Leon’s post-pandemic outlook is bright

Article Excerpt

COVID-19 lockdowns prompted many Canadians to upgrade their homes with furniture purchased though Leon’s online channels. Now that its stores have fully re-opened, the company is building a new distribution facility in Edmonton to support the growth of the business—and of your dividend. LEON’S FURNITURE LTD. $17 is a buy for aggressive investors. The retailer (Toronto symbol LNF; High-Growth Payer Portfolio, Consumer sector; Shares outstanding: 67.0 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion; Dividend yield: 3.8%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Average; www.leons.ca) operates 306 stores that sell furniture and home appliances, mainly under the banners of Leon’s (89 stores), The Brick (185), The Brick Mattress Store (21), The Brick Outlet (6) and Appliance Canada (5). To conserve cash during the pandemic, Leon’s cut your quarterly dividend by 25.0% in July 2020, to $0.12 a share from $0.16. However, as its stores re-opened, Leon’s raised the quarterly dividend to $0.14 a share in October 2020. It then increased that quarterly payment by 14.3% to $0.16 in January 2021. The current…