Scotia Capital has turned bullish on
Canccord Financial Inc. (
TSX: T.CF,
Stock Forum) and is adding the stock to its Strategic Edge Mid-Cap portfolio. Canaccord will replace
Constellation Software Inc. (
TSX: T.CSU,
Stock Forum), which is being removed due to its size.
Top five performers in the portfolio during April were
Sandvine Corp. (
TSX: T.SVC,
Stock Forum) (up 25%),
Whitecap Resources Inc. (
TSX: T.WCP,
Stock Forum) (up 17.2%),
Parex Resources Inc. (
TSX: T.PXT,
Stock Forum) (up 15.4%),
Osisko Mining Corp. (
TSX: T.OSK,
Stock Forum) (14.1%), and
Torex Gold Resources Inc. (
TSX: T.TXG,
Stock Forum) (up 14%).
Canaccord is an independent financial services firm with 53 offices worldwide, including 37 in Canada.
Canaccord Genuity, the international capital markets division, operates in Canada, the U.S., China, Hong Kong, Australia and Barbados.
Scotia is adding Canaccord to the mid-cap portfolio lineup for the following reasons:
1.Strong leverage to rebound in capital markets activity, particularly in Europe and U.S. following the 2012 Collins Stewart Hawkpoint acquisition in the United Kingdom.
2. Solid capital position provides flexibility for deployment, which over the past year has included nearly four million of share repurchases.
3.Expecting improving wealth management results as a result of revenue in the U.k. and expense management in Canada.
Canaccord Financial shares rose 1.5% to a new 52-week high of $9.96 on Tuesday, leaving a market cap of $1 billion, based on 101.5 million shares outstanding. The 52-week range is $9.95 and $5.24.
The stock is rated Sector Outperform by Scotiabank.