1 Housing Stock to Buy Ahead of Earnings - InvestingChannel

1 Housing Stock to Buy Ahead of Earnings

Home sales in Canada rose in September for the first time in months. Meanwhile, prices have continued to post strong growth. Investors should not hold their breath for a broad pullback in Canadian real estate. On the contrary, low supply, high demand, and historically low interest rates will continue to underpin this space. Investors should look to snatch up housing stocks that are well-positioned to thrive in this environment.

Equitable Group (TSX:EQB) is a Toronto-based company that provides financial services to retail and commercial customers in Canada. Its shares have climbed 44% in 2021 as of mid-afternoon trading on October 21. The stock has increased 88% in the year-over-year period.

Investors can expect to see Equitable Group’s third quarter 2021 results in early November. In Q2 2021, the company delivered net earnings growth of 35% from the prior year to $70.8 million.

Meanwhile, loans under management increased 9% year-over-year to $35.4 billion. Single family alternative loan originations rose 200% to $1.8 billion and reverse mortgage originations jumped 318% to $45 million.

On the EQ Bank side, deposits increased 99% from the prior year to $6.5 billion. Moreover, transactions on the platform grew 101% and products per customer climbed 44%. Equitable Group bolstered its liquidity as liquid asset reached $2.9 billion or 9.1% of total assets. This was up from $1.9 billion or 6.4% in the previous year.

Shares of this housing stock possess an attractive price-to-earnings ratio of 9.2. It offers a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, which represents a modest 0.9% yield.