Stifel GMP on Wednesday reiterated its buy rating on the shares of Stantec (STN.TO, STN) while raising its price target to C$144.00 from US$135.00 following fourth-quarter results from the engineering and design company.

"One of the simple investment philosophies we have for the engineering firms in our coverage is to own the stock that has the longest passage of time since a sizable acquisition. Acquisitions for engineering firms tend to create positive share price reactions and relative outperformance. Of the three engineering firms in our coverage, Stantec appears to be next up to execute M&A since WSP acquired Power in the fall and AtkinsRealis acquired David Evans in February 2025. On top of the M&A setup, we continue to like the fundamentals (7.0%+ organic growth and margin expansion), in combination with a reasonable 2026E P/E of 20.8x (peer group 17.0x) given M&A prospects. We have increased our target price to $144/sh (prior: $135/sh), while maintaining our BUY rating," analyst Ian Gillies wrote.

(MT Newswires covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www.mtnewswires.com/contact-us)

Price: 123.05, Change: +3.12, Percent Change: +2.60