The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, July 18, edition that Raymond James analyst Brad Sturges has elevated his recommendation for Crombie REIT to "strong buy" from "outperform." The Globe's Darcy Keith writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Sturges continues to target the units at $17.25. He believes valuations are attractive and investors may see a hike in its distributions later this year. Mr. Sturges says in a note: "After significantly outperforming the broader sector in the first few months of the year, Crombie's relative outperformance versus the Canadian REIT/REOC sector unweighted average has narrowed in recent weeks. Supported by the defensive nature of Crombie's long-term duration, high credit-quality cash flows, we still believe Crombie is attractively valued, trading at a below average P/AFFO multiple valuation versus its Canadian retail peers, and could remain an attractive investment opportunity for those income investors seeking to maintain a defensive posture in an uncertain macroeconomic environment. We believe Crombie could be a distribution increase candidate at some point later this year given its 2025E AFFO payout ratio is forecasted to be trending below 80 per cent."