The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Feb. 23, edition that Echelon Partners analyst David Chrystal has boosted his recommendation for European Residential REIT to "speculative buy" from "hold." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Chrystal, however, gave his unit target a 30-cent trim to $3. Analysts on average target the units at $3.11. Mr. Chrystal says the REIT has an "attractive" valuation. He says in a note: "Rising interest expense remains an offset to exceptional operational performance. The REIT's portfolio remains essentially fully occupied and rental rates continue to trend higher. We expect the REIT will continue to deliver healthy organic NOI growth going forward, driven by strong leasing spreads on new leasing and rising spreads on renewals. However, FFO/unit growth will likely remain challenged in the near term unless interest rates decline materially. Progress is accelerating on individual suite sales, with management commentary suggesting prices are at a material premium to IFRS carrying value. ... We expect European Residential units to continue to trade at a material NAV discount given interest expense headwinds."