The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Benoit Poirier has reaffirmed his "buy" recommendation for Stantec. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Poirier boosted his share target by $12 to $116. Analysts on average target the shares at $108. Mr. Poirier says in a note: "While expectations were high, we are pleased with the 2024 26 strategic plan and long-term targets, which should be well-received by investors. Stantec will have a much easier time making a large acquisition work financially than in the past as its multiple expansion opens up a larger pool of targets, but we are conservatively excluding unannounced M&A from our forecast. Reiterating our bullish stance. We are pleased with the continued momentum building in the U.S., the evolution of the M&A strategy toward larger transactions and the accretion opportunities available following Stantec's multiple expansion." The Globe reported on Nov. 14 that ATB Capital analyst Chris Murray had upgraded Stantec to "outperform." It was then worth $96.96. The Globe reported on Dec. 1 that BMO Capital analyst Devin Dodge rated Stantec "outperform." It was then worth $101.12.