The TSX Composite was virtually unchanged last month in March - down 60 basis points, or 0.6%.
But just because the broader averages aren't very active, it certainly doesn't mean there aren't pockets of the market offering you the potential for outsized returns.
These five stocks have rewarded investors handsomely over the past month.
The energy sector has been one of the stronger performing sectors in the market of late, and Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU)(NYSE:SU), as Canada's largest energy company, has been no exception with shares up 12.5% since March 2.
The price of West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTIC), the benchmark price for oil, has planted itself firmly above the US$55 mark, showing consistently positive gains over the past five months, making now a good time to be invested in the oil and gas sector.
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (TSX:FVI) was one of the hottest stocks in the silver space during March - up 14.3% for the month and up 23% since February 9.
Following an outstanding year in 2016, when the company's share price more than quadrupled, the stock cooled off in 2017, but appears ready to break out again, having crossed above its 200-day moving average last month - a bullish indicator.
Dream Global REIT (TSX:DRG.UN) is up 12.8 since March 1 and is up 27.4% since November 1, as the company continues to exceed investor expectations.
What's even more impressive is that those gains have come amid a slumping REIT sector, which is being hampered by the threat of higher rates.
Dream's strategy is to acquire desirable office properties for its real estate portfolio, and it was a strategy that bore fruit for the company in 2017, helping to generate 19% growth in funds from operations (FFO) against a yield of 7.71%.
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX:CVE)(NYSE:CVE) was another integrated oil and gas name to outperform last month with the company's shares up 29.4%.
Cenovus shareholders have suffered a 66% decline in the company's share price since 2014, as the investment community struggles to navigate its acquisition of ConocoPhillips's FCCL Partnership assets amid lower oil prices.
That aside, Cenovus shares trade at a 0.73 times discount to the company's book value, making the stock a very compelling deep-value play.
Martinrea International Inc. (TSX:MRE) was up 7.5% last month, as the company continues on a roll that has seen its share price more than double since the start of 2017.
Martinrea finds itself going through a transition in the way it records its sales to automotive manufacturers, which runs the risk of misleading investors who only take a cursory review of the company's financials.
Sales for Martinrea were down 7% in 2017, but the bigger story was the company's 54.7% increase in operating profits and 73.2% incremental growth to the bottom line.
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