The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, March 7, edition that Scotia Capital analyst Phil Hardie has reaffirmed his "sector perform" recommendation for First National Financial. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Hardie boosted his share target by a loonie to $45. Analysts on average target the shares at $43.80. Mr. Hardie says in a note: "We think First National's quarterly results provided another example of the resilience of its business model, with the strength of the fourth quarter originations offsetting weakness through most of the year, with 2024 volumes coming in slightly ahead of 2023. Core EPS came in generally in line with expectations. Broad-based tariff-related risks and their potential impact on labour markets cast a high level of uncertainty on the outlook for First National and the broader mortgage finance market. With minimal mortgage credit exposure, a contraction in mortgage volumes is the biggest tariff-related risk faced by First National. In the face of protracted slowdown, we expect the company to right-size to cut costs. Assuming recently announced tariffs are very short-lived, we expect First National to sustain operational momentum in the near term."