After a horrendous 2020, this year markets are filled with optimism as vaccines are being rolled out. Among Canadian stocks, there have been a few that have fared better than most even in the pandemic thanks to excellent survival strategies and highly agile operations. These champions are ideal for making investments.

So, if you are looking to invest in some strong names, take a look at these companies that might just be worth keeping an eye on: 

Westshore Terminals (TOR: WTE.TO) (OTC PNK: WTSHF)

The Vancouver-based company operates coal storage and loading terminals in the British Columbia region. It possesses high adaptability standards and had gone on with normal operations even at the time when COVID-19 was at its peak. 

Westshore’s Q3 report for 2020 showed its coal loading revenue had dropped by 17% to $85 million. Despite the push for green energy, demand for coal is still quite high. Yet, the broader economic pressure has had downward pressure on its earnings and therefore it had to see a drop in its revenues and profits of last year. However, this year the company is more optimistic and expects to add volume in its operations. 

Additionally, Westshore has a favorable PE ratio of 9.46. Also, it is perfect for those investors who expect regular dividends from their investments since it offers a quarterly dividend of $0.16 per share thereby representing a yield of 3.34% which is pretty good.  

Last week when some TSX stocks started rallying, this one was amongst the biggest gainers and its shares rose by around 13.2%. Its price has remained more or less the same since then, therefore it is a stock you should keep an eye on.   

Lassonde Industries (TOR: LAS-A.TO) (OTC PNK: LSDAF)

If you are not into riskier investments and are looking for companies that are profitable and have sufficient revenues to back their performance then go for this one. Lassonde Industries is famous for its ready-to-drink juices and drink segments with various brands like Fruité, Tropical Grove, Allen’s, Del Monte, and Oasis brands. 

Though the pandemic influenced lockdowns had stressed its performance to some extent, the company’s long term financial performance appears quite promising. Notably, it has been consistently growing its EPS by 12% every year for the last three years. Even amid the pandemic, the company has proved its worth and has successfully grown its revenues by a solid 13%. 

Lassonde Industries is ahead of many of its peers. Its good performance is reflected through its 13% ROE which is much higher than the industry average of 9%. Apart from that, it has a PE ratio of 11.99x which compared to the industry standard of 17.4x that shows the stock is quite cheap even after having such consistent growth in earnings. And the ones who prefer regular dividend providing stocks may also consider this one. Despite having some volatility in its dividend payments, this one has a decent dividend yield of 1.46%.

AGF Management (TOR: AGF-B.TO) (OTC PNK: AGFMF)

AGF Management is one diversified global asset management company serving more than 1 million investors across the globe. This one is also a profitable company with high growth aspects.

It is said if a company can make its EPS grow then share prices are bound to increase. The most interesting fact about AGF Management is it has managed to grow its EPS by as much as 51% every year over the last three years. On top of that its operating margin also stands at 21.75% and the ROE also touches 17.92%. 

The stock is still undervalued and possesses high growth prospects. Its PE ratio is just 3.15 which indicates the stock is indeed cheap considering its high earnings. This one also offers dividends and has a dividend yield of 4.57%. Another notable factor in this company is that debt is sparingly used and its debt-equity ratio is 0.08.

Going by industry standards, finding a stock at this price that has such high growth aspects and offers such higher returns to the investors is not easy. If the company could have managed to grow so much even during the pandemic then one can imagine how well it can perform now as things start getting back to normalcy. 

Yellow Pages (TOR: Y.TO) (OTC PNK: YLWDF)

Yellow pages is a well known digital media and marketing solutions company. As of now, the stock is not very popular amongst investors. Also, because of its high beta, the small-cap stock is perfect only for those investors who possess a higher risk appetite.  

Yellow pages came out with its financials a few days back and the results were pretty impressive. Despite the COVID crisis, the company managed a Y/Y EBITDA margin of 39% with a solid cash reserve of $164 million. COVID has hurt its operations to a great extent for which the net earnings decreased by more than 50%. But management feels bookings have now stabilized a lot. Another notable fact that serves as a risk-mitigating factor is the company has promised to be debt-free by the 1st of June, 2021.

Currently, Yellow pages is considered less volatile than 75% of Canadian stocks and over the past year, its level of volatility has reduced from 8% to 3%. Also, in the last three years, it has provided more than 60% returns to its investors and a 28% in the last year. Its PE Ratio is also much below the industry average. Currently, it has an intrinsic value of $18.17 and is trading at $11.68 thereby indicating it is still an undervalued one.