In a separate note, the other equity analysts at iA Capital Markets revealed their top stock picks for the third quarter.
They are:
Diversified Industries
Exchange Income Corp. (EIF-T) with a “buy” rating and $53 target. The average on the Street is $58.50.
Matthew Weekes: “EIF is well diversified and is expected to deliver strong growth in 2022 and 2023, driven by organic growth and contract incrementals, ongoing improvement in certain operations, and recent M&A activity, with Northern Mat expected to provide double digit free cash flow per share accretion on a normalized basis. We expect the Company’s legacy airlines to be resilient to high jet fuel prices, as these airlines provide niche, essential travel, cargo, charter, and medevac services to remote communities, with government contracts underpinning much of flight volumes. EIF’s Regional One subsidiary is driven by U.S. and European airline markets, where we believe that pent-up demand will make travellers less price elastic. We would note TSA travel checkpoint numbers indicate that U.S. air travel demand remained healthy in Q2. While Air Canada’s (AC-T, Not Rated) recent cancellation of many of its flights has highlighted capacity constraints in the airline industry, it also highlights that demand is robust coming out of pandemic restriction.”
Freehold Royalties Ltd. with a “strong buy” rating and $19.50 target. Average: $20.80.
Mr. Weekes: “Our belief that the stock is positioned to deliver strong total returns due to its valuation discount to peers, high dividend yield (more than 7 per cent with an 60-per-cent payout ratio at US$70/bbl WTI), minimal debt, and U.S. organic production growth and accretive M&A potential.”
GDI Integrated Facility Services Inc. with a “buy” rating and $72.50 target. Average: $63.07.
Neil Linsdell: “We remain convinced that both janitorial services and technical services will be in high demand for the foreseeable future. We are particularly focused on opportunities in HVAC, as we see air quality being a growing focus in offices, shopping centres, government buildings, sporting arenas, etc… GDI has also continued with its M&A plans as it further extends its product offering and geographic reach, specifically into the U.S., most recently with a sizeable acquisition in the southeastern U.S., which increased our Janitorial USA segment revenue forecast for 2022 by 71 per cent.”
Premium Brands Holdings Corp. (PBH-T) with a “buy” rating and $145 target. Average: $136.38.
Mr. Linsdell: “Recent weakness in the shares is likely reflective of concerns over input cost inflation and the potential for consumers to move away from the premium food offerings, but we expect demand to remain strong, supplemented by returning demand from economy reopening opportunities such as with restaurants, airlines, and cruise ships. Additionally, PBH benefits from scale and a resilient supply chain to ensure its own supplies while actively adjusting prices to maintain margins. We retain high confidence in this name.”
Healthcare & Biotechnology
DRI Healthcare Trust (DHT.UN-T) with a “buy” rating and $18 target. Average: $14.50.
Chelsea Stellick: “DRI has multiple advantages in today’s difficult macro-environment. First, the Trust has capital to deploy at a time when cash is in short supply in the biotech/pharma space, which will facilitate the execution of favourable deals in the balance of 2022. Second, DRI has no exposure to inflationary cost pressures given its flow-through royalty business model. Third, DRI’s portfolio consists of medically necessary pharmaceutical products that render sales and royalty receipts recession-resistant. Finally, the Trust pays a quarterly dividend well-covered by cash flow from existing assets, and remaining cash flow is reinvested.”
Quipt Home Medical Corp. with a “buy” rating and $14 target. Average: $12.84.
Ms. Stellick: “QIPT trades at a significant discount to its peers (approximately 5 times vs. 10 times F2022E EV/Adj. EBITDA), which we believe is unwarranted given management’s strong track record of successfully improving profitability over time and the superb demographic and regulatory tailwinds of the business.”
Technology
East Side Gaming Group Inc. (EAGR-T) with a “buy” rating and $5 target. Average: $6.06.
Neehal Upadhyaya: “We are selecting EAGR as our top technology pick. EAGR is poised to see impressive growth in the near future as we expect the Company to achieve year-over-year growth exceeding 40 per cent over the next three quarters while maintaining positive Adj. EBITDA margins and generating free cash flow. We expect a catalyst-rich Q3 as the Company is scheduled to launch multiple games (both regular and super marquee). Specifically, EAGR expects to release Star Trek: Lower Decks and Dr. Who during Q3 which will increase the Company’s super marquee game count to four and will materially impact revenues in the latter half of the year. As a reminder, Q2 is seasonally softer, and after the summer lull, quarterly growth should start to accelerate in Q3 and Q4.”
Real Estate & REITs
Nexus Industrial REIT (NXR.UN-T) with a “strong buy” rating and $15.50 target. Average: $14.86.
Gaurav Mathur: “We expect market rents to continue to increase across most of the REIT’s markets along with some cap rate compression, which in turn should add further fair value gains across the portfolio and to the REIT’s NAV. The REIT’s London industrial portfolio continues to witness strong rental growth, with 345K sf expiring in 2022 with an average 30-per-cent increase in rental rates and significant rental rate escalators. Looking ahead to 2023, management expects rental rates on renewals to be in the 50-75-per-cent range.”