GDI lost two followers this week after revealing its year-end performance.
National Bank Financial and CIBC have just withdrawn their buy recommendations. There is now only one analyst in six who suggests buying the stock of the Montreal company specializing in building management and maintenance.
Zach Evershed of National Bank Financial says he sees little that could push the stock higher in the short term. It is preferable, according to him, to “take a break” while internal improvement efforts produce results.
At CIBC, John Zamparo expects difficulties in the technical services sector to persist in the coming quarters. This sector of activity must, he says, become the next engine of growth of GDI long-term. “It could take longer than expected,” he emphasizes.
The big Quebec winner of February on the Toronto Stock Exchange is the ADF Group. The stock of the Terrebonne steel superstructure manufacturer appreciated 29% during the month. NanoXplore (+24%), Fiera Capital (+23%) and Alithya (+23%) also had a very good month. Among the February losers in Quebec inc. in Toronto, let’s highlight Taiga (-33%), Waterfalls (-29%), Lightspeed (-23%) and Lion (-17%).
Now that BMO has withdrawn its buy recommendation on Fiera Capital mid-week, the seven analysts who officially follow the activities of the Montreal asset manager on Bay Street are now unanimous. They all agree not to offer the purchase of the stock. BMO analyst Étienne Ricard withdrew his buy suggestion on Wednesday, noting that the stock is now well valued and that investor confidence is reflected in the valuation. The action previously reflected, according to him, excessive pessimism surrounding the sustainability of the dividend and the flight of assets to the manager PineStone. “These concerns have lessened and are better understood,” he says.
Lion lost the support of Desjardins Securities on Friday the day after the presentation of the year-end financial performance of the Saint-Jérôme electric truck and bus manufacturer. Analyst Benoit Poirier withdraws his purchase suggestion, saying he sees value and potential, but that it will take time to “crystallize” them in the current unfavorable economic context. He prefers to “stay away” until visibility improves in terms of orders and deliveries.
There is only one analyst left who does not recommend buying the stock. WSP of the 14 who officially follow the activities of the Montreal engineering firm. Dimitri Khmelnitsky, at Veritas, is now proposing the purchase of the stock which reached a new high after the publication of the end of year results in the middle of the week.
The action of the National Bank has “hit the ceiling”, according to analyst Nigel D’Souza of the Veritas firm. This expert performs a 180 degree turn. He withdraws his buy recommendation and now proposes to sell the stock. “Although I expect single-digit profit growth at National in the medium term versus profit declines among peers, National is fully valued at its current price,” he said.
The CEO ofiA Financial Group (formerly Industrial Alliance) took advantage of the weakness in the stock price of the company he manages to add shares to his portfolio. Denis Ricard purchased $344,000 worth of shares in the Quebec financial services company at the beginning of the week. He bought 4,000 shares on Monday at a unit price of $86. The stock lost 9% of its value on February 21 during the trading session following the publication of the year-end financial performance.
Two directors and two members of the board of directorsInnergex have just purchased more than half a million dollars worth of shares in the Quebec renewable energy producer. The big boss Michel Letellier bought 14,000 shares on February 23 while the chief financial officer, Jean Trudel, bought 13,000 shares on Monday. Marc-André Aubé, director, purchased 40,000 shares on February 23 while his fellow director Richard Gagnon purchased 3,125 shares on Wednesday. These transactions occurred shortly after the presentation of year-end results and as investors had just reacted to the 50% reduction in the dividend.
Quebec titles of 5N Plus, Goodfellow, Tecsys, AtkinsRealis (SNC-Lavalin), National Bank, Dollarama, ADF, Couche-Tard, CN, WSP, TFI And CGI all hit a 52-week high this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
On the other hand, those of Waterfalls, Lion And Taiga reached a 52-week low this week.