National Bank of Canada on Monday reiterated its outperform rating on the shares of Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM.TO, AEM) and its C$350.00 price target after the company decided to go ahead with development of the Hope Bay mine in Nunavut.
The bank said higher-than-modelled capital costs at the Hope Bay project, which were estimated at US$2.4 billion, have resulted in a modest reduction in the miner's net asset value per share, the bank said.
The rating remains based on Agnico's operations in low-risk jurisdictions, combined with its continued strong/consistent operational performance and improving organic growth outlook.
"Agnico has maintained capital discipline with increasing capital returns to shareholders," National Bank said.
"With further outlining the company's long-term growth outlook, we expect the company to maintain its premium multiple relative to peers, trading at 6.8x our EV/2026E EBITDA estimates and 1.08x NAV compared to NBCM Senior Peers at 5.9x and 0.86x, respectively," the bank added.
Price: $250.45, Change: $+7.51, Percent Change: +3.09%