CIBC World Markets Inc. raised its price target on CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX.TO) to $21.50 from $19.50, while maintaining its "Sector Underperformer" rating on the stock.
Paul Holden, an analyst at CIBC, said the company's fourth-quarter earnings were effectively in line with expectations.
Net redemptions amounted to $360 million, "a disappointing number relative to our assumption for a negative $67 million and worse than any quarter we have seen since 2003," Holden said. 2012 will be off to a challenging start if the RRSP season produces no net sales, he added.
Holden lifted his 2012 EPS estimate for the company to $1.40 from $1.35.
"We believe ownership limbo with BNS continues for some time," CIBC wrote.
The stock, which has been trading between $18.90 and $24.02 over the past year, is currently down 0.05% at $21.97 on Friday.