Every Sunday, we shine the spotlight on elements of financial and stock market news that may be useful to investors, but which might have gone under the radar.
Published at 8:00 a.m.
The nearly 40% decline in BCE shares this year continues to fuel discussions and suggests that the Montreal technology services company has lost its defensive attributes.
Analyst Aravinda Galappatthige at Canaccord maintains that the most recent pressure is notably linked to tax-loss sales.
The reputation of BCE as a highly defensive, low beta stock is no longer valid, which could lead to a significant change in shareholder composition.
Aravinda Galappatthige, analyst at Canaccord
His colleague Adam Shine, of National Bank Financial, notes for his part that rumors have recently circulated that BCE is seeking to sell its media platform or its sports channels. “I don't believe there is any intention to do so, although a future sale of the 20% stake in the Montreal Canadiens would not be surprising. »
To create a change in expectations, reposition BCE and recreate a climate of confidence, Maher Yaghi of Scotia notably suggests merging the assets of Bell Media with Corus into a separate publicly traded company, cutting the dividend in half and to eliminate the dividend reinvestment program.
And if the situation does not improve, could BCE be subject to a takeover by a private investment fund? This expert asks the question in his note sent Thursday.
The chairman of the board of Dollarama has just sold more than $7.7 million in shares of the Montreal retailer. Stephen Gunn sold a lot of 54,950 shares on December 12. He has been a director since 2009 and chairman of the board for six years.
The largest institutional shareholder in TVA Group has once again increased its stake in the Montreal television broadcaster. A regulatory filing this month with authorities reveals that recent purchases of TVA stock, including last month, increased Rational Investment Group's stake in TVA to 19.79% to begin December. This Boston investment firm's stake in TVA rose to 11.8% last fall before being increased to 15.9% at the start of the year.
Since the founding family of the Japanese convenience store operator 7-Eleven plans to list the American assets of Seven & i as part of its takeover offer for the conglomerate, the sale of the American convenience stores 7-Eleven to Couche-Tard could ultimately be the best solution for everyone, thinks Scotia's John Zamprao. He gives a “reasonable” probability to this eventuality which would allow Seven & i’s Japanese assets to remain under local control.
And Couche-Tard's plans B and C could well be the American convenience store chain Casey's General Stores and the Polish convenience store operator Zabka Group, he added in a report published last week. While he believes Casey's may command too high a relative value, the analyst believes Zabka, which just listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange, is an intriguing European target that would give Couche-Tard business dominant in Poland, where its presence is currently weak but not negligible.
Eight Quebec securities are part of the list of best investment ideas presented Thursday by Desjardins Securities for 2025. These securities are The trap, 5N Plus, AtkinsRéalis, Bombardier, TFI, CGI, Boralex et Innergex.
The main head of manufacturing at The trap has just sold nearly $700,000 worth of shares in the Montreal clothing manufacturer. Benito Masi sold a block of 10,000 shares on December 11.
Quebecor gained the support of RBC midweek. Analyst Drew McReynolds believes that after a period of downward revisions to expectations since the acquisition of Freedom, the risk-reward setup has become more attractive. He says in particular that he considers Quebecor as a likely beneficiary of a more disciplined pricing environment in wireless and internet from 2025. Only 3 analysts out of 12 are now not proposing the purchase.
The executive chairman of the board of directors of Tecsys has just sold a little more than $100,000 worth of shares in the Montreal-based supplier of supply chain management software. Dave Brereton sold a block of 900 shares on December 13th and a block of 1500 shares on December 6th.
The Toronto Stock Exchange will be closed three days this week for Christmas. It will only be possible to execute transactions on Monday and Friday.
Quebec titles of CAE, Tecsys a you Dynamite Group all hit a 52-week high this week on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
On the other hand, those of BCE, Guru, Canadian National, Dorel, TVA, Colabor et Known reached their lowest level in the last 52 weeks this week.
This section is on break for two weeks. Back on January 12.
