The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, July 7, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Zachary Evershed, liking what management is up to at Richelieu Hardware, has reiterated his "outperform" recommendation. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Evershed, however, cut his share target back by a loonie to $48. Analysts on average target the shares at $46. The Globe says Mr. Evershed expects Richelieu Hardware's profitability to improve in the second half of fiscal 2023. However, after seeing organic growth decline, he warns the Montreal-based company faces "another difficult comp" in the current quarter. Mr. Evershed says in a note: "June, 2022, was Richelieu's best ever month, and management flags June, 2023, was down 10 per cent year-over-year. Despite the expectation of slightly easier comps in the rest of Q3, we lower our organic growth forecast to negative 8.2 per cent year-over-year in Q3/23 (was down 7 per cent). ... Carrying excess inventory through external warehousing continues to drag on margins, as it represents roughly $6 million per quarter in additional costs." Mr. Evershed says M&A activity keeps "rolling in, complemented by organic initiatives."