The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, Feb. 21, edition that National Bank analyst Vishal Shreedhar still rates MTY Food Group "outperform." The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Shreedhar slashed his share target by $12 to $59. Analysts on average target the shares at $61.29. Mr. Shreedhar says in a note: "Amid a tougher backdrop, MTY Food has several initiatives to drive experience,. We view casual dining and fast casual, 39 per cent of LTM [last 12-month] system sales, to be the key focus (pressure was mainly in brands with higher price points). MTY Food noted minimal price increases due to higher consumer price sensitivity. Traffic was 'good', but average spend declined. MTY Food noted that competition remains rational (focus is on experience vs. promo). We moderated our estimates reflecting flattish SSSG [same-store sales growth] in F2024, and slight margin compression (notwithstanding MTY Food's view that the F2023 EBITDA percentage represents a reasonable run rate). We expect consumer pressure to persist, with improvement toward the latter end of F2024." The Globe reported on Oct. 13 that Mr. Shreedhar had reaffirmed his "outperform" call for MTY Food when it was trading at $51.95.