$ARE.TO

Aecon and Arctic Gateway Sign Collaboration Agreement to Support Port of Churchill Infrastructure Advancement in Manitoba

Aecon Group (ARE.TO) and Arctic Gateway Group (AGG), an Indigenous and community-owned business, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), establishing a collaboration framework to "explore strengthening Canada's northern trade corridor and Arctic sovereignty through infrastructure advancement related to the Port of Churchill in Manitoba, it said overnight Thursday.Under the MOU, Aecon and AGG will collaborate to pursue and develop project opportunities in connection with the development of the Port of Churchill and Hudson Bay Railway."As AGG works to further modernize the Port of Churchill, with planning for new terminals and year-round operations, as well as building up the Hudson Bay Railway to modern industrial weight standards that seamlessly intertie with Canada's class 1 rail network, Aecon will be a trusted partner," said Arctic Gateway Chief Executive Chris Avery.Shares of the company closed up 2.2% at $45.57 on Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Aecon Group Brief: Teaming up with Indigenous-owned Arctic Gateway Group to Collaborate on Opportunities to Pursue and Develop the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway

CIBC Comments on Ontario's Defence Industrial Strategy Framework

Ontario released its Defence Industrial Strategy framework last week, formalizing defense as a priority area of industrial policy, with a 10-year focus on scaling domestic capacity, technology development and supply chains, notes CIBC Capital Markets.The framework remains high-level, with no specific projects or procurement timelines disclosed as yet.For analyst Krista Friesen, the strategy is another supportive data point for Canadian companies that have exposure to defense spending, including the E&C companies within CIBC's coverage.The framework is structured around four pillars. The first pillar, strengthening the domestic industrial base, aims to expand manufacturing capacity and support production across aerospace, energy and related industrial sectors."This points to increased activity tied to facility construction, plant upgrades and industrial site development. For the E&Cs, this represents potential exposure to the build-out of manufacturing and processing facilities tied to defence supply chains, as well as broader infrastructure required to support production," Freisen writes.The second pillar advances emerging and dual-use technologies, including advanced manufacturing, aerospace systems and related R&D infrastructure.The third pillar aims to boost defense exports, while the fourth pillar is focused on integrating supply chains, linking upstream inputs such as critical minerals with downstream manufacturing, assembly and delivery. "This has cross-sector implications, as defence programs increasingly require coordinated multi-tier supply networks. For covered names, this expands the potential scope across project lifecycles, from front-end engineering to construction and commissioning, and ongoing equipment and operational support," the analyst noted.A fourth pillar includes "integrating supply chains, linking upstream inputs such as critical minerals with downstream manufacturing, assembly and delivery".The framework is being introduced alongside higher defense spending commitments, including $81.8 billion of incremental federal investment over five years. Ontario has also outlined potential economic impacts of up to 43,000 jobs and approximately $6.0 billion of incremental GDP by 2035.Price: $82.08, Change: $-0.64, Percent Change: -0.77%

Aecon Group Chairman John Beck Will Not Stand for Re-Election

Aecon Group (ARE.TO) Chairman John Beck will not stand for re-election to the board of directors at the company's June 1 annual meeting, it said Friday.Scott Thon, Aecon's lead director, will step into the role of independent chair of the board, assuming his re-election to the board, the company said.Aecon's board will designate Beck as chairman emeritus, the company said.Price: $54.94, Change: $-0.14, Percent Change: -0.25%

Aecon Group Adds As Part of Transition, Scott Thon, Lead Director, Will Be Independent Chair of Board, Assuming His Re-election

Aecon Group Says Chairman John M. Beck Will Not Stand For Re-election to Board at AGM on June 1, 2026

TSX Closer: Index Down In All But 1 of the Last 8 Sessions; Morningstar Cites 10 Top-Performing Dividend Stocks

The Toronto Stock Exchange has closed lower in all but one of the last eight sessions, with the latest losses on this Tuesday coming as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US-Iran ceasefire "is not over" despite attacks in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 71.96 points, or 0.2%, at 33.566.91, even as most sectors were higher, led by Health Care, up 2.5%, followed By Base Metals, up 2%, and Energy, up 1.4%. Information Technology was down near 4.2% and the Battery Metals Index was down 2.6%.Among individual stocks, BNN Bloomberg TV cited Ero Copper, up more than 5% today and up just short of 100% over one year. The company reported first-quarter results earlier Tuesday. BNN also cited Parex Resources (PXT.TO), up near 5% as Frontera (FEC.TO) obtained a final order approving their plan of arrangement.On the negative side, BNN cited Shopify (SHOP.TO), down more than 15% after its Q1 results, and Keyera (KEY.TO), which lost more than 7% as the Competition Bureau moved to block its $5.15-billion acquisition of Plains All American Pipelines Canadian natural-gas liquids business.Still on individual stocks, Morningstar Canada said the top performing dividend payers in April included engineering and construction company Aecon (ARE.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), and asset management firm IGM Financial (IGM.TO). Morningstar noted dividend-paying stocks that "combine healthy balance sheets with hefty yields" can provide investors with "steady incomes, cushion against market downturns, and grow investments at a healthy clip".A screening of the Morningstar Canada Index, which measures the performance of Canada's broad regional markets, targeting the top 97% of stocks by market capitalization, for companies with a forward dividend yield of at least 1.5%, excluding real estate investment trusts, showed the best performing Canadian dividend stocks last month. This included the aforementioned Aecon, CIBC and IGM. The list also included National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), TD Bank Group (TD.TO), Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services (IAG.TO), Power Corporation of Canada (POW.TO), TMX Group (X.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) and Superior Plus (SPB.TO).Of commodities, gold traded higher by midafternoon, rising off a five-week low as treasury yields weakened. Gold for June delivery was up US$35.60 to US$4,568.90 per ounce.But West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.9% with the ceasefire between the United States and Iran seen holding, calming Monday's gains as violence in the Persian Gulf eased. WTI crude oil for June delivery closed down US$4.15 to settle at US$102.27 per barrel, after rising 4.4% on Monday, while July Brent oil was down US$4.24 to US$110.20.

Aecon Group Price Target Raised at RBC, CIBC, TD

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets and TD Securities raised their price targets on Aecon Group Inc. (ARE.TO) on Thursday.The Canadian construction and infrastructure company reported Q1 results on Wednesday.Aecon shares rose $1.87, or 3.9%, to $49.97 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.RBC analyst Sabahat Khan increased his target on the stock to $49 from $44, and maintained a Sector Perform rating."Overall, a good start to 2026 with record backlog of $10.9 Billion providing for a favourable setup," Khan said in a note to clients."As top-line trends higher, over the medium-term, we will be keeping an eye on margin progression (as the company moves beyond the legacy projects)."CIBC Analyst Krista Friesen raised her price target to $52 from $48, and maintained a Neutral rating."We view (Wednesday's) move as a reflection of a shift in investor focus toward the opportunities ahead rather than the operational issues that have weighed on the business in recent quarters," Friesen said in a note to clients.TD analyst Michael Tupholme increased his target to $62 from $59, and maintained a Buy rating."With legacy projects risk largely rolled off and an ongoing mix shift toward structurally attractive end-markets (still not fully reflected in ARE's valuation), we expect further re-rating," Tupholme said in a note to clients."ARE continues to trade at a notable discount to US peers with similarly attractive end-market exposures."

Aecon Group Maintained at Buy at Stifel Canada Following Q1 Results; Price Target Kept at C$44.50

Stifel Canada on Wednesday reiterated its hold rating on the shares of Aecon Group (ARE.TO) and its C$44.50 price target following the engineering and construction company's first-quarter results."In 1Q26, Aecon delivered a 10.9% revenue beat and 19.7% EBITDA beat relative to consensus, but we are categorizing it as a neutral quarter. 1Q26 only accounts for ~9% of full year EBITDA (thus the absolute beat is only a modest positive) and the full year outlook remains unchanged. Additionally, the stock has increased 53.8% YTD (S&P/TSX: +5.9%) and the valuation is full at 25.2x 2027E P/E (10Y avg: 14.6x, N.A. peer group average: 22.5x). Valuation remains the basis for our HOLD rating and that view is unchanged, but we believe the company remains well positioned to benefit from Canadian government spending on nuclear, defense work and infrastructure," analyst Ian Gillies wrote.(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..com/contact-us)

Aecon Group Posts a Narrower Loss and Higher Revenue for First Quarter

Aecon Group (ARE.TO) after trade Tuesday reported a narrower loss and higher revenue for the first quarter.The construction and engineering company's adjusted loss attributable to shareholders, excluding most one-time items, was $13.3 million, or $0.21 per share, compared with a loss of $34.6 million, or $0.55, a year ago. FactSet expected $0.23 loss per share.Revenue for the period rose to $1.26 billion from $1.06 billion in the year ago quarter. FactSet projected $1.13 billion."Driven by record backlog of $10.9 billion, growth in new geographies and markets, robust recurring revenue programs, and backed by strong opportunities tied to power generation, critical resource development, transit, water, and defence, Aecon expects 2026 revenue to exceed 2025 levels," Chief Executive Jean-Louis Servranckx said.In its outlook, the company said it expects 2026 revenue to be above its 2025 result on the strength of its backlog as it works on projects in Canada, the United States and internationally.Aecon shares closed down $1.03 to $48.10 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Earnings Flash (ARE.TO) Aecon Group Inc. Reports Q1 Revenue $1.26B, vs. FactSet Est of $1,133.2M

Earnings Flash (ARE.TO) Aecon Group Inc. Posts Q1 Adjusted Loss $0.21 per Share, vs. FactSet Est Loss of $0.23

Aecon Q1 Revenue $1,257M; Record Backlog of $10.9B