Inside the Market’s roundup of some of today’s key analyst actions
While acknowledging the macroeconomic backdrop has become “increasingly unclear” for the remainder of the first half of the year, ATB Capital Markets analyst Chris Murray continues to view Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CP-T) as “the best-in-class growth story with revenue synergies providing an offset to potential tariff-based volume pressures.”
After the bell on Wednesday, the railway operator reported revenue for its first quarter of the fiscal year of $3.8-billion, up 7.8 per cent year-over-year an matching the analyst’s expectation, and adjusted EBITDA of $1.841-billion, which was narrowly under his $1.884-billion estimate. Adjusted fully diluted earnings per share of $1.06 topped Mr. Murray’s forecast by a penny and represented a gain of 14.5 per cent year-over-year driven by revenue gains and better-than-anticipated cost containment.
“CPKC delivered solid Q1/25 results, with a better-than-expected operating ratio (O/R) leading to the EPS beat despite operating headwinds in February,” said Mr. Murray. “While management remained constructive on its ability to deliver growth despite challenging macro conditions, full-year EPS guidance was lowered to 10.0-14.0 per cent (from 12.0-18 per cent), mainly on revised FX assumptions, a 2-per-cent impact. CPKC reaffirmed that its freight mix, asset positioning, and several idiosyncratic opportunities remain supportive and that it can adjust its cost structure in real-time should market conditions warrant with normal O/R seasonality expected in Q2/25. CPKC was active on its buyback in Q1/25 and intends to execute the entire NCIB in 2025 given current valuations.”
Mr. Murray said CPKC provided a “mixed” volume outlook, remaining " constructive on its end-market exposure, highlighting strength in bulk commodities and improving trends in domestic intermodal, and expects CPKC-specific opportunities (e.g., Americold facility in H2/25, Canadian grain to Mexico) to offset potential softness on freight exposed to tariffs (i.e., autos, metals, ECP, US grain, and international intermodal."
However, he emphasized the company’s accelerating shareholder returns despite the uncertain backdrop.
“CPKC repurchased $347-million of its shares in Q1/25 and announced a 20.0-per-cent dividend increase on April 30, 2025, both occurring ahead of ATB estimates,” he said. “Management confirmed its intention to exhaust the entire normal course issuer bid (approximately 35 million shares) in 2025 given its increased balance sheet flexibility (3.0 times) and the value it sees in its shares, which is reflected in ATB estimates.”
After reducing his earnings expectations through fiscal 2026, Mr. Murray trimmed his one-year target for CPKC shares to $124 from $128, representing a total return of 24.8 per cent, while he maintained an “outperform” recommendation. The average on the Street is $121.51, according to LSEG data.
“Management expects to remain active on its buyback and intends to utilize the entire NCIB in 2026 given prevailing valuations,” he said. “With leverage trending toward the Company’s targeted range of 2.5 times, CPKC is positioned to increase returns to shareholders on a go forward basis, which we expect will include regular dividend increases.”
Elsewhere, other analysts making target adjustments include:
* Desjardins Securities’ Benoit Poirier to $124 from $129 with a “buy” rating.
“Although we lowered our estimates/target, given the current circumstances (economic paralysis caused by ‘on again, off again’ tariff policy) and relative to the magnitude of the earnings revisions of some transportation peers, we view CP’s quarter and new guidance as quite impressive. These are exactly the defensive characteristics rail investors are searching for in these uncertain times. Further, we believe the more aggressive buyback commentary will be perceived very positively,” said Mr. Poirier.
* Scotia’s Konark Gupta to $115 from $120 with a “sector outperform” rating.
“We were already at the mid-point of revised guidance (low-end of prior guidance) but have elected to reduce estimates given several macro unknowns ahead,” said Mr. Gupta. “Prolonged macro undertainty also causes us to trim P/E multiple to 21 times (was 22 times), which equates to a reasonable 4-per-cent FCF yield. CP performed well in Q1 despite weather, tariff noise and no major pull-forward effects. Strong volume and operational trends have continued in April. Although trade uncertainty persists, we note CP is lapping easier comps than normal in each of the next three quarters due to various one-off events last year. Most importantly, management noted that shifting trade policies are creating offsetting opportunities given CP’s unique single-line network across North America, which gives the company confidence in remaining the industry leader on EPS growth. Valuation has compressed to 20 times NTM [next 12 months], CP’s lowest since announcing the final KCS deal in 2021, which is why CP is aggressively repurchasing shares.”
* National Bank’s Cameron Doerksen to $117 from $118 with a “sector perform” rating.
“We maintain our Sector Perform rating on CPKC shares,” he said. “CPKC’s valuation at 21.0 times our new 2025 EPS forecast has become more attractive, but it remains a premium to the U.S. peer average at 17.6 times. Given its strong portfolio of growth drivers, a premium for CPKC is deserved, but valuation is already baking in solid growth (current consensus is for 15-pr-cent growth in 2026). As we have cautioned previously, CPKC may face further growth headwinds depending on how the U.S. tariff situation plays out (40 per cent of revenue from cross-border flows). We value CPKC shares by applying a 22.0 times multiple to our 2026 EPS forecast.”
* RBC’s Walter Spracklin to $121 from $122 with an “outperform” rating.
“CPKC reported better than expected Q1/25 results; however management reduced 2025 EPS guidance to 10-14 per cent (from 12-18 per cent),” said Mr. Spracklin. “Notable is that the guidance reduction comes despite 1) Q1 having come in strong (up 14 per cent), 2) Q2 volumes quarter-to-date strong (and accelerating); and 3) management leaving its 2025 volume guide of up MSD [mid-single-digits] unchanged. As a result, we see the guidance change as primarily F/X related; and we flag that the new range of $4.68 to $4.85 still brackets consensus $4.83 (on the high end). Accordingly, we see the guidance change as a non-event and reiterate our OP rating.”
* CIBC’s Kevin Chiang to $119 from $124 with an “outperformer” rating.
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National Bank Financial analyst Vishal Shreehar saw the first-quarter results from Loblaw Companies Ltd. (L-T) as a “steady performance amid [an] unsteady backdrop” and now sees signs of improving trends for the current quarter.
“L indicated Q2/25 Food Retail and Drug Retail sssg QTD [same-store sales growth quarter-to-date] were stronger than Q1/25 and expressed optimism regarding the 2025 outlook,” he said. “The gap between discount and conventional is stable; conventional sssg strengthened, in part due to merchandising adjustments.
“Tariffs did not impact Q1/25, but are expected to impact prices in Q2/25. Partial mitigation factors include government support (six months) for select products and working with vendors among others. We expect consumer pressure to relatively favour L (higher discount mix). L expects 2025 gross margin to be stable (NBF models modest expansion); L can reinvest in price and deliver against the framework by growing sales faster than the past. We revised our EPS estimates: 2025 goes to $9.45 from $9.46 and 2026 goes to $10.28 from $10.22.”
Shares of the Canadian retail giant rose 2.5 per cent on Wednesday after reporting results that largely fell in line with Mr. Shreedar’s expectations. Revenue rose to $14.135-billion from $13.581-billion during the same year ago, topping the analyst’s $13.993-billion projection and the consensus forecast of $14.069-billion. Earnings per share were up 16 cents from fiscal 2024 to $1.88, also exceeding projections ($1.85 and $1.87, respectively). The analyst attributed the “slight” beat to lower depreciation and amortization charges as well as interest considerations.
“We maintain a favourable view on L and recommend it as our preferred grocer supported by several key themes: (i) Benefits from improvement initiatives; (ii) Ongoing stable EPS growth, and (iii) Favourable medium-term trends in discount and drug store (where L over-indexes),” he said.
Mr. Shreedhar raised his target for Loblaw shares to $234 from $207, keeping an “outperform” rating. The average target is $225.20.
“We value L at 11.0 times (from 10.0 times; increased demand for stocks that have demonstrated historical consistency amid macro uncertainty) our 26/27 Retail EBITDA and 8.0 times our 26/27 Financial EPS,“ he explained. ”The higher PT reflects a higher multiple, a roll forward of our valuation period and slightly higher estimates.”
Other analysts making target adjustments include:
* Desjardins Securities’ Chris Li to $230 from $185 with a “hold” rating.
“1Q results show that L is well-positioned to achieve its financial framework of high-single-digit EPS growth in 2025,” said Mr. Li. We believe this is a testament to the company’s strong execution, cost discipline, and unmatched food and drug retail assets. We believe the EPS target is achievable but not overly conservative. Against the backdrop of ongoing macro uncertainties, we expect investors’ continuing preference for high-quality and defensive companies with predictable earnings growth to support L’s current valuation."
* TD Cowen’s Michael Van Aelst to $245 from $195 with a “buy” rating.
“Solid execution allowing Loblaw to deliver predictable, consistent EPS growth despite headwinds from new DCs [distribution centres], stores,” he said. “This, along with investors’ defensive positioning and tailwinds in Drug, has expanded P/E valuation 6 points over the TTM [trailing 12 months] to a 25-yearr high. We feel Loblaw can hold on to this valuation in this environment, though would have to be quick to adjust in the event of a ‘risk on’ move.”
* Scotia’s John Zamparo to $245 from $215 with a “sector outperform” rating.
“We continue to view Loblaw as a defensive name with high visibility to earnings growth,” said Mr. Zamparo. “We now look to the average of F25 and F26 as our basis for valuation; our 24.5 times target P/E multiple represents uncharted territory for L, and is meaningfully above the current peak of 22.9 times. However, we struggle to see what will reverse staples’ momentum, barring an un-doing of U.S. trade policy. Furthermore, L has several internal drivers to maintain growth, and valuation looks more reasonable in the context of WMT at 33 times and COST at 55 times.”
* CIBC’s Mark Petrie to $234 from $208 with an “outperformer” rating.
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Desjarins Securities analyst Brent Stadler sees Capital Power Corp. (CPX-T) “sitting pretty following a strong start to the year as reliability tailwinds accumulate.”
“The results continue to highlight that CPX’s assets are critical to grid reliability, which bodes well for recontracting,” he said. “Following the strong start to the year, we now model near the upper end of CPX’s 2025 guidance range. We have a lot of confidence in the management team, which continues to execute, we like its high-quality operating assets, which continue to outperform expectations, and we believe CPX has a proven strategy ... CPX remains a preferred name.”
After Wednesday’s premarket release of better-than-expected first-quarter results, which sent shares rising 3.2 per cent on the day, the Edmonton-based power generator reiterated its 2025 guidance range, including EBITDA of $1.340–$1.440-billion and adjusted funds from operations of $850–$950-million.
However, Mr. Stadler thinks the expectations now appear to be “conservative.”
“Reflecting the strong start to the year, our EBITDA estimate on a comparable basis of $1.435-billion ($1.542-bilion with the PJM M&A) and AFFO of $943-million ($1.010-billion with the PJM M&A) are at the upper end of the guidance ranges,” he said. “We believe that additional facility mothballs in Alberta, more variable weather and continued strong demand in the U.S. could drive upside to 2025 numbers.”
“U.S. asset recontracting is a strategic priority for 2025. CPX commented that it is having discussions with a number of counterparties on multiple assets; we took the comments to suggest that it could announce a recontracting today but is working to ensure it maximizes value. We continue to expect a near-term recontracting given strong demand for the assets. We continue to believe the first recontracting will provide a readthrough to CPX’s remaining U.S. gas assets, which will be a material and chunky catalyst for the stock.
Maintaining his “buy” rating for Capital Power shares, Mr. Stadler raised his target by $1 to $68 to reflect the “strong” quarter. The average is $62.58.
Elsewhere, National Bank’s Patrick Kenny reduce his target to $62 from $65 with an “outperform” rating, pointing to the expectation for weaker Alberta merchant cash flows through 2028.
“ That said, with our sum-of-the-parts valuation remaining over $60, we maintain our Outperform rating with a target of $62 (was $65), representing an attractive 12-month total return opportunity of 23.6 per cent,” said Mr. Kenny.
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Despite the recent sell-off across the broader equity market, Scotia Capital analyst Meny Grauman said he continues to like an recommend Canadian life insurance stocks, believing that “the group stands out as a relative safe haven from tariff uncertainty.”
“It goes without saying that lifecos do not actually move goods across international borders, but even second-order macro-economic impacts should be modest as core insurance products are relatively recession resilient, and both earnings streams and market exposure are quite geographically diversified across most names, with IAG being a notable exception that is much more Canada focused,” he said.
“The key impact area for these companies is in fact equity market performance which directly impacts results across the group’s wealth units, but we see this as more a near-term headwind than something more fundamental. For the year to date, Canadian lifecos have underperformed the TSX by just 68 basis points but have outperformed the bank index by 216 bps. That said, performance across our lifeco coverage has diverged quite dramatically with SFC up 26 per cent and GWO up 11 per cent since the start of the year, while MFC and SLF are both down 4 per cent.“
For the approaching first-quarter earnings season, Mr. Grauman is forecasting core earnings per share to decline 4 per cent on average from the previous quarter but up 13 per cent year-over-year.
“On average our estimates are 1 per cent below consensus (excluding SFC), although we are in line for SLF,” he said. “On a fundamental basis, we assume resilient underlying insurance results, but we note that equity markets began a pretty steep sell-off in February, a sell-off that continued through quarter end. We are taking a conservative approach to equity performance for the rest of 2025, but assume more normalized returns as we look out to 2026.
“Top Picks: MFC is our top pick again, followed by GWO. Our pecking order for the lifecos is now MFC, GWO, SLF, and IAG. GWO was our top pick as we headed into Q4 reporting. Although shares have climbed 13 per cent since February and on average outperformed peers by 844 bps, we continue to like the name and rate it Sector Outperform. However, we have given the top spot in our pecking order to MFC after some serious underperformance which we believe is overdone.“
Mr. Grauman made these target adjustments:
* IA Financial Corp. Inc. (IAG-T, “sector perform”) to $140 from $143. The average is $143.13.
Analyst: “IAG remains at the bottom of our pecking order even after a solid Investor Day. IAG is still the best-performing Canadian lifeco over the past 6 months, and this outperformance is a key reason why we see more upside across the peer group. We continue to view the lifeco’s $1.4-billion in pro forma deployable capital as a key strength, but the outlook for M&A in the US dealer services business is now highly uncertain again given the Canada/US trade war that will likely hit the auto business particularly hard, although details here change daily. Meanwhile, management has been clear that buyback activity should continue to slow given the run-up in the shares.”
* Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC-T, “sector outperform”) to $50 from $53. Average: $48.62.
Analyst: “In terms of our pecking order, MFC now changes place with GWO as our Top Pick in the space. This is largely driven by the recent sell-off in the name and the fact that on average it has underperformed peers by 286 bps since it reported year-end numbers. This is despite the fact that the lifeco continues to deliver strong and consistent quarterly results, and at its June Investor Day boosted its ROE guidance from 15 per cent plus to 18 per cent plus while reaffirming EPS growth of 10-12 per cent over the medium-term, and guiding to cumulative remittances of $22-billion-plus between 2024 and 2027. MFC’s tail risk has narrowed dramatically over the past two years, but as tariff risks have intensified the market has disproportionally punished this name, with the shares now trading at the lowest forward P/E multiple of the group.”
* Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF-T, “sector outperform”) to $90 from $94. Average: $87.67.
Analyst: “We also maintain our Sector Outperform rating on SLF, but it remains our third-place pick behind MFC and GWO. The lifeco’s new ROE target of 20% is peer-leading, but the market is beginning to view it as more of a challenging goal than something that is easily achievable. In the near-term the lifeco’s outsized exposure to wealth and asset management will be a headwind, as will performance in its US Stop-Loss business which we expect to be under pressure again in Q1. Overall, we don’t believe that performance here is structurally challenged, but certainly SLF’s U.S. business is proving to be an unexpected source of earnings volatility.”
He maintained his targets for these companies:
- Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO-T, “sector outperform”) with a $60 target. Average: $55.67.
- Sagicor Financial Company Ltd. (SFC-T, “sector perform”) with a $12 target. Average: $10.56.
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In his own quarterly preview for lifecos, CIBC World Markets analyst Paul Holden also adjusted his forecast and targets.
“Frequent changes in tariff policy make it difficult to have high conviction calls,” he said. “It’s best to gravitate to quality in this type of market. Economic repercussions will be negative for the banks, but the daily volatility we see across publicly traded asset classes is not great for the lifecos. There is also potential downside for the lifecos in terms of private asset valuations and exposure to Asia, which carries elevated tariff/political risk. The average P/E multiple for the lifecos is in line with the banks vs. a historical average discount of 10 per cent. For all these reasons, we favour banks over lifecos. Our pecking order within lifecos is GWO, IAG, SLF and MFC. ”
- Great-West Lifeco Inc. (GWO-T, “outperformer”) to $57 from $60. Average: $55.67.
- IA Financial Corp. Inc. (IAG-T, “outperformer”) to $144 from $149. Average: $143.13.
- Manulife Financial Corp. (MFC-T, “neutral”) to $46 from $48. Average: $48.62.
- Sun Life Financial Inc. (SLF-T, “outperformer”) to $89 from $94. Average: $87.67.
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In other analyst actions:
* Calling it a “‘made-in-Canada copper solution,” Scotia Capital’s Eric Winmill initiated coverage of Osisko Metals Inc. (OM-X) with a “sector outperform” rating and $1 target. The average on the Street is $1.10.
"Increasing geopolitical tensions are placing a renewed focus on national borders and highlighting the importance of ‘critical metals,’ with copper in particular recognized as an indispensable commodity needed to fuel the technology-driven economy of the future,“ he said. ”For these reasons, we think that commodity location is becoming an increasingly important determinant for commodity investors and one of the reasons why we like shares of OM – with 9.3 billion lbs Cu already defined in resource inventory in all categories, the company is actively advancing its large and strategic copper resource located in the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec. Drilling is ongoing at the deposit to further expand and upgrade total contained copper, with a resource update due in the coming year. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is targeted for release in 1H/26, followed by further project advancement and possible production beginning early next decade, pending positive permitting and construction decisions."
“Our Sector Outperform rating carries a Speculative risk ranking. OM does not currently generate revenues, and we expect it to remain free cash flow negative until the Gaspé Copper project commences production in 2032 or later—as a result, we have assigned a Speculative risk ranking. Investors are referred to the Risk Factors section of this report for a discussion of potential investment risks."
* Stifel’s Daryl Young cut his Air Canada (AC-T) target to $22 from $26 with a “buy” rating. The average on the Street is $22.60.
“We are reducing our estimates in advance of AC’s Q1/25 results pre-market May 9th, and lowering our target price, reflecting a more conservative outlook for travel demand amid the current geopolitical uncertainty and growing recession risks,” he said. “Additionally, Q1/25 will be impacted by severe weather and disruption at Pearson Airport, from Delta’s overturned aircraft. There are clear indications of weakening U.S. Transborder demand but re-book of Domestic and Other International appears to be offsetting. On the positive side, the stronger C$ and falling fuel prices are supportive of cash flow generation, and will partially mitigate the demand uncertainties. In our view, these factors are well-understood and based on our investor conversations we think it’s largely consensus that AC will cut (or pull) its full-year 2025 guidance alongside Q1/25 results. However, at the current valuation the stock is arguably already pricing in significant downside, potentially setting up for a ‘better-than-feared’ dynamic.”
* CIBC’s Krista Friesen raised her target for Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd. (BDGI-T) to $53 from $52, exceeding the $49.86 average, with an “outperformer” rating.
* Citi’s Joanne Wuensch lowered her Bausch + Lomb Corp. (BLCO-N, BLCO-T) target to US$13 from US$14 with a “neutral” rating. The average is US$16.50.
* Citi’s Ryan Levine lowered his Street-low Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (BIP-N, BIP.UN-T) target to US$31 from US$34 with a “neutral” rating. The average is US$39.73.
“BIP doesn’t see tariffs impacting businesses, a slowdown in DC activity, or change to currency hedging approach. BIP/BIPC spread remains wide on slow deal activity, but BIP has history of capitalizing on market dislocation with M&A, and public market deals that should eventually close the gap.
* Canaccord Genuity’s Robert Young cut his CGI Inc. (GIB.A-T) target to $180 from $190 with a “buy” rating,. Other changes include:Raymond James’ Steven Li to $178 from $183 with an “outperform” rating and Scotia’s Divya Goyal to $165 from $175 with a “sector outperform” rating. The average is $168.21.
“CGI reported Q2/25 results which broadly came in line with expectations, primarily driven by M&A growth,“ said Ms. Goyal. ”The company reported strong bookings and a robust backlog, supported by recent acquisitions. Though DOGE’s impact on US Federal revenues and secondary impact of tariffs on the company (given the impact on clients) continues to drive a cautious outlook near-term, management remains on the lookout for new areas of growth and development taking proactive actions to ensure client satisfaction while expanding shareholder value.
“Despite the challenging business environment, we believe CGI remains a high-quality long-term investment, expected to continue to strengthen as the company invests in strategic and potentially transformational acquisitions across North America and Europe. However, in the near-term we expect to see sustained volatility across Technology Services sector, esp. across System Integration and Consulting business, hence we have adjusted our forward-looking estimates accordingly.”
* CIBC’s Nik Priebe trimmed his First National Financial Corp. (FN-T) target to $41 from $44 with a “neutral” rating, while Scotia’s Phil Hardie cut his target to $42 from $44 with a “sector perform” rating. The average is $41.
“A strong rebound in origination volumes was encouraging but overshadowed by a large earnings miss,“ said Mr. Hardie. ”We think several of the factors that weighed on the miss are somewhat transitory, and although we have reduced our estimates and target price, the mid-single digit sell-off looks like an overreaction. Financial results disappointed, but we thought underlying operational momentum looked surprisingly strong and punctuated by 35-per-cent year-over-year rebound in single-family mortgage volumes. Management noted that this strength was likely unique to First National given its focus on high ratio insured mortgages given the benefit of recent changes to mortgage insurance rules that allow for larger loan sizes. Lenders focused in the conventional mortgage market are not likely to enjoy a similar tailwind. Despite upward revisions to our mortgage origination forecasts, we expect to see full-year earnings decline in 2025 before regaining momentum in 2026.”
* In response to weaker-than-anticipated first-quarter results, National Bank’s Mohamed Sidibé cut his Lithium Royalty Corp. (LIRC-T) target to $6.75 from $7 with an “outperform” rating. Other changes include: Canaccord Genuity’s Katie Lachapelle to $9 from $10 with a “buy” rating, Citi’s Patrick Cunningham to $6 from $5.50 with a “buy” rating and Raymond James’ Brian MacArthur to $8 from $8.75 with an “outperform” rating. The average is $7.52.
Mr. Cunningham explained: “Our takeaways from the call: 1) LIRC noted that Ganfeng Lithium’s Mariana project inaugurated during the quarter. With current public disclosures from Ganfeng guiding to 3Q25 production commencement, the company expects first cash flow from the project in late 2025 due to the natural lag between production and shipments. Zijin Mining’s Tres Quebradas project also remains on track for commencing production in 3Q25 and Sigma Lithium recently confirmed progress towards Phase 2 expansion by year-end 2025. 2) On industry trends, management noted a level of ESS pre-buying activity related to tariffs during the quarter. However, LIRC also highlighted structural ESS demand growth forecasts greater than 50 per cent in 2025 and continued strength in China-led EV momentum despite trade uncertainty. 3) LIRC is encouraged by Core Lithium recently confirming expected completion of its restart study in 2Q25. LIRC holds a 2.5-per-cent GOR royalty on the Core Lithium Finniss project.”
* Canaccord Genuity’s Robert Young trimmed his Real Matters Inc. (REAL-T) target to $8 from $8.50 with a “buy” rating, while ATB Capital Markets’ Martin Toner cut his target to $11 from $12 with an “outperform” rating. The average is $7.83.
“Real Matters reported FQ2 results that were below expectations on the top and bottom line given weakened volumes in an elevated rate environment,” said Mr. Young. “Despite this, management was upbeat on its growing customer base (‘a coiled spring’), pipeline, and opportunities with key customer Rocket Mortgage post the close of the recently announced acquisitions of Redfin and Mr. Cooper. Management continues to operate well through a difficult mortgage origination market which remains at historical volume lows. We highlight continued market share gains with existing clients and top scorecard performance as well as the strong RFP pipeline. Real Matters launched three new clients this quarter, one in the U.S. Title business (in two channels) and two new clients in Canada. Rates remain on the precipice of a large refi pool, given 7 million mortgages in the U.S. carry a rate more than 6.5 per cent. Real Matters remains confident on the margin leverage potential as volumes return, as do we, given idle capacity in U.S. Appraisal and U.S. Title. We have made downward revisions to our estimates to reflect our expectations of a softer Q3, followed by a stronger Q4 as seasonality is offset by recent share gains/wins.”
* JP Morgan’s Sebastiano Petti increased his Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI.B-T) target to $55 from $53 with an “overweight” rating. The average is $51.04.
* National Bank’s Maxim Sytchev reduced his Toromont Industries Ltd. (TIH-T) target to $130 from $135 with an “outperform” rating. The average is $132.93.
“A lot of the macro uncertainty is, of course, self-inflicted and a policy pivot might reignite the animal spirits any day on the back of a trade deal breakthrough with one of the meaningful partners in the U.S.; Canada is also trying to stick with infra spending as we have seen in the QC budget recently and commitments to large-scale infra projects like hydro power, high-speed rail, subways and LRTs that are equipment-intensive. With inability to predict the timing of a trade policy thaw, our best advice is to do nothing and let the thesis come to you. TIH sports a clean balance sheet, exposure to infra-friendly Eastern Canada, and has a potential angle on the data centre opportunity via CIMCO, AVL and backup power,” he said.