A look at some small-cap stocks making news - or about to.
Canada’s S&P/TSX Small Cap Index (TXTW-I) is up by about 20 per cent over the past 52 weeks. It hit a record 1,496.55 on June 2. The Russell 2000 in the U.S. is up about 10 per cent over the past 52 weeks and reached a high of 3,069.71 on Aug. 14.
Small-cap summary:
Flagship Communities REIT (MHC-UN-T) announced an increase to its monthly cash distribution.
Before markets opened on Thursday, the REIT said the monthly distribution will rise 5.9 per cent to 5.771 cents US per unit, or 69.25 cents US per unit on an annualized basis. The new monthly cash distribution will start on Nov. 16 for unitholders of record on Oct. 30.
The REIT said it’s the sixth consecutive year that it has increased cash distributions for its unitholders.
“Following a strong first half of the year, with gains in occupancy and growth in our same-community metrics, we are pleased to be in the fortunate position of being able to increase cash distributions again this year,” said CEO Kurt Keeney.
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Transcontinental Inc. (TCL-A-T) announced plans to close its Owen Sound, Ont. printing facility at the end of January, affecting about 360 employees. Most of the work will be transferred to other facilities, the company said in the release after markets closed on Wednesday.
“As we expand in our growth segments, including In‑Store Marketing & Specialty and Educational Publishing, while stabilizing our traditional printing activities, we must continue to take the steps required to build an even more competitive organization," CEO Sam Bendavid said in a release.
The facility is mainly focused on flyers but also prints direct mail, catalogues, and other products across information services, National Bank Financial analyst Adam Shine wrote in a note.
He predicts a restructuring charge above $20-million in fourth quarter results expected to be reported in December and anticipates net annual cost savings to be “at least” in the range of $20-million to $25-million.
“TCL owns the property, though it’s not clear when it might be sold and whether more than $5M could be obtained,” Mr. Shine wrote.
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Calian Group Ltd. (CGY-T) announced on Wednesday that it has been awarded a five-year contract valued at approximately $47-million to continue providing scenario development support to the NATO Joint Warfare Centre in Stavanger, Norway.
Under the contract, Calian said it will support the design, development and maintenance of “complex training scenarios that underpin NATO’s strategic and operational-level exercises.”
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PharmaCorp Rx Inc. (PCRX-X) announced that Andrew Hodson will become its CFO on Oct. 27.
Mr. Hodson will succeed current CFO Terri Tatchell, who will retire from the role on the same date, the company said.
Mr. Hodson has over 11 years of progressive capital markets and finance experience at Marshall Land Systems, Vendasta Technologies and Deloitte Canada, the company added.
“The appointment comes as PharmaCorp continues to execute its strategy of buying, integrating and operating high-quality pharmacies across Canada,” it stated.
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Czechoslovak Group (CSG), a Prague-based global industrial and defence group, announced it has acquired a 9.5-per-cent equity stake in MDA Space Ltd. (MDA-T), making it the company’s largest shareholder.
“CSG views this strategic investment in MDA Space as an opportunity to explore potential cooperation between the two groups over time,” the company said in an Oct. 12 statement. “Such cooperation could include co-investing in manufacturing or assembly facilities in Europe, partnering on strategic acquisitions, and otherwise seeking to introduce CSG’s customer relationships to MDA Space to support MDA Space’s international growth.”
MDA management supports the investment, Canaccord analyst Aravinda Galappatthige said in a note.
“We view CSG’s investment as a positive for MDA,” he added. “European defence budgets are rising and increasingly include sovereign space capability, and MDA has already identified Europe as a significant opportunity for customer expansion, M&A, and a broader shareholder base. We suspect CSG is well placed to help MDA better exploit these opportunities, given its established industrial footprint in the region, its relationships with local defence customers, and its understanding of how local procurement and bidding processes work.”
Added Mr. Galappatthige: “CSG has also expressed interest in exploring cooperation over time, including manufacturing and assembly in Europe, which could make MDA a more credible bidder on programmes that favour local content. More broadly, the investment supports MDA’s goal of expanding its global partner network. Finally, CSG has stated its intention to be a long-term strategic shareholder, and because the stake carries no special rights, MDA gains a supportive anchor holder without giving up management flexibility.”
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SSR Mining Inc. (SSRM-T) has signed a deal to acquire Roxmore Resources Inc. (RM-T) and its Converse gold project in Nevada in a transaction valued at $712-million.
SSR executive chair Rod Antal says the deal represents a compelling opportunity to add a high-quality multimillion-ounce gold resource next door to its Marigold mine at an attractive valuation. Converse is located six kilometres west of SSR Mining’s Marigold complex.
For each share they hold, Roxmore shareholders will receive $6.75 in cash plus 0.33 of a share in a new gold exploration company that will hold Roxmore’s Rattlesnake Hills project, Shabu River project and Newton property.
The new company, which will be led by members of Roxmore’s current management, will be funded with US$10-million in cash and will be owned 85.01 per cent by former Roxmore shareholders and 14.99 per cent by SSR Mining.
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Enerflex Ltd. (EFX-T) announced Tuesday that it was awarded a “major” engineered systems project to design, engineer, fabricate, and assemble over one gigawatt of low-emission behind-the-meter natural gas-fired power generation units for a large-scale North American data center development.
“Combined with additional project awards, including approximately 450 megawatts announced on October 1, 2026, Enerflex’s backlog of behind-the-meter natural gas-fired power generation now exceeds 1.75 gigawatts, with deliveries extending through 2028,” the company stated.
National Bank analyst Dan Payne called it “another massive milestone for its power/data centre business,” adding that the company is continuing to build out “a substantial backlog to materially increase its earnings and value potential.”
Added Mr. Payne: “Not just evidence, but proof of the quantum of opportunity to be realized here; another inflection to magnifying growth and value, with the stock still not fully reflecting its established base business (high-single-digit top-line and low-double-digit earnings growth as a foundation) and certainly not the sizable upside (~30% annualized earnings growth and associated multiple expansion suggested within).”
He maintained his “outperform” (buy) and $42.50 target price.
CIBC analyst Jamie Kubik increased his target to $35 from $32 and his rating to “outperformer” (buy) from “neutral” (hold).
“We view the greater-than-1 GW project award related to a large-scale North American data centre as a highly favourable development for Enerflex. Including the previously announced contract of 450 MW, the company’s total behind-the-meter power generation backlog now stands at 1.75 GW,” he wrote. “With the majority of the backlog secured through 2028, Enerflex’s revenue and EBITDA growth visibility is meaningful and unique among our coverage stocks.”
Added Mr. Kubik: “While we leave our 2027 estimates relatively unchanged, the revisions to our 2028 expectations are material, with EBITDA levels now approaching $900MM for the company. There will be practical limitations to the volume of data centre contracts that Enerflex can execute year to year, but we expect this announcement could see the shares re-rate higher on earnings potential moving forward.”
Acumen Capital analyst Nick Corcoran described the contract win as “positive” in a note.
“We continue to believe EFX will re-rate from an OFS to an industrial on the back of significant tailwinds from natural gas production (LNG) and power generation for data centers,” he wrote
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Draganfly Inc. (DPRO-CN), a developer of drone solutions and systems, announced on Monday a strategic investment in Ukraine defence technology company DoD Solution.
“The investment reflects Draganfly’s focus on advanced technologies proven in combat that can expand the capabilities of unmanned systems operating in demanding environments,” the company stated.
It also said Draganfly CEO Cameron Chell will be joining the board “to help accelerate the integration and distribution of DoD Solution’s advanced technology across multiple platforms and environments.”
On Sunday, the company also announced the establishment of Draganfly Defense USA, Inc., a dedicated U.S. defence subsidiary formed to support its continued expansion across the U.S. defence and national security markets.
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Cineplex Inc. (CGX-T) announced on Monday that its September box office revenue totalled $45.1-million, a monthly record and up from $37.7-million a year earlier.
It said the result brought its third-quarter box office revenue to a record $215.7-million, up from $159.5-million in the same quarter last year.
“The remarkable results were driven by a powerful film slate, strong consumer demand for theatrical entertainment and guests’ continued preference for Cineplex’s premium movie-going experiences,” it stated.
It said record September and third-quarter results were driven by movies such as Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which it said “became the highest-grossing domestic release of all time,” and The Odyssey, which it said set a record “as the highest-grossing premium-format film in Cineplex history.”
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Upcoming small-cap earnings:
Oct. 21: Pulse Seismic Inc. (PSD-T)
Oct. 22: Mullen Group Ltd. (MTL-T), Winpak Ltd. (WPK-T)
Oct. 26: PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. (PSK-T)
Oct. 27: Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. (GLXY-T), SNDL Inc. (SNDL-CN)
Oct. 28: Canada Packers Inc. (CPKR-T), Cogeco Communications Inc. (CCA-T), Primaris REIT (PMN-UN-T)
Oct. 29: Aecon Group Inc. (ARE-T), Enerflex Ltd. (EFX-T), Centerra Gold Inc. (CG-T), Spin Master Corp. (TOY-T), Coveo Solutions Inc. (CVO-T), Champion Iron Ltd. (CIA-T)
Nov. 2: RioCan REIT (REI-UN-T), Gibson Energy Inc. (GEI-T)
Nov. 3: Curaleaf Holdings Inc.(CURA-T), Boardwalk REIT (BEI-UN-T), Alaris Equity Partners Income Trust (AD-UN-T), Propel Holdings Inc. (PRL-T)
Nov. 4: Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI-T), Killam Apartment REIT (KMP-UN-T), Canfor Corp. (CFP-T), Russel Metals Inc. (RUS-T), SmartCentres REIT (SRU-UN-T), Stella Jones Inc. (SJ-T), Maple Leaf Foods Inc. (MFI-T), Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (CAR-UN-T)
Nov. 5: Western Forest Products Inc. (WEF-T), Chartwell Retirement Residences (CSH.UN-T), Cascades Inc. (CAS-T), Interfor Corp. (IFP-T), Profound Medical Corp. (PRN-T), Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (LSPD-T), Cronos Group Inc. (CRON-T), Altus Group Ltd. (AIF-T), Kinaxis Inc. (KXS-T), DRI Healthcare Trust (DHT-UN-T), MDA Space Ltd. (MDA-T), Canada Goose Holdings Inc. (GOOS-T)
Nov. 6: NFI Group Inc. (NFI-T), Cineplex Inc. (CGX-T), Pollard Banknote Ltd. (PBL-T), Parex Resources Inc. (PXT-T)
Nov. 10: Superior Plus Corp. (SPB-T), Stingray Group Inc. (RAY-A-T), True North Commercial REIT (TNT-UN-T)
Nov. 11: Cargojet Inc. (CJT-T), Bird Construction Inc. (BDT-T), BSR REIT (HOM-U-T), Fiera Capital Corp. (FSZ-T), Boyd Group Services Inc. (BYD-T)
Nov. 12: Sienna Senior Living Inc. (SIA-T), Apotex Health Corp. (APTX-T), Total Energy Services Inc. (TOT-T), Automotive Properties REIT (APR-UN-T)
Nov. 19: Real Matters Inc. (REAL-T)
- with files from The Canadian Press