The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, July 21, edition that CIBC World Markets analyst Jacob Bout has elevated his recommendation for SNC-Lavalin Group to "outperformer" from "neutral." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Bout also boosted his share target by $8 to $44. Analysts on average target the shares at $41.67. Mr. Bout says in a note: "SNC's strategy to pivot towards a pure play engineering/design services company is nearly complete, and we believe there is now enough visibility to feel comfortable that the LSTK drag on earnings/free cash flow will materially reverse entering 2024. We are raising our 2023 and 2024 adj. E&C EBITDA estimates to $654-million and $761-million vs. $646-million and $754-million previously. ... With approximately 75 per cent of SNC's end-markets tied to public-sector work (higher-than-peer average), we do not see governments pulling back on infrastructure and energy transition spending any time soon, and expect SNC's core services business to remain resilient in a possible economic slowdown scenario. We would not be surprised to see the company raise services revenue growth guidance along with Q2/23 results."