The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Aug. 1, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Gabriel Dechaine expects strong equity markets to support a "solid" second quarter earnings season for Canadian life insurance companies. The Globe's David Leeder writes that Mr. Dechaine says in a note: "Lifecos are out/underperforming the market by 3 per cent since the end of Q1/24 reporting season. In general, we are forecasting a fairly noisy quarter, with a wider spread (approximately 20 per cent) anticipated between reported and core earnings per share, reflecting the positive impact from equity markets partially offsetting losses in real estate investments. Core EPS should benefit from strong equity markets during the quarter, considering 30 per cent or more of average lifeco earnings are linked to Wealth businesses." Mr. Dechaine continues to rate Sagicor Financial Company "outperform," with an unchanged $9 share target. Analysts on average target the shares at $9.17. The Globe reported on Oct. 6 that Mr. Dechaine rated Sagicor Financial "outperform" in new coverage. In the item, Mr. Dechaine called Sagicor Financial "a value-play with an organic growth engine." Its shares could then be had for $4.90.