The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, May 12, edition that National Bank analyst Maxim Sytchev is maintaining his "sector perform" recommendation for Stella-Jones, while bumping his share target ahead by $7 to $64. The Globe's David Leeder writes that analysts on average target the shares at $65.14. Mr. Sytchev says Stella-Jones had a "great" first quarter that exceeded his expectations. He has some concerns over Stella-Jones's reliance on its utility poles business. He says he is not going to "hang his hat on one (very well) performing vertical that's predominantly driven by pricing dynamic." Mr. Sytchev says in a note: "Management continues to deliver with the tools it has at its disposal. While we are pleased with the momentum, we wonder for how long the robust pricing backdrop can persist for poles; after all, the vast majority of organic growth poles was pricing-related (and in a commodity space, pricing has a tendency to fluctuate). Poles are 51 per cent of the company's business while the rest is ostensibly standing still (while Resi is declining). With one strong vertical, we are leery of chasing that type of investment thesis where we have to hang all of our hopes on pricing sustainability."