The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, Feb. 14, edition that National Bank Financial analyst Gabriel Dechaine has reiterated his "outperform" recommendation for Sun Life Financial. The Globe's David Leeder writes in the Eye On Equities column that Mr. Dechaine gave his share target a $3 trim to $93, matching the consensus. With lower-than-anticipated fourth quarter results, Sun Life finally "succumbs to weak U.S. stop loss claims trends," according to Mr. Dechaine. After the bell on Wednesday, the lifeco reported underlying earnings per share for the quarter of $1.68, falling below both the analyst's $1.82 forecast and the consensus estimate due largely to "negative morbidity in U.S. Stop Loss." Reported earnings per share of 41 cents was also below Mr. Dechaine's projection due largely to lower tax-exempt income in corporate and an impairment charge in Vietnam. Mr. Dechaine says in a note: "U.S. earnings were down 39 per cent year-over-year, due primarily to experience losses (i.e., higher claims) in the Stop Loss business. The segment reported experience losses of $56-million, compared with $24-million of gains in the prior year. We note this performance mirrors what we saw from peers this past quarter."