--- title: "Raymond James Is Betting Big on These 2 'Strong Buy' Stocks" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/295517911.md" description: "Raymond James analysts, led by CIO Larry Adam, identify a constructive market environment with compressed valuations and solid earnings. They recommend two 'Strong Buy' stocks: Civeo (CVEO), a remote workforce accommodation provider benefiting from stabilized Canadian operations and new LNG projects, and a second unnamed stock. Civeo recently reported an 11% revenue increase in Q2, beating forecasts, though it posted a net loss. Analysts highlight improving margins and strong free cash flow as key growth drivers." datetime: "2026-08-11T09:55:00.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/295517911.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295517911.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/295517911.md) generator: "portal-rs" --- # Raymond James Is Betting Big on These 2 'Strong Buy' Stocks The S&P 500 is now sitting just below its record high, with another strong earnings season helping stocks remain near their highs. The strength has not been limited to just a handful of companies either, with most S&P 500 sectors contributing to earnings growth during the current reporting season. ### Claim 55% Off TipRanks - Unlock powerful investing tools with TipRanks Premium to make smarter, more confident investment decisions - Subscribe to TipRanks Smart Investor Newsletter, and discover new investing opportunities with data-backed stock picks Larry Adam, CIO at Raymond James, has been watching the situation develop, and he sees reason for optimism in the combination of a broader base and solid earnings. "As earnings estimates have marched higher and the S&P 500 has spent much of the last three months moving sideways, valuations have become far less demanding. The index's forward P/E has compressed from 22.2x at the start of the year to 20.2x today, a decline of approximately 9%. In other words, despite trading near record highs, the market is actually cheaper than it was at the beginning of the year, with the forward P/E now back in line with its five-year average," Adam noted. "A similar reset has occurred within technology, where the sector's forward P/E has fallen from 26.6x to 22.8x, down approximately 14%, as strong earnings growth and the recent pullback have made valuations more attractive. With the valuation headwind fading, the backdrop for further market gains has become more constructive," the analyst added. In this constructive environment, the Raymond James stock analysts are willing to bet big. They've picked out two Strong Buy stocks that they believe could move higher in the months ahead, and they are not shy about recommending them. Let's give them a closer look, using the latest data from the TipRanks platform to complement the Raymond James commentaries. **Civeo (CVEO)** One of the key barriers to employment is relocation. There are many high-paying jobs in remote locations, and they need quality people – but those quality people don't necessarily want to uproot their lives and families and move out to the boonies. Civeo Corporation, the first stock we'll look at here, has made a name for itself addressing exactly this issue. The company is a leading provider of workforce accommodations in North America and Australia, providing housing and support services – food and leisure amenities – for workers who are posted far from home. Civeo's operations are located in some of the world's most remote areas, from northern Canada to the Australian Outback. The company currently has a 10,000-room footprint in Australia, and more than 17,000 in Canada. Civeo operates a fixed-room village format, as well as modular relocatable facilities, and provides extensive support services at its housing locations. Support services include housekeeping and food services, as well as vital power, water, and transport links. Plenty of large-scale, vital industries require workforces in such remote locations, and Civeo works with enterprise clients primarily in the mining and oil & gas industries, while data center construction represents another potential growth market. While this is expensive, it's cheaper than dealing with a workforce that constantly rotates due to loneliness or poor housing. Civeo's business allows its customers to contain their own costs and meet their production goals – by attracting and keeping a sound labor force. In its last reported quarter, 2Q26, Civeo's revenue came to just over $180 million. This was up almost 11% year-over-year, and beat the forecast by $9.1 million. Civeo's revenue included $54.6 million derived from Canadian operations, and $125.4 million from Australian ops. At the bottom line, the company realized a quarterly net loss, with a GAAP EPS of ($0.23). This compared with a 25-cent loss in 2Q25, but missed expectations by 8 cents per share. We should note that Civeo reported, in its earnings release, a strong increase in its operating cash flow. In 2Q25, this metric was reported as a negative cash flow of $2.3 million, while in the current report the positive operating cash flow came to $11.6 million. This stock has caught the attention of Raymond James analyst James Rollyson, who sees Civeo benefiting from an improving Canadian business while several potential growth opportunities could put more of the company's available capacity to work. "After enduring multiple years of softening demand in its Canadian operations due to a focus on cost-cutting out of the oil sands, activity has finally stabilized as Civeo starts to see margin improvements from cost-cutting moves. Meanwhile, Australia continues to experience stable utilization of room capacity, growing integrated services offerings, and solid FCF generation. Some improvements in the political landscape in Canada, coupled with multiple new potential LNG-related projects in Canada and Alaska, present several opportunities for the company to place idle capacity on term contracts and drive meaningful potential earnings growth. U.S. data center development also looks to consume thousands of incremental rooms, which Civeo may participate in directly or benefit from depleting industry capacity availability," Rollyson stated. To this end, Rollyson assigns CVEO shares a Strong Buy rating, and sets a $51 price target that indicates potential for a ~60% gain in the next 12 months. (To watch Rollyson's track record, click here) CVEO has slipped under most analysts' radar; the stock's Moderate Buy consensus is based on just two recent ratings – but both are Buys. CVEO is priced at $31.93 and its $44 average price target implies a one-year upside potential of 38%. (See **CVEO stock forecast**) ### Related Stocks - [CVEO.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CVEO.US.md) - [.SPX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/.SPX.US.md) - [RJF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RJF.US.md) - [RJF-B.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/RJF-B.US.md) ## Related News & Research - [Civeo publishes investor presentation outlining growth opportunities in Australia and North America remote workforce accommodations and services](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294353822.md) - [Civeo renews major Canadian contract and boosts financing](https://longbridge.com/en/news/291573552.md) - [Foreign worker numbers to stay controlled despite business pressure](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296762549.md) - [Zywave 2026 Midyear Market Outlooks: Agentic AI a Defining Force in Shaping Coverage, Benefits, and Workforce Strategy](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296801208.md) - [Intel report finds 60% of leaders expect robot fleets within five years, only 40% have formal workforce strategy](https://longbridge.com/en/news/296498604.md) --- > **Disclaimer: This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment advice.**