The Savvy Investor | Salespeople at Dollarama

Every Sunday, we shine the spotlight on elements of financial and stock market news that may be useful to investors, but which might have slipped under the radar.




Two Dollarama executives have just sold more than $1 million worth of shares in the Montreal discount retailer.

Vice President, Global Sourcing at DollaramaJohn Assaly, sold a block of 7,200 shares on July 16 at a price of $128.03 per share, while the vice president responsible for human resources, Mark Di Pesa, sold a block of 1,000 shares on July 10 at a price of $130.17 per share.

National Bank Financial on Friday withdrew its buy recommendation on the stock of TFI after reviewing the Montreal trucking company’s most recent quarterly performance. Analyst Cameron Doerksen remains positive about the long-term outlook, but says we’ll have to wait until 2025 to see a more significant improvement in profitability in less-than-truckload (transporting goods for various customers). The stock’s rise also has an impact on his decision.

The Quebec producer of renewable energy Innergex lost TD’s support on Friday. Analyst Sean Steuart is withdrawing his buy recommendation on the stock following the recent expansion in the valuation multiple. Innergex shares have risen from $7 in February to nearly $11 this month. He believes the surge is justified, but he considers the current valuation to be “fair.”

Colabor gained a new follower this week. Desjardins Securities launched coverage of the Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville food distributor’s activities on Tuesday by offering to buy the stock.

Analyst Frédéric Tremblay points out that the new management has successfully completed a turnaround, setting the stage for an acceleration of profitable growth and cash flows as the company prepares to expand its operations in the Greater Montreal area and the rest of Western Quebec, a new territory that triples the size of Colabor’s market. He believes Colabor can double its distribution revenues in the coming years.

A Montreal portfolio manager thinks he has found a “low-cost” way to invest in the National Bank by purchasing shares of the Canadian Western Bank.

National Bank shares fell from $118 to $106 last month after the proposed acquisition of Western Bank was announced. Canadian Western Bank shares were worth about $42 when National was trading at $106. Stephen Takacsy of Lester Management said he saw an opportunity because the deal is to be done through a share swap and Canadian Western Bank shareholders are to receive 0.45 of a National Bank share for every Canadian Western Bank share they own.

Assuming the deal goes through – and there is no doubt that the deal will go through in Stephen Takacsy’s eyes – he calculates that he has “purchased” National Bank shares at a total discount of 22% from the National Bank share price peak of $118 reached in June before the acquisition was announced.

Lester Asset Management also announced that it had sold its position in the Montreal distributor of renovation equipment. Richelieu Hardware during the spring quarter. The decision was driven in part by high inventories, margins, rising fixed costs and slowing consumer spending.

In addition, a director at Quincaillerie Richelieu has just purchased nearly $120,000 worth of shares in the company. Marc Poulin bought 3,000 shares on July 16. He has been a member of the board since 2013.

The takeover bid unveiled this week to close the capital of the mattress and sleep accessories retailer Are you sleeping demonstrates once again how undervalued some small-cap companies appear on the stock market. Dormez-vous joins a list that so far in 2024 includes in particular Héroux-Devtek, Nuvei And mdf trade.

TD has just fallen in behind Metro. Analyst Michael Van Aelst has been recommending that his clients buy the Montreal grocer’s stock since July 19. A slowing economy and falling interest rates generally bode well for grocers’ stock valuations, he notes. “Investors are starting to anticipate a resumption of profit growth in fiscal 2025 and I am now comfortable changing my recommendation before that growth is felt.”

Quebec titles of Gildan, Metro, Stella-Jones, Transcontinental, Bomber, Fiera Capital And Dollarama all hit 52-week highs on the Toronto Stock Exchange this week.

On the other hand, those of Deckchair, Air Canada And Bausch Health fell this week to a 52-week low.


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