The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday edition that Desjardins Securities analyst Chris Li continues to rate Premium Brands Holdings "buy." The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Li gave his share target a $5 trim to $105. Analysts on average target the shares at $112.33. The company's shares slid 2.2 per cent on Friday after it reported adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $137-million, below both Mr. Li's $150-million estimate and the consensus forecast on the Street of $154-million. The miss was attributed to "a challenging consumer environment in Canada (trade-down) resulting in specialty foods (SF) volume declining by 4.3 per cent year-over-year." Mr. Li says in a note: "This is in line with comments by the grocers. Management expects the weakness to persist in Q1, with improvement in Q2. If the weakness persists, Premium Brands plans to redirect capacity to the U.S., where it continues to see strong demand. ... Management expects volume growth to accelerate in 2024. The distribution business met our cautious expectations, with the softness expected to persist in 1H due to consumer trade-down in Canada and lobster supply challenges."