The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Feb. 27, edition that CIBC World Markets analyst Nik Priebe has lowered his recommendation for Guardian Capital Group to "neutral" from "outperformer." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Priebe has an unchanged share target of $54. Analysts on average target the Class A shares at $58. Mr. Priebe says in a note: "Guardian reported what we interpreted to be a relatively uneventful quarter. Operating earnings missed our estimate, but it is important to keep in mind that quarterly variability is largely driven by the asset management segment, which we believe represents only 16 per cent of Guardian Capital's Class A shares market value. Guardian's share price has performed very well over time and now trades at the narrowest discount to our sum-of-the-parts value that we have seen in our time covering the name. The implied upside is more consistent with a 'neutral' rating and as a result we are downgrading the stock." The Globe reported on Aug. 16 that Scotia Capital analyst Phil Hardie continued to rate Guardian Capital Group "sector outperform." The shares could then be had for $42.40.