Why analysts are slashing stock price targets on Goeasy, how to play the Canada-India reconciliation and more from The Week in Stocks.

Stock of the week: Bird Construction Inc.

Shares of Bird Construction Inc. (BDT:TSX) rose seven per cent this week after the company beat estimates for adjusted earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation and amortization and “delivered a strong quarter and an even stronger outlook,” Raymond James analyst Frederic Bastien said in a March 12 note, hiking his price target nearly 30 per cent to $44 from $34. Shares closed Friday at $34.08. The Ontario-based general contractor has a backlog of projects worth $11.1 billion and a “healthy” balance sheet of $560 million, which Bastien said will afford management flexibility. “A renewed ‘Build Canada’ mandate bodes particularly well for BDT’s infrastructure and industrial businesses,” Bastien said, adding that Bird is also branching out into defence — a key focus for the government — in the areas of hangar and bunker developments. Bird is also in the mix when it comes to the construction of nuclear reactors. “With this much work coming, management can bid selectively with a view to enhancing the healthy margins already embedded in (the) backlog,” Bastien said. The eight analysts who track Bird have a 12-month price target of $40.25, according to Bloomberg.

Keeping score

There was nothing easy about Goeasy’s week on the markets

It was a terrible week for Goeasy Ltd. (GSY:TSX) with shares of the sub-prime lender tanking 57 per cent on Monday, falling to $49.69 from $115.55, and continuing to crater thereafter. This was after it announced it was suspending its dividend and buybacks and withdrew its fourth quarter and three-year guidance on mounting losses in the company’s auto loan unit. The news left analysts scrambling to drop price targets. Raymond James analyst Stephen Boland lowered his price target to $77 from $153, while TD Cowen analyst Graham Ryding stripped his target to $44 from $135. RBC Capital Markets reduced theirs to $56 from $152 and said that the “path forward won’t be easy” given that Goeasy is expected to breach several covenants (violate the terms and conditions of loans). RBC’s Bart Dziarski also said it’s likely that rating agencies will downgrade Goeasy’s debt, while earnings could easily worsen, he said. Scotia Capital Markets analysts Phil Hardie and Rhave Shah said “investors’ worst fears had come to pass” in the wake of a short-seller report on Goeasy released last fall, which alleged that the company was putting off declaring rising delinquencies and loan losses. However, the pair now think the worst is behind the lender and that shares might be oversold. Scotia has a price target of $68, down from $210. Shares closed Friday at $35.72.

RBC looks at ways to play Canada’s rapprochement with India

Given all the turmoil in the Middle East, it’s easy to forget that Prime Minister Mark Carney only a few weeks ago travelled to India to reset political and trade relations with one of the world’s major economies. RBC Capital Markets thinks the trip, which also included members of Canada’s business community, yielded some “tangible results” for companies it covers. “With the sheer size of the Indian market, we believe the groundwork for a meaningful improvement in what had been a frosty relationship between Canada and India is a positive for Canadian companies,” analyst Walter Spracklin and his team said in a report on March 11. Among the companies RBC highlighted are

Cameco Corp.

(CCO:TSX),

AltaGas Ltd.

(ALA:TSX),

Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP

(BIP:NYSE),

Canadian National Railway Co.

(CNR:TSX), and

Bombardier Inc.

(BBD.B:TSX). Cameco’s agreement to supply India with nearly 22 million pounds of uranium over the next nine years provides “another reason to like Cameco,” RBC said. Also in the energy space, AltaGas looks like the “logical way” to approach an impending deal between Canada and India to ship liquefied petroleum gas. Meetings between Canada and India also produced several memorandums of understanding covering critical minerals and coal. Canadian National Railway “is best placed” to benefit from transporting commodities to the British Columbia coast for transport, RBC said. In aerospace and defence, Bombardier could come out ahead as India looks to establish a strategic partnerships in defence procurement, space development, and civil aviation, RBC analyst James McGarragle said.

Price target hikes and cuts

  • TD Cowen analyst Craig Hutchison hiked his price target for Altius Minerals Corp. (ALS:TSX) to $52 from $39 and resumed coverage on the purchase of Lithium Royalty Corp., which Hutchsion said gives Altius “a healthy blend of near and long-term projects.” Shares closed Friday at $43.05.
  • Scotia Capital Markets analyst Cameron Bean hiked his price target for Peyto Exploration and Development Corp. (PEY:TSX) to $29 from $27 on “solid” fourth-quarter earnings that signalled the company is off to a strong start in 2026. Shares closed Friday at $28.98.
  • Raymond James analyst Stephen Boland hiked his price target for Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. (FFH:TSX) to $3,000 from $2,900 on an estimated $6.9 billion in “excess capital” that should lead to more share buybacks or purchasing minority stock positions. Shares closed Friday at $2,279.55.
  • TD Cowen analyst Michael Tupholme hiked his price target for Aecon Group Inc. (ARE:TSX) to $47 from $39 on a “near-record backlog.” Shares closed Friday at $40.24.
  • CIBC Capital Markets analyst Todd Coupland cut his price target for Celestica Inc. (CLS:TSX) to $488 from $540 “reflecting a lower-multiple environment rather than any deterioration in fundamentals.” Shares closed Friday at $362.26.
  • RBC Capital Markets analyst Keith Mackey hiked his price target for CES Energy Solutions Corp. (CEU:TSX) to $20 from $14. “CEU maintains top honours for highest growth metrics in our coverage group,” Mackey said. Shares closed Friday at $18.27.
  • This TSX stock fought its way back from the AI software rout and may have ‘strong growth prospects’
  • This TSX top performer surged 18% this week with a potentially powerful ‘catalyst’ waiting in the wings, says TD analyst

Every week, the Financial Post breaks down the most interesting developments in the week’s world of investing, from top performers to surprising analyst calls and stocks to have on your radar.

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