The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that CIBC World Markets analyst Jacob Bout raised his rating for Stantec ($34.77) to "outperformer" from "neutral." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Bout reiterated his $38 share target. Analysts on average target the shares at $37.82. Mr. Bout says in a note: "The biggest issue for STN since it acquired MWH (in 2016) has been the unpredictability of its lower-margin construction business. We believe the removal of the Construction business would remove earnings surprises and improve Stantec's margin profile (i.e., to 11-13 per cent versus consensus of 10.9 per cent in 2018) and that, therefore, STN warrants a higher multiple. While we had assumed that this transaction would be completed by the end of 2018 (estimates unchanged), the purchase price is likely less than our assumption. We have increased our target multiple from 10.5 to 11.0 times as previously we were unsure if STN could sell both the U.S. and U.K. construction businesses. As a result, the slightly lower anticipated purchase price is offset by a slight increase." Elsewhere, Laurentian analyst Mona Nazir upgraded Stantec to "buy" from "hold" with a target of $39.