This TSX stock closed out the week among the top gainers but analysts remain cautious

Goeasy Ltd. relies on providing loans to Canadians with low credit scores. Photo by Getty Images/iStockphoto

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Analysts dig into Agnico Eagle’s Arctic gold project, stock takeaways from a Canadian industrials conference and more from The Week in Stocks. 

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Stock of the week: Goeasy Ltd.

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Things got a little easier for shares of Goeasy Ltd. (GSY:TSX) with the stock closing out the week up just over 16 per cent after plunging 57 per cent in early March on news of unexpected loan losses of about $178 million. Despite the company being among the Top 5 TSX gainers of the week, analysts remain wary. Scotia Capital Markets analyst Phil Hardie on May 19 held his price target of $39 on Goeasy, a sharp comedown from his $210 target in late February. Shares closed Friday at $34.95. “Investor sentiment remains unforgiving amid lingering uncertainty and what we view as stacked risks,” Hardie said in a note the week prior. In earnings released on May 13, company executives maintained their outlook for 2026 but Hardie said the gap between the stock price and the company’s fundamentals will remain until investors get more information regarding loan-loss reserves, for example. “The time horizon to see these catalysts materialize remains uncertain,” Hardie said. Raymond James analyst Stephen Boland has a price target of $42 for the shares. Boland said in a note on May 13 that there was some improvement in credit but that “we remain cautious until a longer trend develops.” The 12-month price target for shares of Goeasy is $39.90 based on the calls of 10 analysts, according to Bloomberg.

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Keeping score

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Stock takeaways from RBC’s Canadian industrials conference

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RBC Capital Markets hosted investors and 38 Canadian companies at a three-day conference in Toronto starting May 19 that focused on key issues including tariff and trade policy uncertainty, infrastructure and defence opportunities, the improving outlook for freight transportation, the role of AI and technology in operational efficiencies, and disciplined capital allocation. Sectors represented included transportation and infrastructure, engineering and construction, industrial products, aerospace and defence, and business services. In the airlines and aerospace sector, “defence spending and Canadian government investment emerge as a common tailwind” for Bombardier Inc. (BB/D:TSX), Chorus Aviation Inc. (CHR:TSX) and Exchange Income Corp. (EIF:TSX), RBC analysts said in a  May 22 report on the conference. In construction and engineering the growth outlook across the country looks strong for companies including Aecon Group Inc. (ARE:TSX), AtkinsRealis Group Inc. (ATRL:TSX), Stantec Inc. (STN:TSX), WSP Global Inc. (WSP:TSX) and Toromont Industries Ltd. (TIH:TSX), the analysts said. In freight, RBC said that demand was “stable but uneven,” but that rail prices were starting to rise at Canadian National Railway Co. (CNR:TSX) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (CP:TSX) supported by a record grain harvest. RBC also flagged Cargojet Inc. (CJT:TSX) for its “steady and solid growth.”

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Analysts dig into Agnico Eagle’s Arctic project

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Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM:TSX) on May 20 said it would forge ahead with the construction of a large gold mine in Canada’s Arctic that the federal government has described as critical to economic development in the region. Analysts dug into the deal, on which the company said it would spend about US$2.4 billion on initial capital costs, and here is what some of them came up with. Shane Nagle, an analyst at National Bank of Canada Capital Markets, maintained his outperform rating on the shares and his price target of $350 given the company’s project portfolio is “low-risk” in operational, political and financial terms. Shares closed Friday at $242.94. TD Cowen analyst Steven Green also has a price target of $350 and said in a note on May 22 that “the development plan by (Agnico’s) experienced Nunavut team is highly credible in our view.” Agnico Eagle purchased the Hope Bay site in 2021 for US$361 million and TD now estimates the site’s value at US$2.8 billion, including the increase in gold value, adding that the project would be the miner’s third in Nunavut and would be “supported by existing infrastructure.” The 12-month price target for Agnico Eagle is $364.78 based on the calls of 18 analysts, according to Bloomberg.