The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, April 24, edition that National Bank analyst Gabriel Dechaine continues to rate iA Financial "sector perform." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Dechaine has an unchanged $181 share target. Analysts on average target the shares at $178.33. Mr. Dechaine says in a note: "The average Canadian Lifeco stock is underperforming the S&P/TSX by 200 basis points so far this year and is trailing the average Big-Six bank by 630 basis points. ... In our view, this performance reflects the following factors: 1) domestic investor preference for Canadian bank stocks; and 2) a lack of visible catalysts, with the group having upped ROE targets in recent years, and made steady progress toward them. As it relates to the 'fund flows' argument, we do not believe that tide will shift unless the market sees some negative developments in Canadian bank results (e.g., consumer credit deterioration). As it relates to the latter, we tend to agree. However, the exception to this argument is Manulife Financial. After a relatively flattish core ROE expansion trajectory during fiscal 2025, we believe it could accelerate its path toward its 18-per-cent target ROE in 2026."