11:24 AM EDT, 07/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- National Bank of Canada on Friday reiterated its outperform rating on the shares Teck Resources ( TECK ) and its $82.50 price target after the approval of the US$6.9 billion sale of its 77% stake in steelmaking coal business Elk Valley Resources to Glencore.

The transaction is now expected to close July 11.

"Our Outperform rating is based on Teck's strong financial position and robust copper growth pipeline," analyst Shane Nagle wrote.

Nagle said Teck plans to use the proceeds to repurchase US$2.0 billion of class B subordinate voting shares and pay a special dividend of $0.50 per share on both Class A and Class-B shares.

National Bank said Teck will return US$2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) in total cash including a $500 million buyback, within its expected range of $3 billion-$4 billion.

Teck will also reduce its debt by US$2.0 billion through a cash tender offer of US$1.25 billion to repurchase certain notes.

Price: 69.92, Change: +0.97, Percent Change: +1.41