Stantec Inc (STN.TO)

Aecon (ARE-T) or Stantec (STN-T)? Every time he has made an assessment of these 2, he has gone with Aecon.

This has been profitable for more than 54 years in a row. A slow, steady company which does small tuck-in acquisitions. Valuation is okay. Started paying a dividend in 2012 and have grown it since then. Recently bought a water infrastructure company, and there really aren’t that many public water companies you can play in. It will probably be a little more interesting in the next 2 years than it has been in the past 2. Solid management and good balance sheet.

The deal looks immediately accretive this year. This is a good name with a good backlog, and good organic growth. It is trading below its 5 year average. It is the type of name you want to buy.

Great company. Recently made an acquisition of a company out of Colorado. Expects this will increase their non-Canadian revenues up to 20% of their business. Trading at a reasonable multiple. Thinks this will benefit immensely from the new infrastructure program that the government wants to roll out over the next few years. A good area to be in.

(Market call Minute) Ranks 92 out of 700 stocks in his model. There was concern about their past ability to acquire contracts. It is a bit expensive.

Prefers over SNC-T because the RCMP is not marching into their offices. It is one of the companies in his safety and value strategy. He just bought ARE-T as well.

(Top Pick May 16/14, Up 10.29%) The space is appealing. They had a big backlog of infrastructure planning. They project manage things from soup to nuts. They are diversified by industries and by geography. They are a little constrained by the oil and gas space as they all are. He thinks they would be a buyer in consolidation activities. They won’t get bought.

One of the two engineering and construction firms he likes. You get US housing market exposure and US transportation exposure. The stock is very attractive here. Not much oil and gas exposure, but it sold off. He thinks the premium of the stock is justified.

Picked this for both organic growth and M&A activity. Very clean balance sheet so has the opportunity to go out and expand. Stable EBITDA margins throughout the cycle. Yield of 1.11%.

(Market Call Minute.) In this space she prefers a larger cap name but if you own, continue to hold as there are infrastructure projects coming on stream. (See Top Picks.)

(A Top Pick Feb 19/13. Up 67.22%.) This has changed for the better. Increased their dividend over the past year and earnings have been better than expected. Their goal is to be one of the top 15% engineering firms globally. Have been profitable for 57 years now. Solid, well run company. A keeper for the long-term.

Classic parabolic move. Often this is an overreaction to the upside and it moves down. The longer term picture is good on this one. There may be some more room to correct.

(A Top Pick Feb 19/13. Up 5.71%.) Increased their dividend this year and he thinks they will do this on a regular basis. Backlog is fine and they are well managed. Still a Hold.

Engineering with a little bit into construction. Has done very well.

(A Top Pick Feb 19/13. Up 8.85%.) Still likes. Raised their dividend this year.