Canadian uranium producer Cameco warned this week that production at one of its mines might come up short, which may not necessarily be bad news for shareholders. Meanwhile, analysts parsed through the Big Six bank earnings and crunched some numbers to come up with new price targets, plus we look at two Canadian retail stalwarts that got share price upgrades. 

Stock of the Week: Cameco Corp.

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets and TD Securities think Canadian uranium producer

Cameco Corp.

(TSX:CCO) is poised to break out of the range it has been stuck in since late July after gaining nearly 110 per cent over the last four months as the case for building nuclear energy facilities gains more traction. Alexander Pearce, a metals and mining analyst at BMO, upgraded his price target for Cameco to $120 from $110. The stock is currently trading around the $106 dollar mark and had been a bit range-bound after hitting a high of $109.10 on July 25. Pearce hiked his target based on a potential uranium shortage after Cameco this week reported lower than expected production at its McArthur River mine. The World Nuclear Symposium is set to take place next week, which the BMO analyst views as “the positive catalyst needed for increased contracting and another leg-up in sentiment.” TD analyst Craig Hutchison maintained his price target of $117 “based on historical precedent where industry-wide shortfalls typically result in higher spot uranium prices and corresponding positive reaction for uranium equities.”

Keeping score

 

Where analysts think Big Bank shares are headed

The Big Six banks reported earnings this week. Here’s where analysts see the stocks headed after most of them beat estimates.

Royal Bank of Canada

TD Securities upgraded its price target for

Royal Bank of Canada

(TSX:RY), the biggest of the Big Six banks, to $208 from $191. The stock is currently trading just under $200. TD analyst Mario Mendonca cited the better than expected increase to provisions for credit losses (PCLs, the reserves lenders set aside for potential loan losses), strong capital markets trading and more gains from the purchase of HSBC Bank Canada. Mendonca said he expected the pace of share buybacks to slow.

Toronto-Dominion Bank

Bank of Nova Scotia analyst Mike Rizvanovic moved up his target price “modestly” for TD to $104 from $95 after

Toronto-Dominion Bank

(TSX:TD), Canada’s second-largest bank by market capitalization, posted a “good” quarter on PCLs moving in the right direction and “management sounding more confident in its outlook than last quarter.” Rizvanovic did note that expense headwinds could continue to blow related to TD’s U.S. retail division, but unrelated to anti-money laundering initiatives (the lack of which the bank was fined for in October).

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Rizvanovic also raised his price target for

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

(TSX:CM) to $116 from $101 “after another solid quarter.” The stock is currently trading around $106. “We remain positive on CM coming out of the quarter, with the bank putting up another set of clean results and showing further signs of consistent, steady improvement across key operating metrics,” Rizvanovic said.

Bank of Nova Scotia

RBC Capital Markets’ Darko Mihelic hiked his price target for

Bank of Nova Scotia

(TSX:BNS) to $86 from $80 after the bank reported lower than expected PCLs and “better than expected net interest income.” Mihelic expects earnings growth to improve in 2026, “driven by total revenues and lower PCLs rather than strong loan growth.”

Bank of Montreal

Mihelic also hiked his target price for

Bank of Montreal

(TSX:BMO) to $168 from $161. The stock is trading around $165. Mihelic said it appears that PCLs have “peaked” in the U.S., with RBC lowering its assumptions in that area. He also gave a thumbs up to the bank’s repurchase and cancellation of shares as “a solid signal of usage of excess capital,” he said in a note.

National Bank of Canada

National Bank of Canada

(TSX:NA) was an outlier among the Big Six, missing estimates on earnings per share, with TD analyst Mendonca citing as the cause lower trading revenues and dilution of shares from issuance related to the purchase of Canadian Western Bank. Mendonca did note however that gains from that deal have yet to be realized. He lowered his price target to $148, from $152. National is currently trading around $145.

Dollarama a ‘core Canadian consumer holding’

The Montreal-based discount retailer

Dollarama Inc.

(TSX:DOL) is on a roll, with BMO Capital Markets analyst Etienne Ricard viewing the company as a “core Canadian consumer holding” while maintaining a price target of $215. The stock is currently trading around $187. Dollarama reported growth this week from its expansions into Australia and Mexico, while executives noted that shoppers showed signs during the quarter of both resilience and fragility. “While DOL highlighted an ‘inconsistent’ consumer for general merchandise and seasonal items, DOL has nonetheless exceeded expectations year to date without meaningful growth contributions from these,” Ricard said in a note. Brian Morrison at TD Securities has a price target of $210 on the stock and said in a note that the chain’s prospects in Mexico and Australia help support “its admittedly ‘rich’ valuation.”

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BRP weathers higher rates, tariff uncertainty

The maker of Sea-Doos and Ski-Doos ran into rough weather on higher interest rates and after tariff uncertainty sapped demand, but analysts at TD Securities now think

BRP Inc.

(TSX:DOO) might be through the worst of its downturn after the Montreal-based manufacturer beat estimates. Brian Morrison at TD raised his price target to $106 from $87, which he had already hiked in mid-August from an earlier target of $70. “Expect upward consensus revisions (on the stock price) despite the ‘soft’ retail environment,” he said in a note. He thinks BRP shares will get their next leg up from lower interest rates.

• Email: gmvsuhanic@postmedia.com