banking stocks and food retailers didn’t meet expectations but most gold-related operations did.
Restaurant stocks performed as expected and a couple of solar stocks outdid expectations.
Among gold explorers, New Found Gold’s spectacular drill results put it up 151 per cent to $4.07
Goldspot, whose data mining technology helped find the New Found deposits, increased 86 per cent to 40 cents. Yukon explorer White Gold did not strike pay dirt yet, losing 58 per cent to 76 cents.
In Saskatchewan-based penny stocks, Royal Helium gained 39 per cent to 46 cents. Base mineral explorer ALX Resources nearly doubled to eight cents. The province’s Information Services Corp. gained 44 per cent plus a healthy 4.5 per cent dividend.
All four of big banks, covered in September, with cautions about future earnings, gained value. Royal was up 9.7 per cent to $104.59; TD Bank was up 18 per cent to $71.92; BMO was up 22 per cent to $96.98; and CIBC was up 5.7 per cent to $108.72.
A February review of four smaller Canadian banks was also out of synch with the market. Quebec based Laurentian Bank lost 29 per cent to $31.20; National Bank dropped three per cent to $71.64; Canadian Western Bank fell 13 per cent to $28.62; and online bank Equitable, lost 10 per cent to $101.
Three food stocks covered in March just as the pandemic lockdown occurred have recovered some. Recipe Unlimited, owner of banners like Montana’s Swiss Chalet, gained 30 per cent to $16.75; A&W Royalty fund was up 13 per cent to $34.06; and Boston Pizza Royalty fund moved a slight six per cent to $10.85.
Two of three food retailers, reviewed in early pandemic times in March, lost value. Loblaw’s lost 15 per cent to $62.81 and Quebec-based Metro lost eight per cent to $56.80. Empire, owner of Sobeys and Safeway, gained almost eight per cent to $34.79.
Turnkey solar energy project developer UGE International gained 117 per cent to $1.98.
Ontario-based Canadian Solar, listed only in the U.S.A., gained an amazing 89 per cent to $52.24 US from sunny investor optimism.
Marine bulk carrier and solar system developer Atco, gained 77 per cent to $10.84 US.
Glatfelter, maker of special paper and fibre products like disposable diapers and wipes, gained nearly three per cent to $16.38 US.
Northern B.C. refinery owner Tidewater Mainstream lost nearly 11 per cent to 82 cents.
Sienna Resources, exploring a former prolific nickel platinum mining district in Sweden, gained 37 per cent to 5.5 cents.
As predicted, Northern Dynasty, struggling for permission to develop a massive gold-copper-molybdenum ore body in an environmentally-sensitive Alaska location, fell, losing 79 per cent to 41 cents.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
