High Growth, Lower Risk: Mid-Cap Stocks Canadians Should Consider Buying
Alex Smith
1 month ago
Mid-cap stocks typically have market capitalizations between $2 billion and $10 billion. These companies often provide higher growth potential than large-cap stocks while exhibiting lower volatility than small-cap stocks. As a result, mid-cap stocks offer investors the best of both worlds, making them particularly attractive investment opportunities. Against this backdrop, letâÂÂs take a closer look at two top mid-cap stocks that present compelling buying opportunities right now.
Lightspeed Commerce
Lightspeed Commerce (TSX:LSPD) provides omnichannel commerce and payments platforms to businessesâÂÂparticularly in the retail and hospitality sectorsâÂÂacross more than 100 countries. The accelerating adoption of omnichannel selling has significantly expanded the companyâÂÂs addressable market. Benefiting from these favourable industry trends, the Montreal-based firm delivered a strong second-quarter performance last month, with revenue and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) growing by 15.1% and 23.1%, respectively.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) surged 52.1% year over year to $21.3 million, while the company generated $18 million in free cash flow during the quarter. Lightspeed also exited the period with a robust liquidity position, holding $462.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, which provides ample flexibility to fund ongoing growth initiatives.
Looking ahead, Lightspeed is focused on launching innovative products, rolling out artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools, and expanding its payments solutions geographicallyâÂÂall of which could support continued financial growth in the coming quarters. In addition, ongoing cost-optimization efforts, including the use of AI to streamline support and service operations, should further enhance operating efficiency and profitability.
Despite these attractive growth prospects, the stock trades at reasonable next-12-month valuation multiples, with a price-to-sales ratio of 1.3 and a price-to-earnings multiple of 20.2. Considering these factors, I believe Lightspeed represents an excellent mid-cap stock to buy at current levels.
Algonquin Power & Utilities
Second on my list is Algonquin Power & Utilities (TSX:AQN), a regulated utility company that provides electricity, water, and natural gas services to approximately 1.2 million customers across the United States and Canada. In its most recent third-quarter results, the company reported net income of $38.9 million. Excluding special and one-time items, adjusted net income rose to $71.7 million, while adjusted EPS came in at $0.09, representing a 12.5% year-over-year increase. New rate approvals, favourable weather conditions, and lower operating, depreciation, and interest expenses drove this improvement.
Algonquin continues to expand its regulated rate base, supported by planned capital investments of $2.5 billion in regulated assets over the three years through 2027. Amid these investments, the companyâs management expects its rate base to grow from $7.9 billion to $9.1 billion by the end of 2027. In parallel, the company is focusing on optimizing its cost structure following its exit from the renewables segment. It is actively identifying additional cost-saving initiatives to enhance efficiency and profitability. As a result, management expects operating and maintenance expenses as a percentage of total revenue to decline from 38% in 2024 to 31%-33% by 2027.
Looking ahead, Algonquin forecasts adjusted EPS to grow at a compound annual rate of 15.3% to reach $0.46 by 2027. Supported by these stronger earnings prospects, management expects the payout ratio to decline meaningfully from 117% in 2024 to 59% by 2027. Given its improving financial profile and solid growth outlook, I believe Algonquin is well-positioned to continue rewarding shareholders. The company currently pays a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, yielding 4.17%.
The post High Growth, Lower Risk: Mid-Cap Stocks Canadians Should Consider Buying appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada.
Should you invest $1,000 in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. right now?
Before you buy stock in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor Canada analyst team identified what they believe are the 15 best stocks for investors to buy nowâÂÂŚ and Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. wasnâÂÂt one of them. The 15 stocks that made the cut could potentially produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider MercadoLibre, which we first recommended on January 8, 2014 ⌠if you invested $1,000 in the âÂÂeBay of Latin Americaâ at the time of our recommendation, youâÂÂd have $21,105.89!*
Now, itâs worth noting Stock Advisor Canadaâs total average return is 95%* â a market-crushing outperformance compared to 72%* for the S&P/TSX Composite Index. Donât miss out on our top 15 list, available when you join Stock Advisor Canada.
See the 15 Stocks #start_btn6 { background: #0e6d04 none repeat scroll 0 0; color: #fff; font-size: 1.2em; font-family: 'Montserrat', sans-serif; font-weight: 600; height: auto; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 30px 0; max-width: 350px; text-align: center; width: auto; box-shadow: 0 1px 0 rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.5), 0 1px 0 #fff inset, 0 0 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2); border-radius: 5px; } #start_btn6 a { color: #fff; display: block; padding: 20px; padding-right:1em; padding-left:1em; } #start_btn6 a:hover { background: #FFE300 none repeat scroll 0 0; color: #000; } @media (max-width: 480px) { div#start_btn6 { font-size:1.1em; max-width: 320px;} } margin_bottom_5 { margin-bottom:5px; } margin_top_10 { margin-top:10px; }* Returns as of November 17th, 2025
More reading
- Got $300? These 2 TSX Stocks Are Too Cheap to Ignore
- 3 Stocks That Could Turn $1,000 Into $5,000 by 2030
- Here Are My Top 4 Undervalued Stocks to Buy Right Now
- 3 of the Best Stocks TFSA Investors Can Buy Now
- 3 No-Brainer TSX Stocks to Buy With $500
Fool contributor Rajiv Nanjapla has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Lightspeed Commerce. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Related Articles
Canadaâs Coming Infrastructure Boom: The Time to Invest is Now
The federal government is planning continued strong infrastructure spending. As...
Gold and Silver Are Sliding: 1 TSX Stock to Watch
Gold and silver are pulling back, but this TSX minerâs production momentum and J...
A Simple Hedge for Canadians as Markets Get Weird
When markets get âweird,â this TSX gold proxy offers a simple hedge without mini...
1 Magnificent TSX Dividend Stock Down 41% to Buy and Hold for Decades
This magnificent TSX dividend stock has raised its dividend at a solid pace, yie...