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File photo of a Scotiabank branch in Toronto.

Inside the Market's roundup of some of today's key analyst actions. This file will be updated during the trading day. For breaking analyst actions prior to market open every day, read our Before the Bell morning report.

Credit Suisse today upgraded Bank of Nova Scotia to "outperform" from "neutral" and raised its price targets on all the major Canadian banks.

Analysts Gabriel Dechaine and Nick Stogdill said Scotiabank offers attractive fundamentals, especially given it has less Canadian consumer exposure than some of its peers and has recently been showing strong performance in personal and commercial banking.

"Moreover, we view a potential turnaround of performance of its international segment (we expect by mid-2014) to translate into a re-rating of the stock, which is trading below its historical premium to the group," the analysts said in a research note.

"We believe that many investors are favourably disposed towards BNS, but refrain from adding to positions as they believe timing may be too early. In our view, with the stock trading virtually in-line with the group (i.e. below its historical premium of 7 per cent) we believe International segment challenges are properly discounted. We'd rather be early with this call," they said.

Credit Suisse raised its price target on Scotiabank to $68 (Canadian) from $61. That's now above the average analyst target, according to Bloomberg data, of $65.28.

It also raised its target on Bank of Montreal to $77 from $71 (rated "outperform"); on Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce to $89 from $84 (rated "neutral"); on National Bank to $94 from $85 (rated "neutral"); on Royal Bank of Canada to $75 from $71 (rated "outperform"); on Toronto Dominion Bank to $98 from $91 (rated "neutral); on Canadian Western Bank to $32 from $28 (rated "underperform"), and on Laurentian Bank to $47 from $44 (rated "underperform").

The Credit Suisse analysts believe that recent strong share price performance at the major Canadian banks has been driven, in part, by sentiment that 2015 could see a rebound in earnings per share growth. The analysts think investors are on to something, as they are forecasting 8 per cent EPS growth in 2015.

A key feature will be continued payouts to shareholders. They believe that the Canadian banks, on average, will return 66 per cent of total earnings through dividends and buybacks in 2014 and 2015.

Credit Suisse especially favours Bank of Nova Scotia and Royal Bank, noting advantages such as scale, a large deposit base, and considerable leverage to make acquisitions.

In terms of relative valuation next to other financial stocks, the Credit Suisse analysts think Canadian banks are also attractive.

"Specifically, the Canadian banks are currently trading at a 12 per cent forward P/E discount to the Canadian lifecos, which compares to an in-line historical valuation. Although we have a positive view on the lifecos, we believe the valuation argument has been tilted in favour of the banks. Slower growth has been priced into the stocks and the lack of a near-term credit event, in our view, has rendered the banks attractive."

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Current levels of aggressive cost cutting at Postmedia Network Canada Corp. cannot be sustained without seeing commensurate steep declines in the newspaper publisher's top line, warned Canaccord Genuity analyst Aravinda Galappatthige.

"It is our view that there is a ceiling to the cost reductions that can be implemented at Postmedia," Mr. Galappatthige said in downgrading the stock to "sell" from "hold" after the company last week reported another weak quarter.

Postmedia continued to see steep declines in print advertising and circulation revenues during the quarter, though this was partially offset by a 10 per cent reduction in operating expenses. "But what was disappointing was that even digital revenues declined in the fourth quarter," he said, with a drop of 2.4 per cent from a year earlier. That's the first time that has happened in fiscal 2013.

"We are reducing our top-line estimates due to the continued deterioration in revenues across the board," he added.

Target: Mr. Galappatthige cut his price target to 50 cents from $1.25 (Canadian). The average target is $1.

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CVTech Group Inc.'s long-awaited takeover of a U.S. company has collapsed and now Desjardins Securities is downgrading the Drummondville, Que.-based energy services company.

The name of the company has never been disclosed but CVTech had earlier said it was a provider of electrical services, mainly to the utility industry, and called for an initial payment of $40-million (U.S.).

Desjardins analyst Pierre Lacroix said CVTech's "disappointing" announcement on Friday means investors should stay on the sidelines until the company can show it is able to make new deals that will add to its profits.

"CVT's end game remains tied to successful M&A and solid earnings delivery," said Mr. Lacroix, adding he is "awaiting further visibility on these fronts."

Target: Mr. Lacroix downgraded CVTech to "hold" from "buy" and lowered the share price target to $1.50 from $2. The average target is $1.67.

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Desjardins Securities analyst Jeremy Rosenfield says shares in Capital Power Corp. are "inexpensive" and that the electricity producer's focus on Alberta should help it beat its full-year profit guidance.

Capital Power recently reported third-quarter results of 72 cents a share that beat expectations thanks to Alberta's strong power prices. Edmonton-based Capital Power operates natural gas, coal and wind plants in Alberta, B.C., Ontario and four U.S. states.

Mr. Rosenfield said Capital Power trades at just five times 2014 and 2015 cash flow, compared with an average of eight per cent at its peers, and he likes it as a long-term investment.

Target: Mr. Rosenfield maintained a rating of "buy" with an unchanged share price target of $27. Canaccord Genuity upgraded the company to "buy" from "hold" and raised its price target to $24 from $23. The average of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg is $23.67.

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Canaccord Genuity upgraded Colgate-Palmolive to "hold" from "sell" after the consumer products giant reported impressive third-quarter results last week and showed surprising strength in emerging markets, where many of its peers are seeing weakness.

"We recognize Colgate's outstanding track record, emerging market positions, and impressive ROIC (return on investment capital)," said Canaccord analyst Eddy Hargreaves. "Its global shares of 45 per cent in toothpaste, 33 per cent in manual toothbrush and 17 per cent in mouthwash convey clear advantages which the management continues to capitalize on."

Target: Mr. Hargreaves raised his price target to $58 (U.S.) from $52. The average target is $65.62.

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In other analyst actions today:

FBR Capital raised its price target on Teck Resources to $35 (U.S.) from $30 and reiterated an "outperform" rating. But Merrill Lynch downgraded Teck to "neutral" from "buy."

Industrial Alliance downgraded Mega Brands to "hold" from "buy" but maintained a $17 (Canadian) price target.

CIBC World Markets upgraded Agnico-Eagle Mines to "sector outperformer" from "sector performer" and raised its price target to $37 (U.S.) from $31.

Canaccord Genuity upgraded Golden Queen Mining to "speculative buy" from "hold" and hiked its target to $1.30 (Canadian) from $1.20.

Pivotal Research initiated coverage on Twitter with a "buy" rating and $29 (U.S.) price target.

Piper Jaffray downgraded Crocs to "neutral" from "overweight" and cut its price target to $15 (U.S.) from $18.

Goldman Sachs downgraded Transocean to "sell" from "neutral" and cut its price target to $50 (U.S.) from $53.

Goldman Sachs downgraded Exelon to "sell" from "neutral" and cut its price target to $26 (U.S.) from $29.

Canaccord Genuity raised its price target on Devon Energy to $86 (U.S.) from $77 and maintained a "buy" rating.

Credit Suisse raised its price target on Facebook to $61 (U.S.) from $36.

BMO Nesbitt Burns raised its price target on Goodrich Petroleum to $34 (U.S.) from $27 and reiterated an "outperform" rating.

Jefferies raised its price target on Lear to $92 (U.S.) from $78 and reiterated a "buy" rating. UBS raised its price target to $80 from $70 and reiterated a "neutral" rating.

Deutsche Bank raised its price target on Best Buy to $50 (U.S.) from $40 and maintained a "buy" rating.

Beacon Securities initiated coverage on BNK Petroleum with a "buy" rating and $3 (Canadian) price target.

Credit Suisse upgraded Choice Hotels to "neutral" from "underperform" and raised its price target to $45 from $35.

UBS upgraded T. Rowe Price Group to "buy' from "neutral" and raised its price target to $90 (U.S.) from $77.

UBS raised its price target on Apple to $540 (U.S.) from $520 and reiterated a "neutral" rating.

UBS raised its price target on Royal Caribbean Cruises to $45 (U.S.) from $40 and reiterated a "neutral" rating.

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For more analyst actions, breaking investing news and analysis, follow Darcy Keith on Twitter at @eyeonequities

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