The TSX Index was up 3.26% in the month of January, up 3.26% YTD and 3.71% over the past year. Canadian GDP was up 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 1.50% for the full year; in the USA the GDP was up 2.5% for the fourth quarter and 2.50% for the full year. Canadian inflation rate was 1.80% annually in January 2025 and the US annual rate was 3.00% in January 2025. With this background, the following Table presents the highest and lowest performers for the month of January 2025.
The best performer of January was Aritzia (ATZ) whose stock price was up 31% on the month, up 31% year-to-date, and 107% over the past year.
ATZ is a Canadian fashion retailer renowned for its women’s apparel and accessories. It has over 100 stores across North America and operates a global e-commerce platform. ATZ’s share price faced some challenges in 2023, as shares declined over 50% in the year, but have since come roaring back to life to new all-time highs amid strong earnings results and an improved outlook.
Strong earnings results in early January led its rise in share price for the month. Following inventory issues it faced a few years ago, ATZ has staged an impressive turnaround. Both its retail and e-commerce channels are showing impressive growth, and it is beginning to increase its presence in the US market by opening new stores. Analysts have been raising their share price targets, and we continue to like the name here.
The second-best performer of January was Sylogist (SYZ) whose stock price was up 19% on the month, up 19% year-to-date, and 37% over the past year.
SYZ is a software company that provides SaaS solutions in North America and the UK. It has been undergoing a strategic transition with a focus on increased growth that has so far been smooth with organic revenue growth trending higher, but shares have been under pressure over the past few years. It has rebounded nicely since the lows of 2022, but progress stalled in mid-2024 amid a string of earnings misses.
There was no news surrounding its rise in the month of January, but due to its price decline into year-end, it could have been relating to tax-loss selling and investors buying back in the new year.
The third-best performer of January was Terravest (TVK) whose stock price was up 19% on the month, up 19% year-to-date, and up 171% over the past year.
TVK operates as a diversified industrial company that produces and markets goods and services to a variety of different end markets including agriculture, energy, mining, transportation, etc. It has a broad portfolio of businesses that they have acquired over the years. The stock has been moving up nicely over the past year following strong earnings results and an expanding valuation.
We saw several names in the energy space rise earlier in the year as the price of oil and natural gas bounced significantly. TVK benefits from a strong energy market, and management has been executing well. We continue to like the name, it has high and expanding profit margins, sales growth is strong, and analysts expect good earnings in the next few years.
The third-worst performer of the month was Trisura Group (TSU) whose stock price was down 15% on the month, down 15% year-to-date, and down 12% over the past year.
TSU is a leading specialty insurance company that operates in the surety, risk solutions, corporate finance, and fronting business lines. Its leadership team is experienced, it has established partnerships with brokerages, and a long track record of successful underwriting. While many insurance names suffered to start the year, TSU started to diverge from the broader insurance industry as it sank lower in price.
It is a high-quality company, but it faced some challenges over the past couple of years as it incurred some asset writedowns, and uncertainty arose in the name. It has traded in a range for a few years, and we feel that as its fundamentals grow and valuation contracts, it could eventually break out of the range, but for now, it remains in the $30 to $50 range.
The second worst performer of January was Capital Power Group (CPX) whose stock price was down 16% on the month, down 16% year-to-date, and up 45% over the past year. It benefited from plans for future growth and potential acquisitions, positive trends from data centers, and analyst upgrades.
CPX builds, owns and operates power generation facilities with a focus on renewables and thermal energy sources. The company plans on growing its US operations, and we feel investors like the diversification of revenues that CPX has.
In late January, news of DeepSeek rocked the markets and sent most utility names lower. This caused a sharp one-day move lower for CPX, which explains why it is the second-worst perform for the month.
The worst performer of January was Ag Growth International (AFN) whose stock price was down 23% on the month, down 23% year-to-date, and down 29% over the past year. AFN has been highly volatile over the past several years amid challenging market conditions.
AFN is a provider of equipment and solutions required to support the efficient storage, transport, and processing of food globally. It has 31 manufacturing facilities across six countries and distributes its products worldwide. Its US farm segment faced some difficulties due to elevated dealer inventory levels and low commodity prices.
AFN fell sharply in the month of January after it revised full-year guidance down lower, and analysts subsequently lowered their price targets on the name. In its most recent earnings, sales declined year-over-year, fears of US tariffs pressured the name, and its US farm outlook is concerning investors. Given the uncertainties, we would prefer to stay on the sidelines for now.
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