SNC-Lavalin is the Quebec stock that recorded the best performance in August on the Toronto Stock Exchange with an appreciation of 15%.
TFI (9%), Logistec (8%) and Goodfellow (8%) also had a remarkable month.
Conversely, Supremex (-27%), Velan (-18%) and BRP (-15%) had a difficult month in Toronto.
A director of the MTY Group has just sold for $640,000 shares of the Montreal franchisor of restaurant brands such as Thaïzone, Valentine, Bâton Rouge and Sushi Shop. Dickie Orr sold a total of 10,000 shares during the August 22-25 sessions. He has been a member of the MTY Board of Directors since 2011.
Will BRP management announce this week that it is revising down its full year guidance? The world has changed a lot since executives released their forecasts in June last year, Scotia analyst Jonathan Goldman said in a note sent to clients recently. Higher rates are more likely to impact margins as a result of increased inventory.
Expectations remain too high and must be lowered, according to this expert. If he still recommends the purchase of the action of the manufacturer of recreational vehicles of Valcourt, he thinks that buyers are waiting on the sidelines for a revision of the forecasts (which may not occur) or a revision of the targets by the analysts. BRP will present the financial performance of the second quarter of its fiscal year on Thursday.
The chairman of the board of directors of Stingray has just purchased nearly $600,000 worth of shares in the Montreal music service provider. Mark Pathy purchased a block of 115,000 shares on August 23 at a unit price of $5.08. He carried out the transaction on behalf of his investment company Mavrik.
BCE lost support from TD on Friday. Analyst Vince Valentini no longer offers the purchase of the title of the Montreal telecommunications company. It raises questions about BCE’s ability to continue to increase its dividend by 5% per year, and even simply maintain it at its current level. It thus suggests that a possible reduction in the dividend is not impossible. Vince Valentini says he’s considered offering his clients to dump BCE stock, but argues it’s wiser to “hold it” since the stock is already down 12% since the spring. Now only 4 out of 18 analysts are saying to buy.
The future of Laurentian Bank – whether or not it will be sold – continues to fuel conversations. Everyone seems to have an opinion. Some, like Scotia analyst Meny Grauman, wonder what the strategic value of such a transaction might be for a major bank. Others, like Gabriel Dechaine of National Bank Financial, believe a transaction could involve multiple buyers. One might be interested in inventory financing subsidiary Northpoint Capital, while another might be more interested in the cost synergies resulting from the acquisition of Laurentian’s banking platform.
Since it is a question of Laurentian, analyst Darko Mihelic, at RBC, withdrew his recommendation to buy on the title of the bank on Friday. He expects revenue growth to slow, particularly from the highly profitable U.S. operations of equipment finance subsidiary Northpoint Capital. They are now 5 analysts out of 13 to suggest the purchase.
A director at Saputo has just sold shares of the Montreal dairy processor. Annalisa King sold a block of 2,000 shares on August 24 at a unit price of $28.35. She has been a board member for 11 years.
Quebec securities of CAE and TFI reached a 52-week high on the Toronto Stock Exchange this week.
In contrast, PyroGenesis and Theratechnologies slipped this week to another 52-week low.
